Things To Do In SW Florida

By FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress, according to a report released Wednesday.

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The number of homes for sale in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia region, also known as the DMV, is up by 64% since June 2024, and the region’s unemployment rate is the highest in the nation, according to the DMV Monitor, a real-time data interactive created by the Brookings Institution with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. read more

Disney announced on Tuesday it will raise the subscription prices for its streaming services, amid widespread calls for a boycott following Jimmy Kimmel’s abrupt suspension from Disney-owned ABC.

The increase is set to go into effect for new subscribers beginning Oct. 21. Current subscribers will see the change to their first bill on or after that date.

Disney+ with ads and Hulu with ads will both increase by $2 to $11.99 per month, while Disney+ Premium will increase by $3 to $18.99.

The Disney+ with Hulu bundle is going up by $2 to $12.99 per month, and ESPN Select will increase by $1 to $12.99. Hulu’s Live TV Only plan will increase by $7 to $88.99 per month.

Many of the company’s bundles that include services from non-Disney providers will start costing more, too. But the price for Hulu Premium, ESPN Unlimited and the Disney+ with Hulu Premium bundle will not go up.

The announcement of the price hikes comes a day after the company said “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return to its late-night time slot — though not on affiliates owned by conservative companies Nexstar and Sinclair — as many in Hollywood have pushed for subscribers for cancel Disney’s services in the wake of Kimmel being pulled of the air last week. read more

For decades, home sellers typically covered both their own agent’s commission and the fee for the buyer’s broker, a structure that left little room for negotiation. But a recent legal settlement has shaken up that system, opening the door for buyers and sellers to haggle over who pays what — and how much.

In the Bay Area, many agents ask for a 2.5% or 3% commission — a rate they say is justified given their experience and market knowledge, and the time they take to help clients navigate the process of buying and selling a home. Agents may also face pressure from brokerages, which may receive anywhere between 15% to 30% of that commission, to keep fees close to 2.5%.

Although some agents don’t budge on their rates, some will under the right circumstances. Here’s how a buyer or seller can strengthen their hand in negotiations:

Show that you’re serious. Matt Castillo, an East Bay agent, said that part of the reason agents set their fees around 2.5% is because it’s so uncertain whether their client will actually close — and the agent will get paid. “You might be working with someone for a year, and they may never buy,” he said. read more

When Eric Itakura listed his Mountain View, California, condo last year, he hoped to save some money on commissions.

The rules over how agents’ fees are set had recently been rewritten as part of a landmark settlement reached between the National Association of Realtors and a group of home sellers. For decades, sellers typically paid a fee between 5% or 6%, split between their own broker and the buyer’s. The new rules, industry watchers predicted, might finally chip away at that standard by forcing buyers and their agents to negotiate separately.

RELATED: How to negotiate commissions with your real estate agent

But Itakura found that not much had changed. Two buyers made offers, both asking that he cover their agent’s fee. One wanted 2.5%, the other 3%. Itakura knew he could say no — but he also knew the buyers could walk.

“There’s a convention that’s been in place for a long time,” Itakura said. “The more you try to buck against that standard, the more potential problems you create for yourself.” read more

The night before the Trump administration began enforcing a 25% tariff on Canadian imports, Chicago-based GI Stone had 13 trucks at the U.S. border, each loaded down with specialized granite set for installation in the Obama Presidential Center under construction in Jackson Park.

Only eight trucks made it through before the tariffs took effect on March 4.

“We rushed all the trucks we could get,” said Sandya Dandamudi, GI Stone’s president and owner. “But there was a lot of congestion and long lines, so everything took a long time to process. For us, the tariffs have been a bit of a nightmare, and the biggest problem is the chaos.”

Adjusting to the tariffs imposed on Canada and other countries has not gotten easier over the past six months. The White House has imposed or canceled tariffs on nations with little or no notice, sending up and down the costs of key imported building materials such as steel, aluminum, copper and lumber. Construction industry leaders say the tariffs have made it more difficult to predict prices, secure financing and kick off new development. And even though short-term fixes, including stockpiling inventory, have so far helped developers and contractors avoid passing along cost increases to consumers, tariffs will ultimately mean higher rents and housing costs. read more