Home prices in US are up 47% since start of 2020

A combination of factors including inflation has caused skyrocketing home prices. (Nicholas J Klein via Canva)

Home prices have been surging this decade.

According to an analysis by ResiClub of the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, prices of homes have increased 47.1% just since the start of 2020.

The current housing boom has even outpaced the growth seen in the 1990s and 2010s which saw 30.1% and 44.7%.

Additionally, home prices this decade are reported to be on track to surpass the growth seen in the 2000s, along with possibly surpassing numbers seen in 2007 before the housing market collapse.

Housing experts say prices have climbed thanks to a shortage of available homes and many homeowners not wanting to sell after locking in historically low rates during the pandemic.

“Because the Fed kept rates too low for too long during the pandemic, listing inventory was essentially wiped off the map, keeping prices rising sharply despite the surge in mortgage rates,” appraiser Jonathan Miller told the New York Post. “Would-be home sellers that bought or refinanced at a 2.5% to 4% rate during the pandemic became reluctant to list their homes because, as new buyers, they would get a lot less for their money because of the much higher mortgage rates.”

According to The Associated Press, the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate moved above 7% just last month as homebuyers are facing higher costs to finance a home.

The National Association of Realtors reported that home prices continued to rise in the first quarter of 2024 with median prices rising 5% year over year to $389,400.

The Federal Reserve has talked about lowering rates this year, but CNN reports it still remains a mystery if the Fed will cut interest rates this year if at all.

First responders find puppies left in hot car while owner visits Disney

Three puppies now have new homes after first responders rescued them from a hot car at Disney last Saturday. (Source: Orange County Animal Services)

Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

A pet owner could be facing felony charges for leaving four puppies inside a hot car at Disney Springs over the weekend.

WFLA reports that a security guard spotted the puppies in the hot vehicle that was parked in a parking garage at Disney Springs last Saturday.

According to the Orange County Animal Services in Florida, first responders were called to the scene but one of the puppies was already unresponsive and despite life-saving measures, the puppy died.

“We cannot stress this enough: It is never a good idea to leave your pets inside a parked car,” Orange County Animal Services shared. “The temperatures inside a parked vehicle can easily climb to well over 120 degrees in just a few minutes.”

Animal services said the three other pups were able to survive with care at an area veterinary emergency clinic.

According to the animal service team, the puppies’ owner had just picked them up from a breeder and stopped to have dinner with family at Disney Springs.

The owner shared that they assumed that since the puppies were in a covered parking garage and had the windows cracked the animals would be OK.

“Every year we find ourselves working heartbreaking cases like this one. Fortunately, our first responder and law enforcement partners are well trained and well aware of the law, and they will not hesitate to take action against such neglect,” representatives with animal services said.

Firefighters ended up adopting the puppies that were saved.

As for the person who left the dogs behind, WOFL reports that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office says investigators believe they have probable cause for felony animal cruelty charges.

Woman wins her 2nd $1 million lottery jackpot in 10 weeks

Christine Wilson has won $1 million lottery prize in the last three months. (Source: Massachusetts State Lottery)

A Massachusetts woman has won two million-dollar lottery jackpots in just the last couple of months.

According to the Massachusetts State Lottery, Christine Wilson’s latest $1 million win came from a $10 100X Cash scratch-off ticket she purchased from a Family Food Mart in Mansfield.

Wilson told lottery officials she decided not to give up her lottery habit after she claimed her first $1 million win in February.

On Feb. 23 she claimed that $1 million prize thanks to playing the $50 Lifetime Millions instant ticket game.

She told lottery officials that she used some of her first winnings to buy an SUV.

This time, she said she plans to put the winnings that she collected on May 1 into savings.

The Family Food Mart will receive a $10,000 bonus for its sale of the ticket.

Dubs’s Discount Liquors in Mansfield, where Wilson bought her first ticket, also received a bonus.

Man joins police department that helped him as an abandoned baby nearly 25 years ago

Matthew Hegedus-Stewart said he wonders if his story subconsciously motivated him to pursue a career in law enforcement. (South Bend Police Department)

South Bend, Ind.

A special meeting took place between two men earlier this year that has been nearly 25 years in the making.

Retired South Bend Police Lt. Gene Eyster said he never forgot the day he was called to investigate a case regarding a newborn baby being abandoned in a cardboard box.

According to the South Bend Police Department, a resident at an area apartment complex called the department on Dec. 22, 2000, about a crying baby that was found sitting in a box in a hallway.

Responding officers took the baby to a hospital before contacting Eyster, who was a sergeant in the department’s major crimes unit at the time.

Eyster said he had a lot of questions when he started the investigation. He enlisted the help of local media to get the word out regarding the abandoned baby who affectionately became known as “Baby Jesus” as he was found so close to Christmas.

According to the police department, Eyster visited the baby boy in the hospital and bought him a teddy bear to help comfort the infant.

The baby’s birth parents were later identified, and the mother was charged with neglect.

Authorities said the boy was eventually adopted by a new family.

Eyster continued to work for the department until retirement but shared that he often wondered what happened to the little boy.

South Bend police said Eyster wouldn’t have to wonder anymore after he received a call from Officer Josh Morgan in March.

Morgan asked Eyster if he remembered investigating the abandoned baby case. The retired lieutenant said of course he did.

“[Well] he’s sitting next to me right now,” Morgan told Eyster. “He is my rookie!”

The baby found at the Park Jefferson Apartments had grown up and joined the same police department that helped rescue him becoming South Bend Police Officer Matthew Hegedus-Stewart.

The department said Hegedus-Stewart mentioned his story to Morgan when the two were out on an abandoned child call.

On March 22, Eyster was able to meet Hegedus-Stewart for the first time since he brought the teddy bear to him at the hospital.

“You’re a little bit bigger now,” Eyster joked to Hegedus-Stewart.

The two spent time chatting and sifting through the case documents that included more than a dozen photos of a 2-day-old Hegedus-Stewart at the hospital.

Hegedus-Stewart said he has to wonder, even subconsciously, if his experience motivated him to want to pursue a career in law enforcement.

He said he never imagined he would end up at the same agency that helped investigate his case as a baby.

“Thank you for everything you did for me,” Hegedus-Stewart told Eyster while shaking his hand.

Man wins $2 million thanks to ‘gut feeling’ to buy lottery ticket at convenience store

Donnie Leviner's intuition paid off with a $2 million winning lottery ticket. (NC Education Lottery)

Scotland County, N.C.

A North Carolina man says he had a gut feeling to purchase a lottery ticket and it certainly paid off.

According to the NC Educational Lottery, Donnie Leviner turned a $20 Big Cash Payout ticket into a $2 million payday.

“Something just told me to buy it,” he said.

Leviner, 18, said his intuition told him to buy a few lottery tickets while he stopped at Sneads Grove convenience store in Laurel Hill.

“I initially just went there to fill up the lawn mower,” Leviner said.

The 18-year-old collected his prize money on Monday.

“I was in disbelief,” he said. “I really didn’t think it was true.”

Lottery officials said Leviner’s win was official, and he chose to receive the prize money as a lump sum of $1.2 million.

After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $858,006.