Highlites for May 17th

PROPERTY INSURANCE:
Gov. Jeb Bush signed property insurance bill SB 1980 this morning, calling it a tough but necessary choice that he and others hope will keep coverage available in Florida. He acknowledged that it won't stop rates from going up in the short-run, but said there's ''really no other option.''

NATIONAL HOME PRICES:
The growth in single-family home prices in the U.S. continued to cool in first quarter 2006, but many metro areas are still showing double-digit annual gains, according to NAR. The national median existing single-family home price was $217,900 in the first quarter, up 10.3 percent from a year earlier.

HOUSING STARTS:
The U.S. Commerce Department reported this morning that the number of housing starts in April dropped 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.849 million units, the lowest level in 17 months and weaker than analysts expected.

OCEAN FRONT PROPERTY:
Despite the threat of hurricanes, prices for coastal property along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic continue to climb, especially in Florida, because more Americans can afford to live there, according to real estate analysts.

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