The Orlando housing market saw an improvement in July sales when compared with the previous year, according to the latest report from the Florida Association of Realtors. Orlando real estate figures Existing single-family home sales in the Orlando area were up 11.6%...

A lot may be said about home prices in Florida, but when Coldwell Banker decided to compare the state with the rest of the nation, Florida is pretty much in the middle of the pack. The most affordable homes in Florida are located in Ormond Beach at $201,233, while the...

The following letter was received by the Editor of the Florida Association of Realtors Editor, Back in July 2005 I was writing a weekly real estate column for the local newspaper. The column I wrote that particular week changed my life. In the column that day, I made...

Sales are picking up in markets where prices are deflated, but the business is different than it was before the bubble burst, observers say. The housing market in deflated markets--like Arizona, California, Florida, and Nebraska--are beginning to show signs of a...

ORLANDO, Fla. – April 23, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales increased in March, making it the seventh month in a row that sales activity demonstrated gains in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of...

Housing Predictor - which monitors over 250 residential property markets nationwide - says Florida appears to be emerging from the realty slump before any other state, including California.The Sunshine State is seeing population growth, and single-family home and...

WASHINGTON – March 27, 2009 – Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week to the lowest level on record after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to assist the staggering U.S. housing market. Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on...

More than three-quarters (78 percent) of potential first-time home buyers say that now is a good time to buy a home, despite widespread concern about the economy. Out of the 1,000 prospective U.S. first-time home buyers surveyed in early March for the CENTURY 21...

ORLANDO, Fla. – March 23, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in February, making it the sixth consecutive month that sales activity showed increases in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of...

WASHINGTON – March 23, 2009 – Small banks could play a key role in spurring the nation’s economic recovery, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Friday, as many appear strong enough to make new loans while bigger institutions have pulled back. Bernanke urged...

It is now $1,901 cheaper to build a new home in Polk County. Answering pleas from the local development community, the Polk County Commission voted Wednesday to reduce impact fees for new home construction by nearly $2,000. In addition to adopting a revised road...

WASHINGTON – March 20, 2009 – Rates on 30-year mortgages plunged to a record low Thursday after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to prop up the flailing housing market. The national average rate on 30-year, fixed mortgages was 4.94 percent on Thursday,...

WASHINGTON – March 11, 2009 – Homeowners who decide to rent out their properties have to stop thinking of themselves as homeowners and instead consider themselves as running a small business, experts say. Thinking like a businessperson means focusing on the monthly...

WASHINGTON – March 10, 2009 – HOPE NOW, a nonprofit alliance of mortgage companies, housing counselors and others in the lending business, has added a new tool to its website enabling homeowners to initiate a loan modification or refinance with their lenders by...

For the second straight week, mortgage applications rose significantly in response to the government’s efforts to stabilize housing and the economy. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s week index reached 1159.4, an increase of 32.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted...

WASHINGTON – Feb. 27, 2009 – Against a backdrop of record-low new home sales, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told lawmakers the lending industry is set to launch the Obama administration’s $75 billion foreclosure prevention program next week. Final details will be...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 27, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in January, making it the fifth month in a row that sales activity showed increases in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors®...

Scam artists are proliferating, attempting to make money off troubled borrowers interested in taking advantage of President Barack Obama’s foreclosure-prevention plan. The firms charge fees for what they tell borrowers will be quick and effective negotiations with...

Existing-home sales increased in February, reversing losses in January, according to the latest report by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. However, sales activity remains relatively soft, reflecting additional layoffs and buyers waiting for housing provisions in...

WASHINGTON – Feb. 17, 2009 – How does a first-time homebuyer take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit that President Obama is expected to sign into law tomorrow? It comes with a few rules. According to the most recent analysis, the following rules will apply – though...

Let’s take a look at some of the opportunities and positive indicators for the future of Florida’s real estate market. Great prices. Statewide, home prices have fallen about 20 percent in the past year. FAR statistics show the existing-home median sales price was...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 12, 2009 – Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 13 percent in fourth quarter 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). A total of...

These days it’s particularly tough for someone involved in a small-business real-estate venture to find funding. David Gass, founder of Business Credit Services of Las Vegas, offers these suggestions to real estate entrepreneurs in search of investors or loans. Put...

WASHINGTON – Feb. 3, 2009 – Home buyers could see lower mortgage rates and get tax credits as part of a sweeping economic stimulus package being considered on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are heeding the pleas of two powerful and well-heeled interest groups: real estate...