WASHINGTON – Feb. 3, 2009 – Many moderate-income Floridians will qualify for the IRS' Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for the first time in 2008, including some Realtors who worked through a slow year. Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has actively promoted...

WASHINGTON – Jan. 30, 2009 – Freddie Mac today plans to announce a first-of-a-kind plan that lets homeowners and tenants temporarily stay in homes in foreclosure by renting them back, an effort to stop many of the sudden evictions that have come along with the housing...

McLEAN, Va. – Jan. 30, 2009 – Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down this week, but remained above 5 percent, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dipped to 5.10 percent this week from 5.12 percent last week. At this time last...

WASHINGTON – Jan. 30, 2009 – According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the U.S. House of Representatives has taken a significant step toward economic recovery in passing H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. "On behalf of NAR and...

WASHINGTON – Jan. 14, 2009 – According to National Association of Realtors® (NAR) President Charles McMillan’s testimony yesterday before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Congress and the next administration must place significant emphasis on restoring...

WASHINGTON (AP) – Jan. 29, 2009 – The Federal Reserve signaled that it stands ready to use new unconventional tools, or expand existing ones, to spur lending and consumer spending that could help lift the economy out of a painful recession. The Fed also agreed...

Mortgage loan applications bounced back last week as rates fell and end-of-the-year holiday hoopla faded. The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly index of application volume rose to 1,324.8, an increase of 15.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1,143.8 the...

Jan. 26, 2009 – Lending giant Fannie Mae is slapping tough new requirements on mortgages for Florida condos, moves that analysts believe will make it even more difficult to sell units in buildings already starved for residents and struggling financially. The...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 26, 2009 – Florida’s housing market mirrored the national trend in 2008, as mortgage industry troubles, unsettled financial markets, tightened credit and other economic issues impacted sales and prices. By year’s end, a total of 124,215 existing...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 26, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in December, making it the fourth consecutive month that sales activity demonstrated gains in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of...

WASHINGTON – Jan. 23, 2009 – Washington is doing all it can to get money flowing again in the housing sector. At around 5 percent, 30-year mortgage rates are at levels that haven’t been seen in, well, 30 years. If you want to buy a home or refinance your existing...

McLEAN, Va. – Jan. 23, 2009 – Rates on 30-year mortgages rose above 5 percent this week, ending a five-week run at record low levels, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Mortgage rates have been in decline since the Federal Reserve said in late November it would buy up to...

McLEAN, Va. – Jan. 16, 2009 – Rates on 30-year mortgages set a record for a fifth straight week by dropping to below 5 percent, the lowest mark since Freddie Mac started tracking the data in 1971. Mortgage rates have been dropping since late November, when the Federal...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 14, 2009 – Qualifying for a mortgage is not nearly as easy these days as it was just a couple of years ago, before the sub prime-loan-market collapse and the worldwide credit freeze. Still, mortgages are approved every day, even for home buyers...

WASHINGTON – Jan. 14, 2009 – Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae said Tuesday it has adopted a policy allowing renters to remain in their homes even if their landlord enters foreclosure. The new policy will allow residents of about 4,000 properties to sign new leases...

If all home buyers become eligible for a tax credit without a repayment feature, it could result in an additional 555,000 home sales, enough to meaningfully draw down excess housing inventory, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® says. An evaluation of options for a...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Jan. 14, 2009 – The state’s insurance commissioner Tuesday tried to calm fears about the solvency of small companies stepping in to replace industry giants that have reduced homeowner coverage in Florida due to the state’s hurricane risk....

Home shopping alone - without the help of a professional even when online - can become a huge handicap for home buyers. Here are four reasons: Late information. Shoppers who limit themselves to only looking at real estate Web sites will overlook some very good...

While the current recession will be longer and more severe than predicted, housing will help lead the country out of the downturn, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren told the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association at its annual meeting. Rosengren...

Prices for luxury second-home markets are falling out of the stratosphere–and attracting buyers who were previously priced out of the market. Prices in the Caribbean have dropped by $500,000 and European retreats in Spain, Malta, and Portugal are down 30 percent, says...

WASHINGTON – Jan. 6, 2009 – Don’t believe everything you read, says NAR. There is some misinformation in the media lately about the required size of a down payment for a mortgage in today’s market, and the blog world is a buzz with misperceptions. Not all so-called...

Busch Entertainment Corp. is again offering free admission to most of its parks for members of the military and their families. The amusement park subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev announced it was renewing its program that is being sponsored by Budweiser. The...

WASHINGTON – Jan. 5, 2009 – Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to a record low for the third straight week and borrowers took advantage of the drop, sending new applications soaring. With the Federal Reserve on the verge of pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into...

Financial mogul Sam Zell, beleaguered owner of the Tribune Co. that declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, told an Israeli business conference Sunday that the U.S. real estate market will be in recovery by spring 2009. Zell pointed out that the U.S. population is...

NEW YORK – Dec. 19, 2008 – Fannie Mae said Monday it’s finalizing a plan to help renters stay in their homes even if their landlord enters foreclosure. The mortgage giant said it’s working on a national policy to allow renters living in foreclosed properties - and who...

WASHINGTON (AP) – Dec. 19, 2008 – Struggling U.S. homebuilders cut back even more than expected last month, sending the construction of new homes plummeting in November by the largest amount in almost a quarter-century. New home starts fell to a seasonally adjusted...

WASHINGTON – Dec. 18, 2008 – Financial industry lobbyists are urging the Treasury Department to take steps to lower mortgage rates and help stabilize the battered U.S. housing market. Under one proposal, Treasury would seek to lower the rate on a 30-year mortgage to...

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages interest rates fell to their lowest level on record, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market survey released Dec. 18. The national average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 5.19 percent for the week ending...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Dec. 3, 2008 – Florida’s bankers and credit unions announced Monday that they’d suspend foreclosing on homeowners for the next 45 days. Gov. Charlie Crist called a press conference to announce the halt in foreclosures, but neither he nor the...

WASHINGTON – Dec. 3, 2008 – For the second year in a row, Realtors® report that exterior remodeling projects return the most money as a percentage of cost, as detailed in the 2008 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report. On a national level, wood deck additions and all types...

WASHINGTON – Dec. 1, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages sank for a fourth straight week, falling below 6 percent for the first time since early October, and are heading lower due to the government’s massive new effort to aid the U.S. housing market. Further drops are...

WASHINGTON (AP) – Nov. 14, 2008 – Mortgage rates dropped for a second straight week, reflecting the impact the weakening economy is having on financial markets. Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged...

WASHINGTON – Nov. 19, 2008 – With home prices decreasing and interest rates holding at historically low levels, the number of potential homebuyers nationwide who can afford to buy new and existing homes has reached the highest level in more than four years, according...

WASHINGTON – Nov. 17, 2008 – Freddie Mac is asking for an initial injection of $13.8 billion in government aid after posting a massive quarterly loss. The mortgage finance company is making the first request to tap the $200 billion promised by the Treasury Department...

WASHINGTON – Nov. 13, 2008 – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Steve Preston today announced the new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loan limits for single-family homes as prescribed by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act...

TAMPA, Fla. – Nov. 13, 2008 – The housing market may have bust, but many homeowners are still living in a bubble. Despite dismal housing headlines and reports showing falling prices nationwide, owners in some once-hot areas still believe their home is gaining value or...

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 13, 2008 – Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 5% in third quarter 2008 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest housing statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). A total of 33,203 existing...

WASHINGTON – Nov. 12, 2008 – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Steve Preston today announced the new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loan limits for single-family homes as prescribed by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act...

WASHINGTON - The government and the mortgage industry are launching the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Housing...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - An amendment creating property tax exemptions for residential hurricane-proofing and energy efficiency improvements is going into the Florida Constitution without a recount. The Elections Canvassing Commission headed by Gov. Charlie Crist declined...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 11, 2008 – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) released its latest consumer survey of home buyers and sellers. A key finding: First-time buyers have risen in market share, and they plan to own their homes longer than buyers in the past....

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 11, 2008 – Saying it will target borrowers in markets likely to face extreme economic distress and further declines in home prices, Citigroup, one of the nation’s largest banks, will expand its foreclosure prevention efforts to include borrowers...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 10, 2008 – Pending home sales slipped 4.6 percent nationwide in September from August but remained 1.6 percent higher than a year earlier, a sign that the battered housing market is “still in a broad period of stabilization,” the National...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Nov. 10, 2008 – To provide immediate assistance to Florida homeowners searching for federal housing assistance, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and her Financial Action Team (FACT Team) announced the launch of “Florida Housing Help,” a new Web...

NEW YORK (AP) – Nov. 7, 2008 – Billions of federal bailout dollars are flooding the financial system, credit markets are loosening and many banks say they are ready to lend. But a crucial piece needed to solve the credit crisis is still missing: borrowers. With the...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 7, 2008 – Pending home sales fell on the heels of a strong gain a month earlier as credit tightened and economic conditions deteriorated, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking...

Homebuyers who have trouble saving for a downpayment now have another option - homebuyer layaway plans. With the demise of seller-funded downpayment assistance programs, residential builders are considering other options, and many are rolling out downpayment layaway...

NEW YORK – Nov. 6, 2008 – President-elect Barack Obama is inheriting the worst housing recession in a generation, and the proposals he outlined on the campaign trail won’t fix it, so there will be many tough decisions ahead. His plan includes a 10 percent mortgage tax...

Homeowners facing foreclosure need information, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers a one-stop shop online that can help. "The Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure is an easy-to-use site allowing users to quickly search information specific to...

NEW YORK – Oct. 31, 2008 – Plunging real-estate values have made it an opportune time for older homeowners to give property to their children, while realizing big savings on gift and estate taxes. They can do this by moving the home out of their estate with a...