WASHINGTON – Oct. 31, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages spiked this week as the tumult in financial markets continued to be felt in housing finance. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.46% this week, up from 6.04%...

OCALA, Fla. – Oct. 30, 2008 – After looking at five houses in the past several months, Matt and Carrie Geiger made an offer on a home in the Ashton neighborhood in Gainesville a day after it came on the market. They were motivated to buy in the neighborhood near...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Oct. 30, 2008 – Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson is reminding consumers whose homes contain a polybutylene pipe system that time is running out to file a claim in a nationwide class-action settlement. Many...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Oct. 30, 2008 – Three recent home buyers who moved to Florida from other states will appeal a judge’s ruling that dismissed their challenge to property tax breaks offered by two state constitutional amendments, one of their lawyers said...

Mortgage rates fell this week as consumers cut their spending amid an economic downturn and a major slump in the labor market. Mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac reported Nov. 6 that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.2 percent this week. That’s down from 6.46...

Despite weakening second home purchases in 2008, the long-term demand looks favorable for the second-home market because there are large numbers of people in the prime years for buying a second home. Currently, 39.2 million people in the United States are ages 50 to...

To move the country out of this economic crisis, Congress and the next administration must place significant emphasis on restoring confidence in the housing market, Charles McMillan, the National Association of Realtors® president, testified to the House Financial...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 27, 2008 – U.S. mortgage lenders are showing more willingness to rewrite loans for troubled homeowners, a trade organization said. “There’s really no reluctance anymore,” said Chairman-elect of the Mortgage Bankers Association David Kittle. “Lenders...

WASHINGTON (AP) – Oct. 27, 2008 – Sales of new homes recorded an unexpected increase in September as median home prices dropped to the lowest level in four years. The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of new single-family homes rose by 2.7% last month to...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 17, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages jumped to the highest level in eight weeks, squeezing some potential homebuyers out of the market, and reflecting how nervous lenders remain despite the massive global intervention in the credit markets. Mortgage...

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 24, 2008 – For the first time in almost three years, Florida’s existing home sales rose in September, noting a 24 percent increase in activity in the year-to-year comparison; last month’s sales of existing condos statewide increased 11 percent in...

Florida saw a drop in monthly foreclosures in October, but Orange County saw in an increase in pre-foreclosures, according to Foreclosures.com. Orange County reported 4,877 pre-foreclosure filings in October, 11 percent higher than the 4,387 filed a month prior,...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 24, 2008 – Federal regulators told Congress Thursday they're working on a plan that could help many distressed homeowners escape foreclosure in a global financial crisis that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned will get worse before it...

Travelers looking for alternatives to hotels have helped grow the vacation rental market to a $24.3 billion industry, according to a new study. Sherman, Conn.-based travel research group PhocusWright Inc. conducted the study, which forecasts that online vacation...

WASHINGTON (AP) – Oct. 24, 2008 – Rates on 30-year U.S. mortgages dropped sharply this week, falling to the lowest level in five weeks. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.04% this week, down from 6.46% last week....

LOS ANGELES – Oct. 22, 2008 – Maribel Carrillo is one of the new, happy-ending stories for bank regulators who hope to stem the foreclosure pandemic by modifying delinquent mortgages in bulk. Carrillo, 32, lost her $150,000-a-year job managing a record label in Los...

Existing single-family homes outsold new homes sales in fourth-quarter 2008, according to a new joint report by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association and Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund. A total of 4,026 existing single-family homes sold in the fourth quarter,...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 13, 2008 – Veterans across America now have expanded homeownership opportunities, thanks to the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 signed by President George W. Bush on Friday. The bill includes housing provisions for veterans who are already...

If your birthday wish is to visit one of the local Disney theme parks, then Walt Disney Parks & Resorts has an offer for you: a free ticket for anyone who shows up on their birthday with a valid ID, including proof of birth date. The birthday offer is part of the...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 15, 2008 – Can filing for bankruptcy help homeowners facing foreclosure? For most people, trying to negotiate changes in their loan with help from a housing counselor or lawyer is a far better option. While bankruptcy judges can reduce or eliminate...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Oct. 9, 2008 – Real estate ads these days include listing after listing of bargain-basement prices. But those who buy a home in a foreclosure or a pre-foreclosure sale should know that future property bills may be no bargain. Just because someone...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 8, 2008 – Pending home sales activity surged as buyers took advantage of low home prices and affordable interest rates, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Oct. 6, 2008 – Facing a lawsuit over deceptive mortgage practices, Bank of America Corp. (who now owns Countrywide Financial Corp.) has agreed to modify tens of thousands of loans to keep people in 11 states from losing their homes, the Illinois...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 3, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages have risen for a second straight week, climbing to the highest level in a month. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.10 percent this week, up slightly...

WASHINGTON – Oct. 2, 2008 – A new program rolled out by HUD yesterday could help more homeowners avoid foreclosure. Under the program, the lender of an existing subprime mortgage forgives part of the debt as if it’s a short sale, and the balance of the mortgage is...

Home sales in September were up 51% but values continued to sink as the median price fell by 22%, the Florida Association of Realtors reported. The dramatic rise in sales may have been little comfort for the industry as home values fell from $233,800 in September 2007...

The Orlando real estate market continue to show signs of improvement with a 4.6% increase in existing home sales in November however the median sale price fell by 29% from the previous year. 1,076 existing home sales was 43.6% less than 1,545 which sold in October and...

The Orlando real estate market continue to show signs of improvement with a 38% increase in existing home sales in September however the median sale price fell from the previous month. 1,335 existing home sales was 8% more than 1,225 which sold in August and 26.3%...

WASHINGTON – Sept. 26, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been falling for five weeks, jumped sharply this week, reflecting the turbulence in global credit markets. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that its nationwide survey found that the average for 30-year,...

WASHINGTON – Sept. 25, 2008 – If a first-time homebuyer purchases a home before the end of 2008, he or she gets a $7,500 tax credit in 2009 when they file their federal income taxes, but it must be paid back over time. Here’s how it works: The first-time homebuyer...

WASHINGTON – Sept. 24, 2008 – Existing-home sales were down in August following a healthy gain in July as tight mortgage credit curtailed activity, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales rose in the Midwest and South but fell in the Northeast...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 23, 2008 – While a number of factors have contributed to a home sales decline in Florida, an increase in foreign homebuyers has modified the trend, according to a just-released research paper from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the...

Sept. 22, 2008 – Increasingly, sellers seeking short sales are encountering a new twist. Lenders are agreeing to let some short sales go through, but they want the home owners to sign a note promising to pay some or all of the balance due – debts that could burden...

WASHINGTON – Sept. 19, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply again this week, falling to the lowest level in seven months, as rates continue to decline following the government's dramatic takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sept. 18, 2008 – Two big-ticket purchases are coming up for Spencer Craven and his fiancee. They're buying a townhome and having a wedding. Which will cost them more this year? "Oh, I don't know," Craven said with a laugh. "I'll let you know after...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – St. Johns County resident Charlene Walls paid her expensive flood insurance premium for years without questioning whether it was too high. After all, her home is in a subdivision close to Cunningham Creek and the St. Johns River. Flood insurance...

WASHINGTON – Sept. 15, 2008 – The U.S. House passed H.R. 6832, the Veterans Construction and Extension Act of 2008, in a bipartisan effort on Sept. 11, a move praised by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). “As leading advocates for housing issues, Realtors...

Visitors to Orlando generated $31.1 billion for the local economy in 2007, according to a new economic impact study by Global Insight Inc. In 2007, visitation increased by 2%, from 47.8 million visitors in 2006 to 48.7 million in 2007, while visitor spending grew 4.7%...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 10, 2008 – This fall could be a particularly great time for first-time buyers or those who have been out of the market for at least three years to jump in, say a variety of real estate professionals. Here are the reasons why: Property prices are...

WASHINGTON – Sept. 10, 2008 – The level of home sales is expected to show little movement in the months ahead, according to the latest projections by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on...

CHICAGO – Sept. 9, 2008 – Mike Ferrara wants to buy a house in a few months and is worried that mistakes on his credit report will keep him from obtaining the loan he will need. His concern is legitimate. You’d think with a credit score of 650, he’d be fine. But not...

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...

Simple fixes and staging practices can focus buyers' attention in the right places and keep them from getting sidetracked by personal items in the home. Here are some staging suggestions from Deborah Ehrlich-Layne of Tampa, Fla.-based Staging Plus, Handyman Matters,...

Orlando 08/30/08: Metro Orlando's inventory of new subdivision housing fell again during the second quarter, according to a survey released by Metrostudy, earlier this week. 3,646 finished-but-vacant single-family homes in the four-county metro area, down from 5,560...

Aug. 29, 2008 – Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for the second straight week, declining to the lowest level in more than a month. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 6.40 percent this week, down from 6.47...

NEW YORK (AP) – While no one is ready to call the bottom of the worst housing collapse in decades, there were glimmers this week that the severity is waning. The decline in home prices is starting to ease and in some cities values are starting to rise again. Existing...

ORLANDO – Aug. 28, 2008 – Throughout the year, Florida has frequently been held up as an example of just how bad the housing market can get, with reports of a fast-rising foreclosure rate and a steeper slump in sales than in many other parts of the nation, caused in...

LOS ANGELES – Aug. 28, 2008 – Is this the real estate turnaround? On the heels of an increase in Florida home sales, a spike in new home sales and an upswing in consumer confidence, traffic to Realtor.com went up significantly in July with month-over-month increases...

NEW YORK – Aug. 28, 2008 The population of renters across the country is growing, edged up in part by a slumping housing market. Yet as graduates and others enter the work force and set up their first apartments, renters insurance probably isn’t a burning issue. It’s...

August 26, 2008 We've all seen them - the never-ending television ads and radio commercials with the catchy jingle for free credit reports and scores. Nowadays a number of similar companies are offering free credit reports and scores. With all of these ads for...