The following are some of the changes the FHA is making in how they process and accept loans in new and existing condo projects: The burden of approving a condominium project will shift from the FHA to the lenders Approved condo projects will need to be re-certified every 2 years Homeowner’s Associations will need to […]

An interesting article by Robert Shiller, Yale Economics Professor and one of the creators of the Case-Shiller home price index, discusses the idea that perceptions as to land value is what has driven a lot of the housing market increases.  He argues that a growing global economy and increasingly transient population that values economic freedom […]

Citigroup announced that it will suspend foreclosures for the next 30 days in order to work on long-term alternatives to foreclosure.  This will be happy news to an estimated 4,000 borrowers.

Although national foreclosures in November were down 8%  from October, they are still up 18% over last November.  With Florida in second place behind Nevada in having the highest number of foreclosures, we are still a long way off from being able to say the market has recovered.  Recent decreases in inventory and increases in […]

48.5% of the increase in sales reported by NAR were under $250,000.  In the South, 51.6% of the sales were under $250,000.  The increase in sales was largely due to the expiration of the first-time homebuyers credit, which President Obama ended up extending and expanding.  Most experts expect the next couple of months sales to […]

48.5% of the increase in sales reported by NAR were under $250,000.  In the South, 51.6% of the sales were under $250,000.  The increase in sales was largely due to the expiration of the first-time homebuyers credit, which President Obama ended up extending and expanding.  Most experts expect the next couple of months sales to […]

According to the National Association of Realtors third quarter report, sales are up throughout most of the country.  The biggest increase in sales was in Florida at 36.8%.  This is no surprise considering that we are also the state with the highest number (9 out of the top 15) of metro area price decreases in […]

What does the bill that President Obama signed into law on Friday mean to you if you are a first time homebuyer?  It means that you did not miss out on the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit and may be able to qualify for it now, even if you didn’t before.  Why?  Because the new […]

The National Association of Realtors reported a 21.2 percent increase  in pending home sales for the month of September. This is the 8th consecutive monthly gain so, what does that mean in terms of the real estate market?  The answer, as always, is it depends on the location.  The NAR number is a national number […]