Category Archives: Uncategorized

ATLANTA, Ga., Feb. 19, 2016 – Atlanta-based Down Payment Resource, a data bank for home-buyer programs, released its fourth quarter 2015 Homeownership Program Index (HPI). According to the company, The U.S. has 2,406 home-ownership programs available to help prospective home buyers, and 84 percent currently have funds available – a one percent drop quarter-to-quarter. The…

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016 Home prices posted a strong growth in closing out the final quarter of 2015, despite a moderating pace of sales, according to a new quarterly report released by the National Association of REALTORS® this week. NAR reports that the median existing single-family home price rose in…

Wall St. 24/7 study was based on a range of variables, including crime rates, employment growth, access to restaurants and attractions, educational attainment, and housing affordability. By Toby Tobin Palm Coast City Hall, PALM COAST, FL – November 9, 2015 – As reported in the Orlando Business Journal, a 24/7 Wall St. study ranked Palm…

‘The LOT Heard Round the World’ – Million Dollar House on Wrong Lot Conundrum Resolved Peacefully Once the two parties got past the expected legal jousting, the homeowner’s bank became the stumbling block. A flood insurance issue prevented the bank from approving a simple lot swap transaction. By Toby Tobin PALM COAST, Fla. – August…

By all measures, the Flagler County and Palm Coast real estate market is strong. The numbers are simply too good. All indicators headed in the right direction. Buzz on the street indicates no slowdown By Toby Tobin PALM COAST, FL – July 8, 2015 – The Palm Coast and Flagler County real estate market is…

IRVINE, Calif. – June 2, 2015 – CoreLogic’s April 2015 Home Price Index (HPI) finds that home prices (including distressed sales) increased by 6.8 percent year-to-year in April 2015 compared with April 2014. It’s the 39th month in a row for year-to-year price increases. On a month-to-month basis, home prices nationwide increased 2.7 percent in…

ORLANDO, Fla. – May 21, 2015 – Florida’s housing market reported more closed sales, higher median prices, increased pending sales and more new listings in April, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Closed sales of existing single-family homes statewide totaled 25,206 last month, up 17.9 percent over April 2014. “Florida’s home…

NAPLES – May 12, 2015 – Florida tops the nation as the state with the highest percentage of single-family home flips, a new survey shows. Irvine, California-based research firm RealtyTrac said Thursday that 6.5 percent of all single-family home sales in the state were flips, defined as properties sold at least twice as part of…

WASHINGTON – April 29, 2015 – Pending home sales in March continued their recent momentum, rising for the third straight month and remaining at their highest level since June 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, climbed 1.1 percent to…

By Bob Koslow & Clayton Park Daytona Beach News Journal bob.koslow@news-jrnl.com clayton.park@news-jrnl.com Published: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 9:55 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 10:38 p.m. Sales of existing homes rose sharply in March in both Volusia and Flagler counties, while median prices in both counties also shot up, area Realtors associations…

WASHINGTON – April 20, 2015 – Formerly distressed homeowners with restored credit are re-entering the housing market. However, damaged credit profiles and lender overlays will greatly restrict the overall share of those eligible to buy, according to new research from the National Association of Realtors®. NAR expects Florida, along with California and Arizona, to see…

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – April 9, 2015 – The housing industry is slowly seeing the return of buyers like Rick LeBlanc, who lost his Michigan home to foreclosure during the financial crisis but now qualifies for a mortgage again. Mr. LeBlanc, a 46-year-old residential-construction manager, fell behind on his $1,400 monthly mortgage payments in 2007…

Report: Volusia-Flagler No. 3 in nation for rise in home asking prices By Clayton Park clayton.park@news-jrnl.com Published: Sunday, April 5, 2015 at 5:30 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, April 5, 2015 at 9:59 p.m. For the second month in a row, the Volusia-Flagler area is ranked among the top 10 metro areas in the nation for…

ORLANDO, Fla. – March 23, 2015 – Florida’s housing market reported more closed sales, higher median prices, increased pending sales and more new listings in February, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 18,701 last month, up 19 percent over February 2014. “Florida’s housing market…

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – March 16, 2015 – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested Louis Marvin Lewis, 47, on charges of organized scheme to defraud, 10 counts of grand theft, five counts of criminal use of personal identification, and 10 counts of criminal actions last Thursday. According to FDLE, Lewis fraudulently obtained abandoned houses…

McLEAN, Va. – March 12, 2015 – Fifty-four percent of Americans say that they believe getting a mortgage is easy – a record high number for Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey, which is a monthly poll of about 1,000 Americans’ attitudes toward the housing market. The February 2015 survey cites a strengthening employment sector and…

WASHINGTON – March 12, 2015 – A new survey released today suggests that concerns about younger buyers are overblown. They’re not “waiting in the wings” to buy a home – many are already owners or preparing to become one. The 2015 National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study, which evaluates…

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 10, 2015 – The number of online job openings in Florida reached an all-time high in February with a total of 292,249 openings (seasonally adjusted), according to data released by The Conference Board’s Help Wanted OnLine. Also in February, Florida’s consumer sentiment index was 94.7, up from the January 2015 index…

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – March 10, 2015 – Home buying confidence has improved over the last year, according to TD Bank’s third annual Mortgage Service Index. The survey finds that 30 percent of Americans consider now to be a very good time to purchase a home, compared with just 20 percent in 2014; 29 percent…

BOCA RATON, Fla. – March 10, 2015 – An index launched by professors at Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University attempts to answer one of the toughest questions American consumers face: Is it better to rent or buy a home in today’s housing market? The Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent (BH&J) Index…