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Existing home sales rise in March, says NAR ORLANDO, Fla. – April 20, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales rose in March, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 12 percent last month with a total of 18,522 homes sold statewide compared to 16,540 homes sold in March 2010, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of existing condos last month rose 24 percent compared to the year-ago sales figure. Seventeen of... Read Full Story

NEW YORK – April 15, 2011 – Cash buyers are flooding the real estate market in record numbers to take advantage of bargain housing prices. But these buyers may put consumers who need financing at a disadvantage. Sellers often prefer cash deals because it can mean faster closings and transactions that are less likely to fall through. Some sellers are even accepting lower offers because they are from cash buyers than higher offers from a financing buyer just because they view it as a more... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON – April 14, 2011 – Buyers purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned home may receive up to 3.5 percent of the final sales price for closing cost assistance if they close before June 30, 2011. Offers previously submitted (before April 11) do not qualify, and the offer is not extended to investors – buyers must use the home as their primary residence. All Fannie Mae-owned HomePath properties are listed on HomePath.com and most include detailed property descriptions, photographs, community and... Read Full Story

The Florida Housing Finance Corp. announced Tuesday it is expanding the federal Hardest Hit Fund statewide. The $1 billion fund will help eligible homeowners make mortgage payments for up to 6 months. Homeowners must be unemployed or their housing cost must be 31 percent or more than their income. Delinquent homeowners who are now able to start making payments could also get help getting current on their loans. First announced on Feb. 19, 2010, by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the... Read Full Story

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – April 5, 2011 – More investors are finding a sweet spot in flipping foreclosures , but it’s not the same type of house flipping seen during the real estate boom. During the housing boom, investors would take advantage of skyrocketing real estate prices and loose lending regulations by buying a property, remodeling and then selling it for profit. Today’s flippers buy at ultra-low prices – mostly in cash deals – and do mostly minor repairs, such as repainting, replacing... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON – March 30, 2011 – The market share of vacation - and investment-home sales held steady in 2010, although the sales volume declined with the overall market, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). NAR’s 2011 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, covering existing- and new-home transactions in 2010, shows vacation-home sales accounted for 10 percent of transactions last year while the portion of investment sales was 17 percent – both unchanged from 2009... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON – March 29, 2011 – Pending home sales increased in February but with notable regional variations, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator, rose 2.1 percent to 90.8, based on contracts signed in February, from 88.9 in January. The index is 8.2 percent below 98.9 recorded in February 2010. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months... Read Full Story

MIAMI – March 23, 2011 – Vacation home and condominium sales in Florida, Hawaii and other states hit hard by the housing downturn have posted dramatic gains. In Miami, existing condo sales surged 58 percent during the year-over-year period ended in February; and statewide, condo and single-family home sales climbed 29 percent and 13 percent, respectively, due to low property prices and mortgage rates. About 50 percent of these sales were cash purchases, and about 70 percent involved... Read Full Story

CAMPBELL, Calif. – March 22, 2011 – Inexperienced first-time buyers may not know if the time is right to make a move into real estate. “It’s not about timing the market. It’s about time in the market,” says Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer at Move Inc., the online company that oversees operation of Realtor.com . “Once you know how long you expect to own a home , look at the historical value performance of properties in the neighborhood. Be confident about your own job security... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON – March 21, 2011 – New Census data show that Florida has registered its seventh consecutive decade of double-digit population growth. While the nation as a whole grew by 9.7 percent, the number of Sunshine State residents surged 17.6 percent as 2.8 million more people put down stakes here from between 2000 and 2010. Demographers noted that Florida’s minority populations increased as well, with the number of Hispanics and African Americans swelling by 57.4 percent and 15.2 percent... Read Full Story