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Francys Vallecillo | World Property Channel “The median price for Florida’s existing single-family homes sold in October was 16.6 percent higher than last year, marking the 23rd consecutive month of yearly price increases, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median sales price for single-family homes reached $169,000 in October. The median price for townhomes/condos reachedRead more

Alyssa Gerace | Reverse Mortgage | “On Tuesday, Florida will reportedly announce a new program aimed reverse mortgage borrowers in the state who have defaulted on their loans after struggling to remain current on their taxes and insurance. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation is introducing the Elderly Mortgage Assistance Program as part of its $1 billion Hardest Hit Fund. It’sRead more

By Josh Salman | Herald-Tribune | “Florida’s $1 billion program to help prevent foreclosures in the wake of the housing crisis continues to diversify. The Florida Housing Finance Corp. announced Tuesday it would earmark $25 million of its Hardest-Hit Fund to help elderly homeowners with reverse mortgages. The agency says the new program will help recession-battered FloridiansRead more

CHARLENE CROWELL | NNPA | “With the annual holiday season approaching, many across the country will soon be celebrating with families and loved ones. Many such gatherings will toast the season and its blessings. But for families still troubled by delinquent mortgages and foreclosures, this time of year has another meaning. These consumers are wonderingRead more

Prashant Gopal | Bloomberg | “The share of U.S. mortgages that are seriously delinquent fell to a five-year low as job gains help borrowers keep up on payments while rising home prices enable others to sell. The percentage of home loans that were more than 90 days behind or in the foreclosure process fell to 5.65 percent in theRead more

Reuters | “There were 51,000 completed foreclosures last month, down from 84,000 in September, 2012. Foreclosures are completed when a home is either seized by the lender or sold at auction. There were also 51,000 foreclosures in August. Between 2000 and 2006 and before the housing market’s downturn in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 perRead more

JUNE FLETCHER | Scripps Howard News Service | “Steven and Janet Sparker never planned to leave the house they purchased in 2006 in Golden Gate Estates in the southwest section of Florida. But when Janet, 57, lost her six-figure job, and the home’s value fell by more than half from the $585,000 they had paidRead more

Charles Billi | WTSP | “Thanks to new flood insurance legislation, the watch word in real estate is “panic.” Panic if you’re a real estate investor, agent, buyer or seller- thanks to skyrocketing premiums. We’ve seen the Pinellas County meetings in the past few weeks packed with frightened residents. Now, more concern arises at an informationRead more

by MortgageOrb.com| “The national mortgage delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) increased 4.23% in September to reach 6.46% of all mortgages, according to Lender Processing Services’ (LPS) First Look Mortgage Report, which covers about 70% of the U.S. housing market. Still, the delinquency rate for September was down 12.63%Read more

Newsroom America Staff | “CoreLogic says there were 48,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in August of 2013, down from 72,000 in August 2012, a year-over-year decrease of 34 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures increased 1.3 percent, from 47,000 in July 2013. Overall residential shadow inventory, as of July 2013, was 1.9 millionRead more