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Dick Hogan | “Lee County’s housing market got a double dose of good news Thursday as July foreclosures dove to the lowest level in more than six years while new home permits stayed strong. Even with Fort Myers Beach statistics not available, builders throughout the county pulled 247 permits for single-family homes — nearly as manyRead more

wftv.com | “Facing one of the largest backlogs of foreclosures in the state, central Florida’s Ninth Circuit Court has cleared 41 percent of its backlog since June 2012. However, new numbers obtained by Eyewitness News show the court entered May 2013 with 28,000 cases still pending and another 1,000 new cases filed every month. AddRead more

Robert Trigaux | Times Business Columnist | “Consumer ripoffs, scams and disputes are alive, well and changing as the nation emerges from recession, consumer protection experts said Tuesday. “There is a boundless creativity of scammers to find new ways to fleece consumers,” warns Susan Grant, the Consumer Federation of America’s director of consumer protection. Unlicensed contractingRead more

By Erika Engle | “Total foreclosures in the U.S. in June were down to 55,000 from 68,000, or nearly 20 percent in June of 2012, according to analytics firm CoreLogic. Prior to the 2007 housing market decline, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month between 2000 and 2006, the company said. Hawaii was among the five statesRead more

Lisa Mahapatra | International Business Times | “A total of 55,000 foreclosures were completed in June, a 20 percent decline from a year earlier, according to a just-released report from CoreLogic , a financial services and analytics firm. The number of distressed homes have fallen for 19 consecutive months, as have the number of homes that are seriouslyRead more

CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | AP | BayNews9 | In this Tuesday, June 11, 2013, photo, a single house is offered for sale in Santa Monica, Calif. Sandard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller reports on home prices in May on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) “U.S. home prices jumped 12.2 percent in May compared with a yearRead more

Francys Vallecillo | World Property Channel | “The number of completed foreclosures in the U.S. decreased 20 percent in June from the same time last year, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. The data also showed positive signs for the foreclosure inventory in the U.S. In June, there were about one million homes inRead more

Michael Braga | Herald-Tribune | “Golden Key Properties, a Rotonda West company managed by Andreas Kirchbeger, bought a 44,317-square-foot office condo complex at 942 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte out of foreclosure for $3 million. The property previously belonged to CDR of Southwest Florida LLC, a Port Charlotte company managed by Dean R. DeGross andRead more

Leah Schnurr | Reuters “Lenders completed fewer U.S. foreclosures in June than they did a year ago, while the number of properties sitting in the foreclosure pipeline also decreased as the housing market continued to improve, data from CoreLogic showed on Tuesday. There were 55,000 foreclosures finished last month, down from 68,000 in June of last year,Read more

“HARP Mortgage Lenders, a national network of mortgage professionals who are approved for the Home Affordable Refinance Program , reported that recent Florida foreclosure rates are improving, but some counties are still swimming in waves of foreclosures and HARP 2.0 may just be the solution to their problem. According to RealtyTrac (the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties and real estateRead more