Blog

Florida Current Staff | “Florida once again led the nation in its foreclosure rate for the first six months the year, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, a California-based company that tracks foreclosed properties. The Sunshine State had one foreclosure filing — a default notice, scheduled auction or bank repossession — for every 58Read more

ILYCE GLINK / MONEYWATCH / “Starting this month, some lenders are offering certain homeowners loan modifications — without even being asked. Under a new plan created by the Federal Housing and Finance Administration, mortgage servicers must offer homeowners who are three to 24 months behind on their payments a plan to help them avoid foreclosure. The StreamlinedRead more

Josh Salman | Herald Tribune | “Lenders completed fewer foreclosures nationwide in May, but the rate of defaults continue to top recent years and the amount of distressed residences remains dangerously high, a new report shows. Mortgage bankers repossessed 52,000 delinquent U.S. homes in May, a 3.5 percent increase from April but down 27 percent fromRead more

TheRealDeal.com | “Tens of thousands of Florida homeowners have abandoned properties threatened by foreclosure, a dark spot in the Sunshine State’s otherwise brightening real estate market, the Palm Beach Post reported. About 55,000 Florida homes with defaulted mortgages are deserted, nearly one third of the national total and more than triple second-place Illinois, which hasRead more

Cameron Davis | ThinkProgress | “The number of completed foreclosures in May was down 27 percent, to 50,000, compared to May of last year, analytics firm Core Logic reported Tuesday. One million homes remain in some stage of foreclosure, although that figure is down 29 percent from a year earlier. But while foreclosure rates are downRead more

SUZETTE PORTER | “Buying a home is a big deal. Whether it’s your first time or you feel like a seasoned pro, getting what you want at the best price means keeping your eye on the details from beginning to end. A lot of the process involves personal decisions, starting with what type of home youRead more

Heather Perlberg & John Gittelsohn | “Jonathan Gray, global head of real estate at Blackstone Group LP, talks about Blackstone’s investment in residential real estate and the outlook for the U.S. housing and commercial property market. He speaks with Erik Schatzker and Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers.” (Source: Bloomberg) The firm, which already ownsRead more

Reuters with CNBC.com | “Fewer U.S. foreclosures were completed in May compared to a year ago, while the number of houses in the foreclosure process also declined as the market continued to heal, data analysis firm CoreLogic said Tuesday. There were 52,000 foreclosures completed, well below the 71,000 in May 2012, CoreLogic said. Even so, thatRead more

Al Sunshine | Checks earmarked for thousands of Florida foreclosure victims are finally in the process of being sent out and hundreds of millions of additional dollars more are being earmarked for new housing programs statewide. Yet there is a growing debate about where most of the money is going and if foreclosure victims are reallyRead more

Martha Brannigan | Miami Herald “It is a condominium association’s version of winning the lotto. A big bank missed its deadline to file for foreclosure on a million-dollar condo unit by 10 days. As a result, Peninsula Condominium Association in Aventura will get to keep the condo — a fancy three-bedroom, three-bathroom bayfront pad thatRead more