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ILYCE GLINK | Moneywatch | CBS News | “Throughout the housing crisis, short sales have generally been praised as a good deal for everyone: distressed homeowners get a chance to avoid foreclosure, banks recoup more money from the sale and buyers get a great deal. But it’s not all roses. In fact, in some areasRead more

Drew Harwell | Tampa Bay Times | “Tampa Bay home prices last month made their highest year-over-year jump since the housing boom, soaring 27 percent over July 2012 and reenergizing worries about a new bubble. The typical single-family home here sold last month for $172,000, the highest median price in five years, as buyers clawedRead more

Tim Mullaney | USA TODAY | “After years of being the USA’s foreclosure laughingstocks, Arizona and California now have better credit than the rest of us. That’s from an analysis released last week by Fannie Mae, which chronicled the performance of its $2.8 trillion loan portfolio. In states hit hardest by the housing bust — Arizona,Read more

Ashlyn Nelson | “U.S. housing markets may be emerging from the foreclosure crisis, but for many children, problems caused by the slide in home values haven’t ended. Foreclosure can have a lasting impact on children’s academic performance, says Ashlyn Aiko Nelson, an associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington. “WeRead more

Elizabeth Atkins | Eastern Morning Herald | “In the month of May 2013, foreclosure rates in Southwest Florida were down quite a bit, but not enough to prevent the area from having one of the highest foreclosure rates in the United States. Data analysis firm CoreLogic’s statistics released recently show that the foreclosure rate inRead more

Donna Gehrke-White | Sun Sentinel | “The Plantation company that handles Broward and Miami-Dade’s online foreclosure auctions and Palm Beach County‘s tax lien sales declared bankruptcy after it was ordered to put up a $4.3 million bond to fight a $8.1 million jury award to its archrival for software patent infringement. On Friday, a U.S. bankruptcy judge in FortRead more

by Kim Miller | “The goliath air conditioning system in the Palm Beach County courthouse is chugging full tilt as the temperature nears 90-degrees outside and, up on the fourth floor, the foreclosure court sign-in line grows. It’s been more than five years since Florida was rocked by the housing crisis, three years since theRead more

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

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