Foreclosures are at an ALL-TIME HIGH. In the 3rd quarter of this year 937,84 homes received a foreclosure letter. How do you put this in perspective? Well, that means that 1 in every 136 homes were in foreclosure. That's a 5% increase from the 2nd quarter. It's also a whopping 24% leap from this point in 2008! These numbers represent the worst 3 month stretch in terms of foreclosures ever. The foreclosure toll this year is reported to be 623,852 & climbing. Perhaps with these numbers on the rise, banks will begin being more cooperative with short-sales? Wouldn't that be rational? Either way, the real estate investors will be back in full-force to pick up REO properties & pre-foreclosures that are indeed priced to sell. Check out investing opportunities at MidFloridaREO.com.

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!

Existing home sales rose a whopping 7.2% in July to 5.24 million units. In June, there were 4.89 million units sold. This increase was the largest month-to-month gain in over 2 years! The percentage increase was the largest since 1999. This also marks 4 straight months that we have seen sales increases. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said, "The housing market has decisively turned for the better. A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales." Remember that the $8000 stimulus tax credit runs through November so act NOW!

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!

The mortgage delinquency rate, which is defined as the percentage of mortgage holders who are over 60 days or more late on their payments, rose for the tenth consecutive quarter (thru 2nd QTR, 2009). It is now at an all-time high of 5.81%. How should we put this figure in perspective? Well, that is an increase of 65% from the same time period last year. Nevada, Florida, California, & Arizona led the way with the highest foreclosure rates. North & South Dakota and Alaska had the lowest rates.

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your Lakeland Real Estate needs!

We have all heard that the demand for new home construction has shrunk due to home buyers targeting foreclosures & short sales rather than building new homes. Did you know, however, that the actual size of new homes is shrinking as well? I mean literally. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the median size of new homes has dropped to 2,065 square feet. This represents a 7% drop in size compared with this time last year. Most industry professionals attribute the reduction in home size to the economic downturn. "Home size gains flatten out or decline during recessions, and we're in the midst of the most serious housing recession in decades," said Kermit Baker, the chief economist for the American Institute of Architects.

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your Lakeland Real Estate needs!

TODAY, is August's version of First Friday & this month's theme is once again, the popular "Dog Days of Summer." For those of you that resemble your pooches, there is a dog/owner look-a-like contest. This contest will be held at FastFrame on South Kentucky Avenue. There will also be dog obedience skills competitions & training throughout the Downtown area.  

Other First Friday events:

• Local radio personality, Seth Mela from WLKF's Mayhem in the AM will be in Munn Park.
• The SOFA KINGS will be jamming at the Garden Bistro between 6 pm - 8 pm.
• Classic Car Show on Tennessee Avenue.
• Lofty Ideas will be handing out free bandanas for the canines and samples of Italian ice.
• Arts on the Park will have an art reception between 6 - 9 pm with the theme, "Long Days of Summer."
• Mitchell's Coffee House will be featuring the photography of Jose Ramos.

See you there!

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!

The Natiional Association of Realtors has reported that the pending home sales index rose again for the fifth consecutive month. It rose 3.6% (94.6 from 91.3) in June from May. The pending home sales index tracks signed home purchase contracts and is considered a leading indicator of activity. What is driving this upward momentum? Simply put, distress sales (like short-sales) & foreclosures continue to drive real estate prices downward to levels where buyers can no longer ignore the values. Most people consider this a "once in a lifetime" buyer's market. Let's look at some of the positives: record low interest rates, $8000 tax government credit, large selection of properties available for sale, & discounted property values. The time to buy is NOW!

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!

It appears that the wave of foreclosures is still building. Nationwide, there were 1.5 million foreclosures in the first half of 2009 alone. This represents an increase of 15% from last year.  Foreclosure filings increased an astounding 33% in June from the year prior. Nevada is still the clear leader in foreclosures. Their foreclosure rate for the first half of 2009 was well over 6%. Rounding out the top 5 were Arizona, Florida, California, and finally Utah.

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!

This month, our monthly First Friday celebration coincides with "Red, White & Kaboom!" So as usual, go to Munn Park and the adjoining areas for Downtown Lakeland's First Friday celebration beginning at 4 p.m., but make sure you stay for the fireworks . . . literally. Beginning around 6 p.m. you should make your way down to Lake Mirror & the Promenade. The popular local band, MillHopper will be playing music up until 9 p.m. when the fireworks are scheduled to begin. You can park in the city garages, as they will be open. There will be food & drink vendors during the festivities as well. See you there!

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!

I thought I'd pass this along since it's a great deal.  I've been working with this company as an alpha tester for the past several months.  I've been getting free virtual tours the entire time in exchange for letting them know about issues I've had with the website (which honestly there haven't been many). 

Now they are going into the Beta Testing phase and are offering virtual tours for only $1/month during the entire testing period plus free set-up (which I think is around $50/person).  All you have to do is let them know of any issues you have while using the site.  I think they are even offering a free lifetime subscription to the most active testers, but you'll have to check with them on that.  They are charging the $1 to test their billing system to make sure it works right. 

One of the best things about Snap Tours is that they have the ability to convert your virtual tours to video.  I've been using that feature a lot and posting my listings on YouTube and even downloading them to my iPod to show customers when I'm out and away from my computer.  I think you can download the videos onto any mobile video device, but you'd need to check with them.

If you're interested in signing up to be a beta tester, go to www.mysnaptours.com and click on the link that says "Sign Up Now."  I think they are only accepting a limited number of testers (otherwise they'd be giving away free services to half of the Realtor community), so go on there today if you're interested.  Use the code NEWBETA in the promo code area to get the deal.  Good luck!

Sales of new construction homes fell 0.6% in May from April. The median home sales price was $212,600 in April, but rose to $221,600 in May. Meanwhile inventories of these new homes continue to fall to 292,000 units for the month of May. If sales were to hold at their current pace, it would take approximately 10 months to completely clear out the inventory of unsold homes. Builders have experienced intense competition & pressure from the sale of distressed properties & foreclosure that drive prices down, overall.

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!