By LAURA LAYDEN Naples News
Foreclosure activity slowed in Lee County in August.  In Collier County, it increased a bit.
A report by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac shows 4,133 foreclosure related filings — or one for every 88 households _ last month in Lee. That was down more than 26 percent from July.
In Collier, there were 1,137 filings, or [...]

Florida Weekly
Bill and Caryn Schuman requested one thing for their residence in Bay Colony. Sure, they were sold on 18th floor views of the rolling green of Pelican Bay Golf Course to the east and calm waters along the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The 3,500-square-foot-condo was dreamy and spacious.
What grounded the purchase and [...]

By J.W. ELPHINSTONE, AP Real Estate Writer
Home prices posted their first quarterly increase in three years, signaling the housing market has turned a corner.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller’s U.S. National Home Price Index released Tuesday rose nearly 3 percent from the first quarter to 133, though that reading is still down almost 15 percent from the [...]

BY DON MANLEY • News Press • AUGUST 23, 2009
The picture may be brightening for sales of high-end houses in Lee County.
That market segment, homes priced at $1 million or more, hasn’t seen the same sales burst this year as abodes priced at $500,000 or less. But Realtors and developers say they’ve seen an upswing [...]

The lowest rates since 2005 may be on tap in 2010 for the typical Florida Power & Light Co. customer. FPL announced Thursday that it expects the typical 1,000-kilowatt-hour residential-customer bill to drop next year by about $9 a month, from about $109 to $100. The decrease is subject to approval by Florida’s Public [...]

Courtesy of Herald Tribune
At least the market for new homes is not getting worse, and that is the first step to getting better.
In fact, the overall economy is actually getting a small boost as more buyers walk into model houses ready to sign contracts and builders hire workers to pour foundations.
Construction of single-family homes rose [...]

By Harold Bubil Herald Tribune
The dramatic decline in housing values, as well as the value of other investments, has made meeting household budgets particularly vexing for retiree homeowners.
For those who are cash-poor but still house rich — that is, they owe little or nothing on mortgages — reverse mortgages can be the answer. Instead of paying [...]

BY TINA GIUFRE  News Press
Realtors have been saying it for a long time: Now is the time to buy. Buyers looking for Gulf-access properties are finding them these days at bargain-basement prices.
Paula Kiker, broker of Lahaina Realty in Fort Myers Beach, recently sold a beachfront, two-bedroom, two-bath unit with under-building parking at Seaside condominium for [...]

Contributed by Angie’s List
Staging a home for sale used to be considered a luxury. Now, many real estate agents consider it a necessity. The continuing slump in housing has given buyers plenty of options — making it increasingly important to have your house looking its most dapper.
Follow these tips:
1. Screen appeal trumps curb appeal. Nearly [...]

The Aurora Awards are presented each year to builders, developers, architects, planners, interior merchandisers, landscape architects and other disciplines actively involved in projects in a 12-state southeastern region plus the Caribbean who have demonstrated building and design excellence.
This year’s winners were selected from among 80 categories by a panel of industry experts and were honored [...]