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FHA: New government data shows that claims on FHA mortgage insurance, which is backed by the government to prevent foreclosures, rose by 61 percent last year compared to five years ago. These payoffs allowed more than six in 10 homeowners who defaulted on FHA-insured loans to stay in their homes.Read the full story:http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n5-042808.cfm

HOME SALES
Florida Realtors statewide reported slight gains in existing home and condominium sales from February to March 2008, according to FAR's latest housing statistics. A total of 9,142 existing single-family homes changed hands in March, a 10 percent increase over the previous month. Statewide existing condo sales totaled 3,145 in March, up 13.7 percent compared to February's sales.Read the full story:http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n1-042208.cfm

Lake City among country’s hottest markets
Magazine rates area as No. 47 for doing business.
By TROY ROBERTS
www.lakecityreporter.com

Lake City was named one of the top 100 small business markets in the south — coming in at No. 47 — in the April issue of Southern Business and Development magazine.Lake City was second on the list in the state of Florida behind Palm Coast.

This is the second time in the past decade that Lake City has been named one of the top small business markets by this magazine, said Jim Poole, executive director of the Lake City-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce.“This is based on the number of actual deals or company locations within your community that has created a minimum of 200 jobs,” Poole said.

He said the scoring is done during the course of a five-year time frame, and new industries in Lake City such as Hunter Panels, New Millennium Building Systems, U.S. Cold Storage and Target helped Lake City place on the list again.Ranking businesses east of Texas and south of West Virginia, the magazine ranked communities similar in size to Lake City, Poole said, and noted that many of the communities were larger than Lake City and very few, if any, were actually smaller.

Lake City being named to the list could help future expansion, Poole said, as companies looking to relocate into the South or into Florida will see Lake City’s high ranking.

“The last time (we were named to the list), it definitely helped us because people began to realize where we were, and began to look and see who is here and what’s happening and why this community was emerging,” he said.“I think that will continue,” Poole said.

“The magazine goes out to site developers, company locators, people looking for new locations for businesses; when they go through the businesses on the list, they’ll see how well we did within the state and southern markets.”

PENDING HOME SALESNAR released its pending home sales and outlook this morning, with Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicting little change over the next few months followed by an upswing in sales in the second half of the year.Read the full story:http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n5-040808.cfm

Canadians, especially those who live in U.S. border areas, are snapping up vacation homes in the U.S. as the Canadian dollar gains value against the declining American dollar. According to NAR, the largest number of Canadians head to Florida, with California ranking second.Read the full story:http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n2-040808.cfm

Title: 5 Tips for Buying a Home in a Down Market
URL: http://www.bankaholic.com/2008/buying-home-down-market/

MARKET WATCH: GAINESVILLEIn Gainesville, some positive signs have recently emerged about median home prices and existing home sales. "I think we're heading in the right direction," says Craig McCall, president-elect of the Gainesville Alachua County Association of Realtors. More buyers, McCall says, are beginning to look at properties, and agents are starting to receive more offers.Read the full story:http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n2-040108.cfm __________________________