Cape Coral Real Estate Blog

WASHINGTON – Colorado State University researchers have upped the number of named storms and hurricanes for this year.

The forecast team announced today they anticipate 17 named storms that will include nine hurricanes. Five of those hurricanes are likely to be intense or major hurricanes, measuring 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of 111 m.p.h. or greater

Filings in the U.S. were up 47% in March from a year ago, leaving a wake of vacant homes and overgrown yards for state and local governments to contend with. Even lenders are trying to help troubled borrowers.

The number of foreclosure filings -- from default notices to repossessions -- continued to surge in March, increasing 47% from the same period a year earlier and 7% from February. The 149,150 filings represent a foreclosure rate of one in every 775 households, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

The March increase in foreclosures bucks the historical trend, lenders say. Typically, foreclosure activity declines in March, as more homeowners use tax refunds to bail themselves out of mortgage shortfalls caused by job loss, health problems or divorce.

But this year, industry insiders and economists expect it only to get worse, as more adjustable-rate mortgages reset and borrowers with risky loans continue to falter.

"I don't think we've hit the bottom of the market yet," says Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac vice president. "We should see at least one more short-term spike," as more subprime loans continue to go into default.

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http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourHome/12waysToSaveOnHomeownersInsurance.aspx

In the article, ""How bad will the 2007 housing market be?", economists are expecting slight increases in home prices nationwide in '07, though foreclosures are expected to rise and housing starts are expected to decline. What do you expect to happen in the 2007 real estate market? What emerging trends are you already seeing in your neck of the woods? Are homes in your area taking a lot longer to sell or are bidding wars among buyers still occurring?