MORTGAGES – So if the Fed keeps lowering interest rates, why don’t fixed mortgage rates drop more? Blame the investors who buy packages of mortgages on Wall Street. Those who are buying packages of mortgages are looking to recover their losses from mortgages which have fallen into short sales or foreclosure. In addition, to investors – you are look at the banks. For potential buyers of Naples, Bonita Springs or Estero real estate might find a better terms or interest rates by checking out some of the smaller local banks.

2008 FLORIDA LEGISLATURE – The tax cut that voters will be asked to approve in November will do more than save property owners money. It will force lawmakers to do what they have refused to do for nearly 70 years: modernize sales-tax rules.

POPULATION GROWTH – Collier County (Naples) had a population of 251,377 in 2000 and that population grew to 315,839 as of July 2007, a 25.6 percent increase.But between 2006 and 2007, Collier only grew from 313,167 people to 315,839, a percentage increase of 0.9 percent.

Lee County (includes the areas of Bonita Springs and Estero) grew by 33.9 percent from 440,888 in 2000 to 590,564 in 2007. Lee grew by 20,475 people between July 2006 and July 2007, adding more residents than any other Florida county.

Other Florida counties continue to grow but at a slower pace than some counties elsewhere in the nation. Flagler County continued to lead the state in the percentage of growth at 7.2 percent, though it dropped to sixth place nationwide. Broward County’s population fell by 13,000 over the one-year period.

SEX OFFENDERS – A Florida home buyer’s lawsuit claims he should have been told about a sexual predator living next door before the purchase, and attorneys for both sides agree that the court’s decision could establish a precedent in Florida, since the state has no existing statutes or existing case law. It’s a problem faced by a number of states.

HOME BUYERS – The attitudes of today’s buyers even though it’s a buyer’s market, citing the backlog of houses on the market, sellers report an increase in the number of buyers who are out of control. Some buyers browbeat them at every step in the process.