SUBPRIME LOANS – Wall Street’s money and expertise may have helped transform subprime lending into a major force in the U.S. financial markets. But, with foreclosures on the rise and the current subprime loan meltdown, many critics say that Wall Street firms threw too much money at the market, giving lenders a growing incentive to push through shaky loans and mislead borrowers.
In the month of June, Lee County had 926 foreclosure filings – of that number 26 were in the Bonita Springs Fl real estate market and 15 were in the Estero real estate market.
In the month of June, Collier County had 200 foreclosure filings – of that number 33 were in Naples zip code 34120 (northern Golden Gate Estates), 21 were in zip code 34117 (also southern Golden Gate Estates), and 20 were in 34116 (Golden Gate City). It is also interesting that 190 of the foreclosures were less than one year from the date of closing.
FLORIDA HOUSING AFFORDABILITY – There’s good and bad news for Floridians in NAHB’s latest housing affordability index: No Florida cities rank as most affordable for housing but neither do they rank as least affordable.
CREDIT SCORES – With foreclosures on the rise, lenders are tightening their qualifying standards for home loans. At the same time, higher interest rates mean that even qualified borrowers are likely to pay more for a mortgage. For buyers, keeping their credit score in good shape is more important than ever.