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        <title>Sarasota Real Estate - Waterfront and Luxury Homes in Florida Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/national-market-update/</link>
        <description>Sarasota Real Estate and Community News Blog by Bryan Guentner of REMAX Platinum Realty in Sarasota and Venice Florida</description>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/pending-home-sales-jump-6-in-the-sarasota-real-estate-market-in-october-2011.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/pending-home-sales-jump-6-in-the-sarasota-real-estate-market-in-october-2011.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>Pending Home Sales Jump 6% in the Sarasota Real Estate Market in October 2011</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes jumped in October to the highest level in a year.&nbsp; The gain follows three months of declines so is not enough to signal a housing recovery.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday its index of sales agreements rose 10.4% last month to a reading of 93.3.

Pending sales in Sarasota and Manatee counties totaled 1,207 in October, up 6% from a year ago and 4.4% from September.

This information is from the Herald Tribune.

D... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:40:05 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/florida-leads-top-10-cities-for-home-list-price-increases.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/florida-leads-top-10-cities-for-home-list-price-increases.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>Florida Leads Top 10 Cities for Home List Price Increases</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Florida communities, including the Sarasota real estate market and Charlotte County-North Port, dominated a list of the 10 cities that have seen the largest percentage increase in median list prices when comparing September with a year earlier.

The list from the National Association of Realtors speaks to the lack of available properties on the low end of the market; to the growing number of high-end owners getting off the fence and trying to sell; and perhaps to seller's confidence about what ... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:17:20 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/southwest-florida-makes-list-of-recession-resistant-areas.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/southwest-florida-makes-list-of-recession-resistant-areas.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>Southwest Florida makes list of recession-resistant areas</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Forbes named the Sarasota real estate market on its list of &quot;America's Recession-Resistant Cities For Real Estate.&quot;&nbsp; To real estate professionals and other observers in Southwest Florida, there has been a clear stabilization in pricing for 2011. Admittedly, that has happened during a sizeable drop in the supply of distressed properties because of the robo-signing crisis.

Teaming up with Zillow.com, the real estate analysis site, Forbes calculated median sales prices by quarter f... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:16:12 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/government-lowers-maximum-amount-for-freddie-fannie-and-fha-loans.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/government-lowers-maximum-amount-for-freddie-fannie-and-fha-loans.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>Government lowers maximum amount for Freddie, Fannie and FHA loans</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Starting Oct. 1, home buyers seeking government-insured mortgages will have to pick lower-priced houses if they want the federal government to back the loans.&nbsp; Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration are lowering the maximum loan amounts that the agencies will guarantee in more than 850 counties in the United States.

The new limits were supposed to take effect in January 2009, but the economic downturn led Congress to delay the implementation. 

In the Sarasota real... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:17:22 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/floridas-existing-home-and-condo-sales-rise-in-may-2011.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/floridas-existing-home-and-condo-sales-rise-in-may-2011.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>Florida&#8217;s Existing Home and Condo Sales Rise in May 2011</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Florida's existing home and existing condo sales rose in May, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors&reg;. Existing home sales increased 3 percent last month with a total of 17,228 homes sold statewide compared to 16,790 homes sold in May 2010, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide sales of existing condos last month rose 17% compared to the year-ago sales figure.Twelve of Florida's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales in May; 14... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:17:58 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/sarasota-real-estate-market-bucks-the-trend.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/sarasota-real-estate-market-bucks-the-trend.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>Sarasota Real Estate Market Bucks the Trend!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Home prices in the United States posted their largest decline during the first three months of this year than any time since 2008, according to Zillow Inc., the Seattle-based real estate data provider. 
The Sarasota real estate bucked that trend, however, with communities collectively showing a flat performance when compared with the fourth quarter and rising 0.1 percent in March when compared with the previous month, Zillow's report showed.

Stand-outs for appreciation in the quarterly comparis... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2011 11:21:13 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/sarasota-real-estate-of-sales-up-11-in-august.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/sarasota-real-estate-of-sales-up-11-in-august.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>Sarasota Real Estate # of Sales up 11% in August</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Sales of single-family homes in the Sarasota real estate market were up 11 percent in August and inventories of unsold homes were down, the median price continued to fall.&nbsp; But with sales rising and inventories shrinking, the laws of supply and demand dictate that prices should rise and not fall. 
Market watchers contacted by the Herald-Tribune put the blame on the new waves of foreclosures hitting the market and out-of-rhythm pricing strategies deployed by banks tasked with selling distres... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:42:37 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/is-now-a-good-time-to-buy-sarasota-real-estate-yes-even-if-prices-continue-to-drop.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/is-now-a-good-time-to-buy-sarasota-real-estate-yes-even-if-prices-continue-to-drop.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>IS NOW A GOOD TIME TO BUY SARASOTA REAL ESTATE?  YES, EVEN IF PRICES CONTINUE TO DROP!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ And here is why.....I know prices are still dropping in some areas, but is this a good time to buy?&nbsp; The answer is a resounding YES.&nbsp; If you bought a $400,000 dollar home (for the purpose of illustration obtained a $320,000 loan) and that house drops 10% in the next year, the math is easy.&nbsp; You just lost $40,000.&nbsp; BUT - and this is a big BUT - if you obtained a loan today for that house at 4.25% and if that same loan in one year costs 6%, then the difference in payment is a l... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:55:27 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/did-i-mess-up-by-missing-the-obama-tax-credit-no.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/did-i-mess-up-by-missing-the-obama-tax-credit-no.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>DID I MESS UP BY MISSING THE OBAMA TAX CREDIT?  NO!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
At the end of April (when the tax credit expired) the interest rate was hovering around 6% versus about 4.25% now.&nbsp; That means that if you took out a loan for $320,000, in April your loan would be $320,000 @ 6% = $1918 versus now $320,000 @ 4.25% = $1918, for a difference of $344 every month.&nbsp; Over 30 years, that difference is a whopping $123,840!

Despite what you read and see, homes ARE selling.&nbsp; Our team has been having a stellar year selling lots of homes for our sellers and ... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:54:30 -0500</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/us-home-prices-showed-improvement-in-may.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.waterfrontlifestyle.com/blog/us-home-prices-showed-improvement-in-may.html</link>
            <author>bryanguentner@gmail.com (Bryan Guentner)</author>
            <title>U.S. HOME PRICES SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN MAY</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Home prices rose in May for the second straight month as federal tax incentives pulled more buyers into the market.&nbsp; The Standard &amp; Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday posted a 1.3 percent increase in May from April.

Nineteen of 20 cities showed price gains month over month. Minneapolis and Atlanta led the way with 2.8 percent and 2 percent increases, respectively. San Diego posted its 13th straight monthly gain.

Only Las Vegas recorded a price decline. That... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:04:26 -0500</pubDate>
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