Florida

Home sales in Northeast Florida perked up in March after a slow start to the year while prices also increased, according to the latest report from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.

Foreclosure timelines that rose notably each quarter during the past year fell back to 2016 levels during the first quarter of 2018.

Home prices in the Tampa Bay area continue to climb, and once again the price jumps were due to the scant supply of moderately priced homes.

Last year, Brett Buras and a partner scored big on a flip. They bought a house in Belleair Bluffs for $185,000, spent another $70,000 or so on renovations and sold it for $359,000 — a net profit of $104,000.

Metro Orlando recently ranked third nationally for its shortage of rentals that are affordable enough for the region's lowest-income residents, a new study shows.

A new settlement with Massachusetts resolves all outstanding administrative actions against Ocwen Financial Corp. by a group of 30 states, but two states' legal actions against the servicer remain outstanding.

There was a modest decline in hurricane-related delinquent mortgages in February, a sign that there are lingering problems in the affected markets.

Home equity levels increased year-to-year in the fourth quarter of 2017 following a larger-than-expected surge in home prices during the past year.

Increased numbers of homeowners in Orlando — and most of Florida — fell behind on mortgage payments late last year, bucking national trends.

Though early-stage mortgage delinquencies inched up in December 2017, the serious mortgage delinquency rate hit its lowest point for the month of December since 2006.