It seems that the state of Florida has the largest shadow inventory of unsold bank owned properties. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has recently released its shadow inventory estimates. The report shows that the Sunshine State topped the list of places with the highest number of unsold REOs. The states of California and Illinois, on the other hand, followed in second and third places, respectively. What is the primary reason for the growth of shadow inventories in the country? Read Bob’s post to find out.

According to recent reports, Washington D.C.’s real estate market is “on fire” right now but is it really advisable for real estate investors to take a shot at this hot market? Jeff Brown of BawldGuy.com provides an answer to this question as he shares his honest assessment on D.C.’s housing market in his latest post. He says although properties in the U.S. capital are fetching high selling and rental prices, it doesn’t necessarily mean that investors should just jump right in and start snapping up properties in the area. Why does he say so? Read Jeff’s article to find out.

As a real estate investor, it is also important to keep yourself updated on the latest issues and to know what’s happening around you. After all, all of us, investor or not, will be affected by the decisions and the actions made by industry and political leaders. In his newest blog entry, Joe Stampone of AStudentOfTheRealEstateGame.com shares some insights into the latest buzz in the world of real estate investing today. Find out what the global leaders have to say about the real estate industry in general by reading his post now.

It looks like fewer people are interested in buying new homes nowadays. Citing data from the Department of Commerce, Chad Emerson of BawldGuy.com reveals that new home sales dropped by 16.7%. Although the economy grew by 2.9%, overall sales of newly constructed homes for this month was said to be the lowest in years. Take a look at Chad’s article to learn more.

If you’re looking for a great place to make real estate investments, should you consider Dayton, Ohio? According to Jeff Brown of BawldGuy.com, no, you shouldn’t. Considering the current economic and financial situation in the city, he believes that investing in the local real estate market for your retirement isn’t exactly a bright idea. Why does he think so? Read Jeff’s article to find out.

Although farmlands weren’t affected that much by the real estate crisis, Cory Boatright of ShortSaleFundamentals.com believes that we should start drawing up measures to prevent farmers from ending up like distressed homeowners and families who lost their properties to banks and lenders. He says there have been signs of “farmland bubbles” in certain parts of the country as prices of agricultural real estate are considerably higher than before. Although there is no clear indication that farmland bubbles will burst anytime soon, he says we should think of something that will prevent such a catastrophe. Check out Cory’s post to read the rest of his blog entry.

It seems that the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, has made errors with regards to its monthly real estate statistics. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, NAR has admitted that some of its monthly statistics, particularly those concerning existing home sales, may be exaggerated. If this is indeed the case, it means that there are more unsold houses than what was previously thought. Check out the Bob’s latest post to read the rest of his article.

It seems that mortgage interest rates will remain below the 6% mark throughout 2011. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, Freddie Mac has predicted that interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will remain within the 5% to 5.5% threshold this year because of the “mixed unemployment picture.” In addition, the government-sponsored enterprise believes that home sales are likely to slow down this year but will show a significant improvement over 2010. Read on to learn more.

If you’re thinking of investing in the Californian city of San Diego, you should definitely check out Tom Tarrant’s post on TomTarrant.com. According to him, although San Diego was his hometown, he finds it challenging to penetrate the local housing market after moving from San Antonio, Texas. There are many potentially profitable properties in the city but the problem is, the competition is quite stiff, Tom reveals. Take a look at Tom’s newest blog entry to learn more about the San Diego real estate market.

Despite the growing number of households with underwater mortgages, it seems that when it comes to personal finances homeowners still fare better than those who rent houses. Citing a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com reports that the net worth of homeowners is 41 times bigger than that of renters. He adds that the value of homeowners’ property contributes a large chunk to their overall net worth. Read the rest of Bob’s post to learn more.

Foreclosure activities slowed down in January from a year ago as the number of households that receive default notices fell during the same period. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, RealtyTrac statistics have shown that although foreclosure filings climbed by 1% from December 2010 to January, they declined by 17% from last year. He adds that only 75,178 homeowners received default notices last month. The figure was said to be the smallest since July 2007. Read the rest of Bob’s article to learn more.

Because of a huge drop in home values, more and more households are having underwater mortgages. Citing data from Zillow.com, Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com reveals that the percentage of single-family homes with underwater mortgages jumped from 23.2% to 27% in the fourth quarter of 2010. According to him, a report from Zillow has shown that home values declined by 5.9% during the same period from 2009 and many experts believe that home values will further decline by 5% this year. Check out Bob’s post to read the rest of his story.

Good news for home buyers. It seems that buying properties is more practical than renting houses nowadays. According to Bob Massey of REWealthCoach.com, Trulia.com CEO Pete Flint has revealed that it is now cheaper to buy than rent homes in 72% of the 50 largest housing markets in the country. According to Flint, the cost of rentals has increased as more and more households are choosing to rent houses. Find out which cities have lots of cheap houses for sale by checking out Bob’s post.