Lakeland Real Estate ... News, Real Estate Tips.. Gate Arty

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey reports that commercial mortgage loan originations continued to drop in the first quarter of 2009. At this point, they are an astounding 70% lower than during the same period in 2008, and down 26% from the fourth quarter of 2008. The 70% o...

April was a huge month for foreclosures. RealtyTrac, an internet foreclosure marketing website, reported that 1 in every 374 homes in the United States received foreclosure filings in April. Foreclosures spiked an overwhelming 32% in April. An astounding 10 states accounted for 75% of all the for...

Shopping for a home & not familiar with how safe the neighborhood is for your family? Central Florida's premier real estate website, gatearty.com, has unveiled a NEW feature. The new Crime Tracker link offers up an overview map with records of criminal activity. This handy tool even allows you to...

Lake Mirror & its Promenade are considered the crown jewel of historic Downtown Lakeland. This community recreation area was the vision of Tom Appleyard, the manager of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce in the early 1920s. Charles W. Leavitt, the noted New York landscape architect, eventually brou...

Lakeland has long been known for its appreciation of public art projects. Two such projects are the "Swansation Art Project" and the "Kaleidoscope Butterflies in Flight." The intent of both projects were centered around civic awareness with the swan art benefiting local non-profits & the kaleidos...

With Mayfaire by-the-Lake a mere week away, I thought I would blog about the site of this annual event. Picturesque Lake Morton is the beautiful backdrop of this event every Mother's Day weekend, but it's also a place to go to simply relax & enjoy the scenery. Although it is named Lake Morton, fo...

Friday, May 1st mark's the First Friday celebration in Downtown Lakeland. This month's theme is Public Works. This week is National Public Works Week. Munn Park will be filled with displays from the various public works divisions:  · Fleet Management · Engineering · Solid Waste · Parking · Traffi...

If you have tried to drop by the Polk Museum of Art, Mister Fish restaurant, Lakeland Public Library, or anywhere near that spot around Lake Morton lately, you would have noticed a lot of hustle & bustle. Well it seems like Hollywood has got its eyes firmly fixated on Lakeland & its many pictures...

It was a case of good news  . . . bad news for local builders in Polk County when we review their March 2009 numbers. The good news? Well, the month of March marked their peak for the entire year. The total permits were 102 which was up from 89 in February and 80 in January. The 102 permits repre...

Lakeland's  35th annual Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In wraps up this weekend on Sunday the 26th at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. Sun 'n Fun brings people together from all over the world for a unique interactive aviation experience. Last year, it was reported that Sun 'n Fun hosted more than 1,300 interna...