Real estate firm says Orlando home prices forecast to increase

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A real estate research group reports that Orlando will lead the nation for home price increases in 2012. That's finally a bit of good news for what has been a sluggish market hit hard following the housing bubble with record foreclosures.

Orlando real estate agent Suzanne Tinkler is finishing up another 12 hour day. She is so busy listing and showing properties that she even recruited her husband out of retirement to lend her a hand.

"I'm in an office of 100 agents," said Tinkler who adds that everyone is busy. "There seems to be a surge in activity."

It wasn't surprising for Tinkler to learn that The City Beautiful home prices are forecast to jump 11.7 percent, according to California real estate firm Clear Capital. The company cites a decreasing number of foreclosures as the prime reason for its double-digit projections.

Not everyone sees such a rosy outlook for Orlando. Critics claim there is a "shadow inventory" of bank-owned properties here. These particular properties would not be listed, because they are still working their way through the court system.

Tinkler isn't buying that theory, however, based on what she has seen recently. "I think that when you go into a neighborhood, you can tell if a property is distressed, and I'm just not seeing that."