A Friendly Reminder of the Importance of the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program and changes effective July 1, 2023 The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program makes homeownership affordable for eligible community workforce. This program provides down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time, income-qualified homebuyers so they can purchase a primary residence in the community in which they...
Commercial Real Estate (CRE). Keeping a list of the various struggles in CRE today. As they say, location location location. San Francisco has a problem right now but there are other locations as well. This week, Westfield and Brookfield Properties announced they had stopped making payments on a $558mn loan secured against San Francisco's sprawling downtown mall that they have owned since 2002, and...
Are you planning to sell your house? If so, you may be surprised to hear just how much buyers value energy efficiency and eco-friendly features today. This is especially true as summer officially kicks off. In fact, the 2023 Realtors and Sustainability Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows 48% of agents or brokers have noticed consumers are interested in...
A home is a big investment, so it’s important to understand all the expenses that come after buying a home. One expense homeowners forget about is property taxes. Property taxes can be a significant annual expense that can affect you for years after your purchase. So it’s important to know what your property taxes will be and how it works. How are property taxes calculated? Property taxes are...
A sharp downturn in commercial real estate performance could have a big impact on the banking sector, but not big enough to destabilize the financial system, according to analysis from one of the top real estate economists in the country. More than 300 banks have enough commercial real estate loans on their books to see their Tier 1 capital wiped out under a worst-case scenario, Richard Barkham,...
Is a Housing Bottom Already In? The severe contraction in the US housing market over the past year looks like it may be coming to an end, and the bottoming-out is raising hopes that the country could avoid a recession altogether. That’s because historically, housing has been a critical driver of the broader business cycle. Low interest rates can boost demand for homes, which drives up prices,...
One-quarter of homes for sale in Austin, Texas, (25.8 percent) have lower estimated monthly housing payments than they would have if they had been for sale a year ago, according to a new report from Redfin. That’s a higher share than any other major U.S. metro area and more than triple the nationwide share of 7.1 percent. Seattle is close behind, at 23.6 percent, followed by San Francisco (18.8 percent),...
Buying a house is a big investment. You want the feeling of calling a place your own where you can make new memories. But you also want to know you’re purchasing a home in good condition. One way to do this is to have a home inspection done before you buy. Let us share with you why a home inspection is an important part of the home-buying process. What is a home inspection? A home inspection is the...
Realtors know the importance of access to the home they are selling or showing. Have you skipped over sending a listing to a customer because of limited access? Hopefully this article can help! Send this to your customer, potential customer, or take this information and make it yours. The #1 Critical Question When a homeowner has made the decision to sell their house and has hired a real...
Buying a home is an exciting adventure. You’re not only buying a new place to live. But you’re also buying the place where you'll make new memories. And because of the size of the investment for a home, protecting your new property will be important for both your finances and personal well-being. One way to do that is with a home warranty. But what is a home warranty? And why might you decide to get...