April 2018

There’s been a lot of talk about the new tax laws and how they’re going to affect home values over time. But while the news has been taking a mostly pessimistic angle,

it seems like most experts are unconcerned about home values declining over time. According to the most recent Home Price Expectation Survey (HPES) from Zillow and Pulsenomics,

which surveys 100 of the country’s top economists, housing market analysts, and real estate experts, here’s what was revealed:

Fifty-nine percent of panelists said the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (which was put into law in December 2017 and changes the way homeowners claim deductions on their taxes)

either gave them a more optimistic outlook on the five-year forecast for home values in the US, or didn’t

After the housing crisis of 2008, many homeowners found themselves “upside down” on their properties, with their mortgage balances significantly higher than the value of their home.

According to Zillow, negative equity in the US peaked 31.4% in Q1 of 2012, meaning nearly one-third of all mortgage holders in the US owed more on their homes than it was valued.

But luckily, the housing market has rebounded from the housing crisis, and homeowners have almost completely regained equity in their homes.

According to CoreLogic’s most recent Home Equity Insights report, in Q4 of 2017 only 4.9% of all mortgaged properties had negative equity, with the number of homes with negative equity dropping

21% year-over-year (from 3.2 million homes to 2.5

If you consider buying a new construction home, there’s a good chance you’ll question whether or not you even need to use a real estate agent. You might even wonder if there’s an advantage to not using a real estate agent…perhaps thinking you can get a lower price, or more upgrades thrown in, if the builder isn’t paying a real estate agent their commission. Or, you just might not give it any thought whatsoever, and stumble into buying your new construction home, without having your own real estate agent to represent you.

So, do you need to use a real estate agent when buying new construction? Technically? No. Should you? Yes.!

Beyond Just Signing A Little Paperwork
One reason people question whether an agent is necessary, is because many tend to see

The Cape Coral Animal Shelter is currently in its beginning stages.  Our Shelter organization, in partnership and full support with the City of Cape Coral Officials, will create a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter for our Cape Coral residents and the animals in need.  Our City is growing, more and more people are deciding to make Cape Coral their home and the need for a No-Kill animal shelter is great. The Cape Coral Animal Shelter organization is dedicated to engaging a special bond between people and animals by means of adoption services,medical care, education and training for the prevention of cruelty and abandonment.  The Cape Coral Animal Shelter will provide a safe place where animals will receive the care they need and remain until they are

The Great Recession was one of the most challenging times in US history. The US lost nearly 9 million jobs, unemployment nationwide hit an astounding 10%, and housing prices fell a whopping 33%, causing American households to lose of $16 trillion dollars in net worth.

But luckily, the economy started improving in 2010. The GDP grew an impressive 19% from 2010 to 2017, and the economy added jobs for a record-breaking 88 consecutive months, recovering all the jobs lost during the recession. Not to mention, unemployment fell to 4%.

But one area that was a bit slower to recover was home values. Many homeowners who lost a significant portion of their home’s value in the recession have been hesitant to sell—especially if they purchased their home when