Mark Zabilowicz, Tampa Fl Realtor

Realtors and home builders are pleased Congress recognizes the need to stimulate the overall housing market, not just help borrowers facing foreclosure. The House included a tax credit for first-time home buyers in the housing measures that passed May 8. The tax credit would induce many Americans who don't own a home "to at least take a ...

"Dual-income customers should definitely buy a home now," says George Kaiser, vice president of banking operations for Northbrook Bank and Trust and West America Mortgage Co., its sister company. "People with assets in reserve and a credit score of at least 680 should buy as well. Anyone with a credit score less than that will have ...

Homeowners reluctant to sell because prices have fallen should do the math and realize that the market downturn could work in their favor, say real estate practitioners in hard-hit, but still pricey Boston. Their reasoning may work in many other parts of the country as well. “People are finding houses at prices they thought they’d ...

LOS ANGELES – April 8, 2008 – Canadians, especially those who live in U.S. border areas, are snapping up vacation homes in the U.S. as the Canadian dollar gains value against the declining American dollar. Developers in the finger lake areas of Washington State say more than 80 percent of buyers are Canadian. “The Canadians are ...

ORLANDO, Fla. — Nov. 28, 2007 – Disruptions in the mortgage market and tightening credit continued to impact Florida’s housing sector in October. Statewide, sales of existing single-family homes totaled 9,165 last month while 12,846 homes sold in October 2006 for a decrease of 29 percent in the year-to-year comparison, according ...

Daily Real Estate News  |  June 25, 2007 Existing-home sales eased slightly in May, as potential buyers hold out until they see more signs of stability in the housing market, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. “I think psychological factors are currently the biggest drag on the housing market, in ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – June 4, 2007 – House and Senate leaders agreed Friday on a basic outline for property tax relief and restructuring the Legislature will take up at a special session June 12-22. House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, disclosed the results of behind-the-scenes ...

ORLANDO, Fla. – June 1, 2007 – Orange County homesteaded property values climbed at a slower pace than last year due to inflation, but record new construction still pushed the area’s taxable value to a new high of $107.5 billion, Property Appraiser Bill Donegan announced yesterday. The news means property and business owners ...

ORLANDO, Fla. – May 31, 2007 – A top Florida economist has declared the housing slump a done deal. “It will take another 18 months or so before closing volumes reach more normal levels, but the worst is behind us,” says Hank Fishkind. Fishkind says the turn-around is important to everyone, attributing housing troubles to ...

ORLANDO, Fla. – May 25, 2007 – Florida’s existing home sales remained soft in April though the inventory of homes continued to ease in many markets across the state, according to the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). Statewide, sales of single-family existing homes totaled 12,016 last month compared to 16,283 homes sold ...