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You just bought a home…now what?

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Here are 6 tips for after you buy your home:

1. File for homestead exemption to lower your taxes.
2. Pay property taxes early.
3. Earn federal tax credit for energy efficiency.
4. Make improvements that cut down your utility bills.
5. Update your homeowner’s insurance to reflect improvements.
6. Install smart technology to keep your home safe.

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Predictions for 2017

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It’s time for our 2017 predictions and it looks like this year is going to have a normalization of the real estate market in Tampa Bay.

Prices are expected to continue increasing this year, however at a slower pace compared to last year. It’s expected that price growth will be around 4-5% and sales will continue growing at around 5%, meaning that the Tampa Bay area is still considered to be a good place for sellers or buyers looking to get into the market.

Home availability has been an important factor and since conditions aren’t expected to change for 2017 we estimate it will influence the price rise in the market just as in 2016. This is mainly because the market is moving quite rapidly and despite a low inventory of homes, homes are constantly moving in and out of the market.

Just as we expected in 2016, Millennials (born between 1980’s and 2000) will continue to play a central role in the housing market for Tampa Bay. However, this year we’re also expecting that baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) will have an important place in the market. According to surveys, Millennials alone are expected to amount for approximately 33% of buyers while baby boomers are estimated to be about 30%.

Tampa Bay is undergoing important infrastructure investments which in turn is predicted to generate increased interest and demand for Tampa Bay housing. In comparison to other popular Florida markets, Tampa Bay is considered to be more affordable, and there seems to be a tendency for easier access to credit opportunities. Interestingly, it is possible that high rents and easier access to mortgages could drive more tenants to buy homes.

Among the factors to watch for this year include:
• Rising mortgage interest rates
• Accelerated interest and demand for Tampa Bay real estate
• Easier access to credit
• Trump’s jobs initiatives
• Investment in infrastructure
• Affordability
• Availability of inventory

Everything looks positive for Tampa Bay for this year. Property prices should keep going up. Whether it plays out as a buyer’s or seller’s market in 2017 will depend a lot on the amount of inventory that becomes available.

Santa’s North Pole Home

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Checkout Santa’s Home on Zillow. The home is not on the market right now and is valued at $656,957. It’s one of the most valuable homes in the Arctic!  Don’t worry Santa’s home is not going on the market anytime soon; but Zillow is forecasting the price of his home will go up 2.2% over the next year.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO LISTING

Don’t forget, you can also follow Santa’s Christmas Eve travels as he delivers presents to children around the world with the official NORAD Santa tracker.
CLICK HERE TO TRACK SANTA