SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

 Homebuyers Take Advantage of Record Low Mortgage Rates 2020 has sent every industry on a rollercoaster, especially residential real estate. During the lockdown, sellers pulled their homes off the market and buyers postponed their showings. The economy cautiously reopened and pent up buyers were ready to resume their house hunt.   Besides the 6-foot distance rule and normalizing face masks, the pandemic brought on a major reduction in mortgage rates. When we say major, we mean major. The average rate for the past five years was 4.05%, right now you can get a mortgage rate as low as 2.6%. This is the lowest we have seen in decades.     A mortgage rate is essentially the amount it costs to borrow money from lenders. When a homeowner pays their mortgage each month, the money goes towards paying off their home as well as paying interest to the lender. At first, most of your mortgage payment will go towards interest. Over time, more of your monthly payment will go to your...

The U.S. Congress is currently discussing an extension and expansion to the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers in a bill which has been instrumental in breathing life into the U.S. real estate market. With a decision expected to be made this week, Tampa builders, Tampa buyers and Tampa real estate professionals are all anxiously awaiting the good news that is expected to continue the positive momentum in the housing market movement. With the current tax credit expiring on November 30th of 2009, this extension would give buyers until mid-2010 to close on a new home. In addition to the extension, an additional credit of $6,500 would be created for move-up buyers who are searching for a new primary residence. The National Association of Home Builders expects that the extended and expanded home buyer tax credit will generate 180,000 additional sales, bring in $5 billion in federal taxes and create 211,000 new jobs. Home builders, who have recently been seeing progress in the mar...