Are You Ready for the Silver Tsunami?
2019 Real Estate Forecast: What Home Buyers, Sellers And Investors Can Expect

The year started with sky-high home prices, historically low mortgage rates and a definitive upper hand for sellers. In recent months though, home price growth has faltered, rates have risen to their highest point in nearly eight years, and favor has started to shift from seller to buyer.
Will these trends continue? Will housing experience the same wild ride in the new year? Here’s what experts predict will happen in 2019 real estate market...

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Economist to Today’s Teens: “Start Saving Now ”

Generation Z needs to start saving $304 a month now to buy a home by age 30, according to a new analysis  by  Realtor.com . The homeownership success of this group will largely depend on the location. Midwest and South are considered regions with more affordable options, it indicated.

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Could Your Home Seller Be ‘Noseblind’?

Homeowners can become “noseblind” to their home’s own smell, and that could be problematic when putting the home up for sale. After all, the smell of a property can have a big influence on buyers’ perceptions of the home. And no one wants to have the smelly house.

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Are Closing Costs Tax Deductible Under the New Tax Law?

Are closing costs tax deductible? What about mortgage interest? Or  property taxes ? The answer is, maddeningly, “It depends.”

Basically, you’ll want to itemize if you have deductions totaling more than the standard deduction, which is $12,000 for single people and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. Every taxpayer gets this deduction, homeowner or not. And most people take it because their actual itemized deductions are less than the standard amount.

But should you take it?

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Silver Tsunami vs. Millennials in Real Estate


Millennials seem to be trending a lot lately in all areas of life, especially in the real estate industry. The market will soon have even more competition for homes as baby boomers enter into a new phase of life known as the Silver Tsunami. To learn more about this new demographic and how it will affect the millennials in home purchasing.... Read more.
Philanthropy
W ow, it’s already the end of February! This month, we decided on helping out the Alpha House of Tampa.  This organization offers help to pregnant, homeless women and mothers of young children by providing safe housing and skills they need to become self-sufficient and responsible parents.
Education
Sapphire Title/Gilbert Garcia Group was invited to do a presentation on probate and title insurance and their importance in the real estate industry for the students at the Serralles Group in February.
Staff Appreciation
For staff appreciation in January, our employees were treated to a movie and pizza in house on a Friday afternoon. February's treat will be bowling for team building skills.