Realtors see signs of improving housing market; credit Amendment 1

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 27, 2008 – Only weeks after Florida voters passed Amendment 1 in late January, Florida Realtors have noted signs of increased interest from potential homebuyers heartened by the measure’s property tax relief benefits, especially the portability provision.

In a recent online poll conducted by the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), about one-third – 35.5 percent – of the Realtor respondents answered yes, when asked if more property owners were interested in buying or selling property, thanks to portability.

Property tax portability is one of the benefits now made law under Amendment 1, which allows Florida homeowners to transfer their Save Our Homes tax benefits from their old homestead to a newly purchased home. Portability applies to homes purchased in 2007 and later, and the benefit is capped at $500,000.

FAR’s informal survey also asked Realtors if “the property tax relief afforded by Amendment 1 is encouraging prospects to get off the fence and buy.” Again, of those polled, about one-third – 30.4 percent – said yes. The online survey was conducted on FAR’s member Web site at www.floridarealtors.org from March 5 through March 10, 2008.

“This is only the beginning,” says 2008 FAR President Chuck Bonfiglio. “Conducted just seven weeks after passage of Amendment 1, this poll shows that many of our Realtor members are starting to see heightened interest in the state’s housing market and reporting signs of increased activity. That’s encouraging news, and the ink on this new law has barely had time to dry.”

Gov. Charlie Crist joined Bonfiglio and a crowd of nearly 1,000 Realtors from across Florida in Tallahassee to share their concerns with legislators during Great American Realtor Days, March 25-26. He thanked Realtors for their efforts in supporting Amendment 1 to its successful passage by Florida voters. While talking to the Realtor audience about issues such as property tax relief and property insurance, Crist noted that homeowners saw their home insurance premiums decrease by about 16 percent following legislative action last year. He added that, by 2013, Florida homeowners should expect property taxes to drop by about $25 billion.

The online survey was conducted for the Florida Association of Realtors during a six-day period from March 5 through March 10 and powered by Vovici EFM on FAR’s member website at www.floridarealtors.org. A total of 1931 completed responses were received to the survey during this time.

© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

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