Marco Island Realtors Open Doors to Homeownership

During Florida Open House Weekend March 26-27

Realtors are preparing for Florida Open House Weekend, March 26-27, 2011 – a prime opportunity for buyers to visit many homes for sale in a single weekend. Sponsored by the 115,000-member Florida Realtors, it’s the largest open house weekend event in the nation.

“Homeownership benefits individuals and families, strengthens our community, and is vital to the Marco Island economy and the state’s economy,” says Bill Filbin, President, Marco Island Area Association of Realtors. “Recent research supports findings that homeownership provides economic and social benefits, including improved childhood education, greater civic and community involvement, increased neighborhood stability and reduced crime rates.”

According to research conducted for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), every time a house is built, bought or sold, jobs are created. NAR found:

• Home sales in the U.S. generate more than 2.5 million private-sector jobs in an average year. For every two homes sold, a job is created.
• In Florida*, 7.5 percent of the state’s workers in 2009 were employed in the construction (392,900) and real estate (155,000) sectors.
• Each home sale touches dozens of different occupations.
• Every home purchase pumps up to $60,000 into the economy for furniture, home improvements and related items.

• An overwhelming majority of homeowners say they are happy with the decision to own a home. A full 93% of owners surveyed by NAR would buy again.

The Florida Open House Weekend coincides with the state’s historically active spring home-selling season and is the culmination of Welcome Home Week, March 21-27 – a celebration of the benefits of homeownership.

Filbin predicts the 2011 Florida Open House Weekend will be even more successful than last year’s inaugural statewide open house event, which featured more than 15,000 open houses hosted by Realtors and sellers across Florida.

Consumers should look for the distinctive Florida Open House Weekend yard signs to find homes participating in the statewide open house campaign. To search for open houses during Florida Open House Weekend, consumers can go to: www.floridarealtors.org/OpenHouseHomes/index.cfm?location=marco or check with a local Realtor.

*Source for Florida data, “Effect of Policy Changes on Homeownership, Focus: Florida,” prepared for Florida Realtors® by NAR.