Wendy Winbeburgh Dessanti is EBCBOR's 2018 Realtor® of the Year!
The Eastern Bergen County Board of Realtors is proud to announce Wendy Wineburgh Dessanti as the 2018 Realtor of the Year. Wendy is a broker/associate with more than 25 years of industry experience, Wineburgh Dessanti is consistently a top producer in Weichert's Tenafly office, as well as one of the top sales associates companywide. She earned the New Jersey REALTORS® Circle of Excellence® Sales Award at the Silver level in 2017 and was recently honored at Weichert's award event in the Bahamas. Wendy was recognized at the 2018 NJ Realtors® Awards Ceremony during the Triple Play convention.
2018 TRIPLE PLAY CONVENTION | REACH UP.BRANCH OUT
With more than 8,000 realtors in attendance at this year's Triple Play Convention - EBCBOR members attended the convention in AC to take advantage of the CE classes and workshops, as well as to network with colleagues and other industry professionals. Additionally, members of our board took advantage of our annual hospitality suite, which is an exclusive member benefit. The two-day hospitality suite had a Breakfast spread, hot lunch and a Wine and Rewind networking event alongside with the RealSource Association of Realtors. Thank you to this year's proud sponsors: Chase and Main Street Title. VIEW IMAGES
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
Congress Takes Two-Week Punt on National Flood Insurance Program as Part of Stop-Gap Funding Deal
Congress punted yet again on overhauling the National Flood Insurance Program, extending the program for two more weeks as part of a broader stop-gap funding deal. The NFIP has lurched along for more than a year on a series of short-term extensions as lawmakers have deadlocked - and then put off - overhauling the federally run program, which underwrites most flood coverage in the U.S. but has sunk into billions of dollars of debt as the result of a series of destructive hurricanes.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Federal Reserve elects not to raise Rates in November
The Federal Reserve released its statement from its November meeting showing it unanimously elected not to raise interest rates. The Federal Open Market Committee began its November meeting Wednesday and ended with its announcement Thursday that it will not raise the federal funds rate. The committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 2% to 2.25%. So far, the Fed has raised rates three times in 2018 - the first time in March, again in June and finally in September.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Panama, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica Named Best Caribbean Countries for the American Real Estate Investor
WIRE Consulting, an independent company specialized exclusively in International Real Estate services, sees a wide range of potential opportunities for the American real estate investor in Panama, the Dominican Republic or Costa Rica. A growing presence of international buyers from all over the world are making their way to the top Caribbean country of Panama, where property prices have risen 9% since 2017 with an average price of $197/sq. ft. and a doubled GDP per-capita reaching $14,000 in the past decade.
TECH TIPS
This is What a Zero Emissions Home Looks Like
Researchers have completed their "zero-energy" retrofit of a pre-war Cambridge, Massachusetts home that serves as the headquarters of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, a division of Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Surprisingly, the renovations don't make the home's exterior look all that radical or unconventional, despite its futuristic moniker: "HouseZero."
