Heather Wightman Named a Southwest Florida Five Star Real Estate Agent

 

Five Star Professional partnered with Gulfshore Life magazine to identify real estate, mortgage and insurance professionals in the Southwest Florida area who deliver outstanding service and client satisfaction.  

Now entering its 15th year, Five Star Professional conducts in-depth, market-specific research in more than 45 markets across the United States and Canada to identify premium service professionals. 

Five Star Professional contacts thousands of recent homebuyers, along with real estate agents, to identify award candidates (nominees) and measure their client satisfaction levels based on the services they have provided. Phone, mail and online respondents rate their mortgage professional on criteria such as overall satisfaction and referability. Qualifying candidates are then evaluated on objective criteria such as experience, production levels and disciplinary and complaint history.  Professionals do not pay a fee to be considered or awarded.

The Five Star award is presented to local professionals who demonstrate outstanding service to their clients and only a small percentage of real estate professionals in the Southwest Florida area can be selected to receive the award.

This year’s Southwest Florida Five Star Real Estate Agent award winners have been announced in this month’s issue of Gulfshore Life, and Heather Wightman is among the winners!

Heather provides world-class service, which is clear through her clients’ loyalty.  With a solid foundation of knowledge and experience, Heather works to understand her clients’ needs and provides her assistance in helping each of her clients to reach their individual real estate goals.

Increasing Fed Funds Rates Could Have a Positive Impact

Two weeks ago, the Federal Reserve announced a decision to raise the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points. Many housing analysts have expressed fear that this decision will increase mortgage rates, have a negative impact on home affordability, and possibly take the United States housing market recovery off its track. Rick Sharga, Executive Vice President of Ten-X and former Senior Vice President at RealtyTrac, disagrees. He thinks the rise in mortgage rates could in fact prove to be a good thing for the housing market.

Sharga and other industry analysts argue that this decision will cause buyers to move faster and get into the housing market sooner – before rates go any higher. Sharga says he expects this decision will help increase home sales in 2017 or, at the very minimum, encourage buyers who would have normally waited until later in the year to buy a home in the spring and summer months instead.

Sharga also expressed his belief that higher rates will encourage lenders to loosen some of the tight underwriting standards that have plagued the housing market the last few years and prevented many would-be borrowers from moving forward with a purchase.
"This will happen partly just due to higher mortgage interest rates, which will provide a bit of a cushion for lenders to take on a little more risk," Sharga writes in a recent column for housingwire.com. "And higher rates will also drastically reduce the number of refinance loans being issued, which lenders will try to offset by doing more purchase loans."

Sharga thinks the Fed's recent 25-basis-point hike may not actually have a big an impact on mortgage rates.

"The 25-basis-point hike was well within the range that most industry analysts had expected, which means it's possible that this hike won't cause mortgage rates to rise significantly from current levels, which are already the highest they've been in years," Sharga notes.

If Sharga expectations come to fruition, this could equal a scenario with motivated buyers, more relaxed lending standards, minimal mortgage rate increases, and strong wage and job growth, which could result in the strongest spring selling season in several years.

Reasons Why Families Choose Naples, Florida

Naples, Florida is widely known for its beautiful white sand beaches and its warm climate, yet there are a plethora of additional benefits to living in the area and families who already live in Naples or are looking to move there are more than aware. Some of the key benefits to living in Southwest Florida’s Naples include safety, dining, cleanliness, outdoor activities, architecture, year-round events, good schools, and employment opportunities.

The crime rate in Naples, Florida sits far below the national average. Reports indicate the crime rate in Naples is also approximately 86 percent lower than the Florida state average. The police officer to resident ratio is high as well, which helps to keep the crime rate low.

Some of the best dining options in the nation are located in Naples. Favorites include Osteria Tulia, The Grill at Ritz Carlton, Truluck’s and the Turtle Club.

When it comes to the cleanliness of Naples, the word pristine comes to mind. Litter-free roads, smaller signs, clean beaches, and meticulously landscaping all contribute to the overall beauty in this slice of paradise.

There is an abundance of outdoor adventure possibilities in Naples, including golfing, boating, fishing, snorkeling, parasailing, paddle boarding, and more. The warm and sunny weather draws people to enjoy the outdoors. And for those who want to enjoy a little bit of relaxation in the sun, the beaches are stunning from sunrise to sunset, with Naples offering some of the most vibrant, awe-inspiring and colorful sunsets.

Year-round events are also hosted in Naples, drawing residents to go out and about and drawing visitors to the area. Music and art festivals, a yearly seafood festival, craft beer festival and musical performances catering to those who follow all genres fill the area throughout all months of the year.

In addition to all of the above, Third Street South and Fifth Avenue South districts offer boutiques, various specialty shops and outdoor cafes, offering a multitude of shopping and dining options as well as dancing and other nightlife.

Naples was reported to be the happiest and healthiest city in the United States, according to Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index in 2016, and it is easy to see why.

Welcome Readers

I am a 4th generation native Floridian and has lived in Naples since 1977. Growing up in the area has afforded me a deep, intimate knowledge of Southwest Florida and everything it has to offer to residents and visitors – especially in the residential real estate market.

I have been a licensed REALTOR® since 1993. I've bought and sold residential real estate all over Southwest Florida from Marco Island to Cape Coral, and everywhere in between. My focus is concentrated on vacation and second homes, investment homes for the golf enthusiast, and those desiring the waterfront lifestyle. I specializes in resales, renovations, pre-construction and new construction homes.

I attended the University of South Florida with studies in Business and hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Hodges University.

When I'm not serving clients, I take advantage of Southwest Florida’s world-class dining and shopping, and is an avid boater as well. Additionally, I am very active in the community, attending and organizing social activities for many local causes.

I've been married to my husband, Rich, for over 23 years and have two sons who attend local schools.