BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — With high unemployment rates and small businesses closing down due to the pandemic, most people wouldn’t expect to see their property values increase.

Longtime homeowner Mark Nichols checks his property value frequently, especially this year as many people worried it was going to be like the last recession.

“I check it about every month,” Nichols said. “[In] 2008 we lost half of the market value, not what we paid for it because it was still increasing pretty well.”

According to Silverton Mortgage Senior Branch Manager Leighton Johnson, the answer is pretty simple: This year clients are using the market value to their benefit.

“They can come down to warmer weather, buy twice as much house, pay a third of the property tax and they work from home,” Johnson said.

Also people are refinancing their homes for a reduced interest rate or taking out equity to have some money in the bank just in case.

“I've had clients do cash out to put cash in the bank just in case anticipating the possibility that they may have a reduction in their employment income,” Johnson said.

The biggest game changer has been more people turning their homes into home offices. According to the Florida Realtors Association’s latest data, single family home sales rose 22.9 percent compared to a year ago.

“I think it's safe to say you can pull 80 percent of your equity out and if you got your loan like 5 years, ago you can save in your interest rate,” Nichols said.