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12 | HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2, 2017 The 2007 housing bubble crash may not have been created in Connecticut, but its after effects are certainly still being felt. Housing prices in Connecticut peaked in the summer of 2007 at about $291,000, according to the online real estate tracker Zillow. Today, Zillow's Housing Price Index average is $246,000 for a home in the Nutmeg State. Carl Lantz III, a real estate agent with Re/ Max and president of the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors, said despite the doom and gloom around the housing market in 2007, he still saw houses sell. "There was still business out there and I'd say, the harder we worked the luckier we got," he said. Turning the corner He described the market today as "transitional." "Many other places in the country have fully rebounded from the downturn," he said. "In this area, I'd say it depends on the house and the town. … The big thing that people are worried about now is the insecurity in the state economy." While real estate agents throughout the region try to put the housing crisis behind them, they are also faced with an industry undergoing rapid change thanks to technology. "The role of a Realtor for a long time was that we were the information holders," he said. But today, with the popularity of websites like Zillow, the agent's role has evolved into the facilitator that "helps you get the house that you want." Zillow and its competitors keep real estate top of mind for many people, but the sites also spread misinformation "that's tough to combat," he said. At the end of the day, however, Lantz said only a local real estate agent can tell you what your house is worth. Industry Lookbacks Real Estate CT's real estate markets bounce back from crisis By Christina H. Davis Special to the Hartford Business Journal Glastonbury Realtor Margaret Wilcox has been a top producer in Connecticut, helping broker countless home sales in the region over the years. Revamping of XL Center's facade in the 2000s. A photo of Hartford 21 under construction. Carl Lantz III, a realtor with Re/Max and president of the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors