The Bottom has been reached--Florida Association of Realtors

The following is an article supporting that now is the time to buy!

ORLANDO, Fla. – Aug. 30, 2007 – Popular perceptions about the housing market are wrong, says noted economist Hank Fishkind, who believes the market reached bottom a few months ago. Fishkind looks for trends in real estate statistical releases, and says that things may not be great but there’s also no indication that they’re getting worse.In his weekly radio address on WMFE in Orlando, Fishkind said he constantly encounters audiences worried about the housing market and any financial disruptions it could cause. “The variance between the real economic data and people’s perceptions was enormous,” Fishkind said. “While home starts have dropped 36 percent from their peak, starts have stabilized over the last six months with no further erosion. Friday’s report on new home sales confirms that the market has bottomed out. Sales actually increased 2.7 percent to an annual pace … and the inventory of new but unsold homes declined.”Fishkind agrees that sales of existing homes are down, but also looks at the amount of the drop and recent changes. “Importantly, the sales of existing homes were again stable for the seventh month in a row,” he says. “While recovery may be some time off, it is clear that Florida’s housing markets have bottomed out.”Fishkind does not believe Florida home prices will decline any further over the next 18 to 36 months, but he does expect them to remain generally flat, depending on where they’re located in the state.“The more overbuilt markets will take longer to recover,” Fishkind says. “But fears that prices will drop significantly are unfounded. And so is the pervasive panic. The economy is stronger than the reports about it.”© 2007 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

If you need help finding the right property for you, please let me know.

The Right Time to Buy

I've said this before but I'll repeat it, now is a great time to purchase property in the Florida Keys. There is a tremendous amount of inventory and the days on the market has increased so that makes for deals to be had.

The media continues to paint a bleak picture and the stock market is reeling from the sub prime mortgage situation but if your financially secure, this is a great time to find the property of your dreams in the Keys.

If your into waterfront homes there are many available at a reasonable price. Sales of condos and townhouses are suffering but prices have come down and there are some very good opportunties in great complexes.

There is only so much paradise available so if your dream is to own a piece of it, this is a great time to buy! The average appreciation excluding the very hot years is generally 10 to 15%. You can buy now and expect good appreciation in the future on your investment.

If you subscribe to what I've said and need help finding the right property, please let me know and I'll find it for you.

Selling Tips

If your thinking of listing your home the following are a few things to consider.


‘Listing Price’ is driven by what people are willing to pay for your property at any given point in time. This is mostly driven by sales in the immediate area of properties with similar makeup and features. ‘Listing Price’ is extremely important to reaching the goal . . . selling the property. There are pitfalls that many fall into when it comes to the “list price”:

We will just lower the price if it does not sell immediately. Not the best strategic move especially in a highly competitive market with a lot of properties for sale. For one, consumer behavior shows us that people are not coming back to a property they don’t have an interest in. Therefore, if the price is not within their range they will move onto the next. Second, price reductions can create the perception that there is “something wrong” with the property. The thought process with this is that others must have seen it and weren’t willing to buy it, what did they see that’s wrong.

That’s my price and I’m sticking to it. Real Estate is all about offers, and sellers must be open to reasonable offers if they want to sell. I am not suggesting anyone should ever just take what is offered. Offers can be “unreasonable”. The ultimate decision is always the seller’s. But flexibility is very important. We got pretty spoiled, I think, a few years ago when a property would go on the market and sell at the list price a short time later. That was very abnormal, but has never been the norm. Negotiating is back, and we have to be open to it.

This market is totally different than what it was just two years ago. Its a buyers market now, so you need to have a reasonable asking price to attract buyers. If you set your price too high many buyers won't even bother to look at your property. The key to selling your home is getting it shown and be willing to negotiate the final price.

Hope this gives you a few ideas to help you be a succesful seller.

Buy Now

The time to buy is now if you have the financial resources and don't require a low down payment loan or if your a cash buyer.



In the past week a number of properties have closed and there are more buyers in the Upper Keys than there has been for quite some time. The inventory of homes for sale is tremendous and sellers are coming to the realization that they must be prepared to negotiate a fair price to get a property sold.



The news media hasn't helped with all the doom and gloom. If we all follow the media hype like lemmings to the sea we will be in a recession before we know it. The people that act now while interest rates are still reasonable will be able to buy at a decent price their own piece of paradise while the others who sit on the fence will see their opportunities evaporate.



The local market conditions are especially good for a serious buyer. If your really ready to buy come on down and see for yourself!

Click here to see whats available

http://www.robskeel.com.preview.z57.com/homes_for_sale.shtml

Is the time to buy now?

This article is a little long but gives buyers something to think about. Is the bottom near, here or still to come?


Residential real estate prices are falling, and the selection of homes
to choose from has never been better. There seem to be good deals out
there, so should you buy now or wait for the market to get even better?
In other words, when is the best time to buy real estate?

Does this question sound familiar? Not only is this question verbalized
hundreds of times a day, but I believe it is on the mind of every
potential buyer in our market.

It's a good question, one that I would like the answer to if I were
buying. So, I decided to find out what other people were thinking. I was
operating under the premise that if I asked enough people, a common
answer would lead me to the truth.

My unscientific survey consisted of me asking dozens of buyers, sellers
and real estate agents when they thought was the best time to buy. I was
surprised to learn that there were about as many opinions as there were
people willing to give it. However, it wasn't surprising that buyers and
sellers opinions seemed to be 180 degrees apart. Most Realtors' opinions
mirrored that of the sellers.

The general consensus from the buyers is that the best time to buy is
sometime in the future. They gave answers such as "when the property tax
law changes are finalized," "later this fall when sellers are more
desperate," "after hurricane season," "after the elections" or "when the
market hits bottom."

Not all buyers felt it was beneficial to wait. Some were actively in the
market in hopes of striking a killer deal, but they were in the
minority. Some had already bought and were glad they did.

Is the buyer's propensity to wait being driven by common sense or common
greed? Is it possible that buyers are behaving like sellers did back in
the seller's market? When sellers were in control of the market, buyers
were willing to pay almost any price, but for many sellers, it wasn't
enough. So the buyers paid more than the asking price.
A strange sense of irony exists because today's sellers are still
unhappy with the buyers' offers, because these offers are not enough
either. They are well short of asking price. Turn about may be fair
play, but buyers beware. Greed doomed many sellers because they held out
for more. Don't get caught holding out for less.

The sellers and most Realtors I talked to were more focused on the
present. They stated that "today is the best time to buy." They defended
their position by stating that prices are way down from their peak (some
even felt they had bottomed) and interest rates are still attractive.
The Baby Boomers are coming, so get while the getting is good.

Is this advice self-serving or a warning to take advantage while you
can? It may be both. Unfortunately, too many buyers will ignore the
prudent advice of a reputable salesperson when they say "this is a great
deal" or "this is the developer's bottom-line price."

In many cases the salesperson will be right, and he or she has the best
interest of the buyer in mind. The challenge for the buyer is to sort
out advice that is good for them versus advice that is good for the
salesperson.

Now you have heard when it's the best time to buy from the buyer, seller
and agent perspective. But is there a better answer, one that does not
matter which side of the real estate fence you are on?

Try this. The best time to buy is when sellers' fear that tomorrow will
be worse than today. Real estate agents should memorize this answer
because it is not self-serving and its 100 percent true.

When fear motivates, sellers will entertain offers, conditions and
contingencies that they wouldn't under normal circumstances.

This "fear of tomorrow" is a buyer's friend. As long as they have that
ally, they have bargaining power. When hope and optimism begins to
replace fear, sellers will dig their heels in and will become less
negotiable. This change in attitude will take place before the market
bottoms, so if you happen to be waiting for that mythical day, you may
have waited too long to strike your best deal.

Buyers, you find yourself in an envious position because the window of
opportunity to get a great buy exists today.
When will the window close? I don't know. Will it exist tomorrow?
Probably, but the question you will have to ask yourself is whether
you'd rather buy one day too early or one tomorrow too late?