Have We Turned the Corner?
There is a lot of speculation on the current state of the Real Estate market and one of the most popular questions I get from my blog is have we hit the bottom for pricing. This is an excellent question and really no right answer at this time, just theories.
According to the Florida Association of Realtors, existing home sales in Florida was up 28 percent and Condo sales about 37 percent in June 2009. Additionally I have seen new construction or construction of model homes in developments like Remington Oaks and Botanical Lakes. There are builders who are selling new construction as well in the Fort Myers and Estero area.
Another key element that plays a role in the health of the Real Estate market is the Federal Mortgage Modification program. In Washington DC at a meeting between the Treasury Department, HUD and 25 largest mortgage services an agreement was made to accelerate loan modification process to reach a goal of 500,000 modifications by November 2009. Ideally this will dramatically reduce the foreclosure rate, which are selling for significantly less. With less lower priced properties on the market from short sales and foreclosures, supply will be reduced and therefore drive prices.
Many markets throughout the United States are claiming home prices are increasing over the same month last year. Again, there are some pockets where that is also true in Fort Myers. Looking at the MLS for a customer recently I found that a town house property had a price of $139,000 which was higher by 11 percent for properties in that same development that sold in August of 2008. There were foreclosure sales in this development nearly four months ago but currently there are only two units available and both are resale. There are several examples of this type of activity if you do your research.
This past week we had listed a property on Monday and by Wednesday it was under contract and sold. Having a property sell in 48 hours is not something that the Real Estate market has seen in a while. Of course there are several factors like pricing ahead of the market, staging a home to sell and strategic internet marketing that helps propel the sale; but again within 48 hours tells you we are heading in the right direction.
So to answer the question have we turned the corner I would say yes, unfortunately this maze is an octagon and there are several more corners to turn before the health of the Real Estate market is stabilized. I still believe that this is a great time to buy and if you have a property to sell you can sell it.
Jason M. Jakus is a licensed realtor for Leisure American Realty, a full service Real Estate and Property Management company serving the beaches and surrounding areas of Lee County. Their office is located at 2450 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach FL 33931. For more information on this or any other real estate or property management subject contact Jason at 239-463-3178 or email RealtyInfo@LeisureAmerican.com.