The Time is Right

There has been a lot of news that points to a rebound in the market in Sarasota.  Last month pending sales increased by 10% year-over-year.  I had a client recently place an offer on a home that was a bank owned property and we were 1 of 5 offers.  We got the property, but right at the list price.  I have also been holding lots of open houses and the traffic has picked up considerably.

A recent article by Credit Suisse confirmed some of my beliefs.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Fear of higher rates”, “specific bargains”, “seasonal improvement”, 

and some “post election confidence” helped traffic:

reasons for the slight bounce in traffic, with some agents surprised and

unsure of the real cause. One clear theme was the attractiveness of low

mortgage rates and the fear of rising rates, which we think led some buyers

to decide to act. In addition, many buyers emerged from their summer/fall

sabbatical to see some of the bargains firsthand. The start of generally

cooler weather brought out buyers in several warmer markets. Finally, there

was a small group motivated by a bit more confidence following the election.

Some of these trends may attract only a shallow buyer pool so we’ll continue

to watch to see if this persists into December. Overall, our traffic index

increased to 22.1 in November, up from 16.3 in October.

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I am a strong believer that this season will be an exceptionally great season as the prices are at the bottom and the rates are great.  There are many factors that will lead to a strong buying season in Sarasota.  I also remember when many people were kicking themselves when they thought they had missed out on the top of the market.  Don't be one of those who waits on the bottom only to be kicking themsleves when the prices start to rise.

 Sarasota was one of the very first places to take a beating when the market headed south, but I think it will also be one of the first ones to recover. I think that recover is now!!!