EVERY BIT OF GOOD NEWS BRINGS US CLOSER TO A HEALTHY MARKET
One of the best pieces of news I’ve heard lately is the Florida Consumer Attitude Survey report issued April 29th saying consumer confidence among Floridians surged six points to 71, way above the bottom 59 recorded last June which was the lowest level in the index’s 25-year history. The University of Florida’s Survey Research Center at the Bureau of Economic and Business Research reported that the surge relates directly to Floridians believing we’ve hit the bottom and won’t see things getting any worse. In my opinion, there’s a good lesson for Buyers and Sellers in real estate to garner from this news: Buyers need to become a bit more realistic in offers they make on properties, understanding that, for the most part, pricing is close to 2003 levels, before the “boom.” Sellers, too, need to take every offer seriously, and work to bring Buyers closer to their pricing based on actual comparable data. Finally, realtors need to be forthcoming with information about the market, educating buyers and sellers about the 30% increase in sales in Manatee County last March to this March, and the 5% decrease in inventory last year to this year. I agree with one Island columnist saying we’re just around the corner from the bottom. My advice is if you want to sell your house, work with any offer, and if you want to buy a house, accept the fact that we’re on the bottom home stretch.
