Brevard County Real Estate - Last Quarter 2012

I can't believe it's been this long since I have written.  I guess I owe an apology to those of you who read, or have read, my blog.  I figured I would take a few minutes and update the past 9 months.

It's been another interesting year in Real Estate in Brevard County Florida.  We went from having a huge amount of inventory in 2011 to a shortage of homes for sale in 2012.  We have seen more buyers than we have seen in years come out to take advantage of the great prices in the area as well as the interest rates staying in the 3.5% range...unreal!

The housing market has seen a resurgence and prices have risen as well.  Some homes have risen over 10% in value this year.  The bottom has certainly passed!  In fact, I have told people the past couple of years, that the bottom in our area was really 2010.  Prices did fall a couple of percent in 2011, but the reality is, you can't find homes that don't need work under $75k anymore.  A few years ago there were plenty of decent homes under $100k.  Those are long gone!

So as we head into the last quarter, we have decided to hire more Agents and get ready for what I believe will be a continued resurgence in the market.  The pending election could have negative results on our market and especially on interest rates.  These rates are certainly going to be going away soon.  I'm shocked they have maintained such a low rate for this long.

In the end, consumer confidence will drive our housing market.  With job losses stabalized in the area, still the lowest waterfront pricing in the state, and interest rates low, we should all be confident that we are on our way back.

As always, if you have any questions about Real Estate...or anything else for that matter, don't hesitate to call or email.

Have a great night!

It's been a while - Brevard County Number 3 in the country in Real Estate

Yes it's been a while since I've written. The main reason of course is that we are slammed busy. I've been telling people for a year that our market is on the upswing and they missed the bottom. Nobody believed me of course since the media has engrained in everyone that Florida is on sale and is free! Well we are on sale compared to where we were in 2004 and 2005. However, we are now up 17% over last year in price!

Here is an article on the top 5 real estate markets in the country. Brevard County is the 3rd strongest market in the country! That's truly amazing and we are excited! If you think about it, we were the first market to go down in the country, we should be the first to rebound!

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/real-estate/q3-2011-home-values-5-best-markets-4.aspx

As always, if there is anything we can do to help, we are always here!

Prices are up!

It's been a busy year which is why I haven't had much time to write. Ok, three months without writing is a little much! Anyway, today I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about prices in Brevard County Florida. Through the end of July 2011, our single family home prices are up 19% over last July (2010). That's incredible news for those of us who own homes here and should be motivating news to those who are thinking about moving to Florida.

I've been telling people since January 2010, in my opinion, that the bottom of the real estate drop was that month, January 2010. Nobody believed me. However, if I know anything, I do pay attention to prices and trends in our market. After all, real estate is a local commodity no matter what you hear on the news these days. Brevard County prices are up and our inventory is low.

Low inventory is going to start increasing our prices even more. We are almost two years into the recovery in our area as I see it. If you are thinking about buying, this might be your last chance for great deals. Our prices are still about 50% off the peak and interest rates still over just above 4%. That is a great opportunity to buy the vacation home, retirement home, investment or a move up home.

The most important aspect of course are the interest rates. Even if prices don't budge another dollar, interest rates have to start going up at some point. I can't see them going much lower if lower at all, than they currently are at. Just remember, for every point that the interest rates go up, that's another $200+ per month you are paying for the same house you can buy today at 4% or so.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss the market, feel free to call or email me as I'm always glad to help.

Have a great day!

Inventory is shrinking fast!

About a year and a half ago I told people that the market in Brevard County has bottomed out and that all the great deals were going away quickly. In Sept. 2010 the market was down to 5,800 Single Family listings on the market. Now, July 2011, we are down to around 3,000 listings with only 1,700 or so available for purchase now, the rest are short sales which are only closing at a rate of about 20%.

Yes, those who were waiting for the market to fall apart more have missed the boat as predicted. The question now is, do you continue to wait while the Internet rates start rising. It's just a matter of time that the rates will rise out of the 4.5% range and some predict as high as 7% by the end of next year. If you had been thinking about buying, I wouldn't be waiting. Currently homes are going for close to 95% of their list price and many of these have multiple offers.

I know you have been listening to the media. They talk about the market continuing to go down. I'm a numbers guy. The numbers don't agree with the media. In fact, I just read a report from Orlando that their prices had jumped in June to $155k average up from $112k average a year ago! It's time!

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know, we are always here to help!

Don't miss the boat!

For the past year I have been telling everyone not to miss the boat on buying a home. Our prices are at 1999 levels and in some areas we are already seeing an increase in pricing. Interest rates remain great at around 4.75% - 5%. In our area, the bottom was really last year, we have held steady the past 12 months.

Ok, now I know some of you are saying that I'm just trying to sell homes. Well of course I'm trying to sell homes, but I'm not going to lie to sell a home. For those of you who know me, you know me better than that. Luckily our business is good and has been good for several years. Even if it weren't, I wouldn't lie to make a sale!

The largest indicator of our market is inventory. In Sept. 2010, we had 5,800 single family homes on the market. Today we have just over 3,000. With inventory low, it's just a matter of time before our housing prices increase.

To check out the fastest growing areads in the country, go to:

http://lowes.inman.com/newsletter/2011/07/12/news/146960

If you have any questions, please let us know. We are always here to help!

Mitch

Where has all the homes gone?

So I wouldn't have believed this if you told me this in September, we are moving into a sellers market. Yes, the 5 + year skid in housing in Brevard County seems to be as low as it's going to go and we are seeing prices inching up. What happened? Very simply, the inventory has shrunk to a normal market.

In September 2010 we had 5800 single family homes on the market. Today we have only 3340 homes on the market, almost half. Of those 3340 single family homes, around 800 or so are short sales. This means that we have approximately 2500 homes on the market that you can actually buy and move into over the next 30-45 days. That's quite a change from our high of over 8500 single family homes on the market a couple years ago.

What does this mean to you? It means you are about to miss the boat. This will be one of those times that people will reflect back on and say "if we had only bought in 2010 or 2011"! The tough part for us as Realtors is that the consumer believes we are lying to them when we tell them about the market. Unlike most brokerages and realtors, we are doing fine and have been the past several years. We have also stayed true to our beliefs of honesty and integrity. None of my Agents would lie to get a sale. We know the importance of helping our customers realized their goals and dreams, not ours.

If you have been thinking about buying, this is probably the last best chance you will get over the next several months to a year. Once interest rates start going up, and it's just a matter of time, along with prices going up, the boat will have officially been missed. If you have any questions about the market or any other real estate issue, please don't hesitate to contact myself or any of our agents. We are always here to help!

Mitch

First quarter 2011

Wow! I can't believe it's been a few months since I wrote. That's terrible! I try my best to stay on top of this, but with so much going on all the time, it's difficult. The first quarter of 2011 has been interesting. We have gone from very slow to very busy, back to slow and then back to busy! It's a tough year to call. February was one of our worst months ever and March was our best month ever! Who knows! We have seen interesting movement with pricing lately. Our inventory is under 4,000 units (3875 last I checked) which means we are inching toward a normal market. When we get to 3,000 listings, it's normal! We are certainly seeing prices level out on a regular basis. Palm Bay for instance is actually starting to see an uptick in prices. Gone are the $50k homes that you could have bought last January. I had told everyone back then we were at the bottom, but most people didn't believe me. Now the big question is interest rates. We know you are interested in buying a home, but when. If the interest rates go up just 1%, that adds $200 to your mortgage. Rumor has it that our interest rates nationwide are going to go up to around 6%-6.5%. This will certainly decrease your buying power. If you are interested in talking about your needs, please feel free to call. Have a great day! Mitch