Sellers are burying themselves...do they have a big enough shovel to dig themselves out?
I have been selling Real Estate in South Florida for quite some time. I have seen a few changes in the market since I moved here in 1999.
Before that I was a Real Estate broker in N.Y. and at that time most properties were sold at a reasonable market price and there didn't seem to be many problems with appraisals and there wasn't a high volume of inventory.
Most properties were on the market an average of 45-90 days which seemed to be normal back in the mid 90's. The company I worked for had their own niche of business. We basically sold high end condominiums and town-homes. The company was basically the only game in town with a few other companies trying to latch on to this particular niche but basically we had most of the listings and I was able to draw buyers to those listings and they were able to complete the transaction within a 45 day period.
When I moved to Florida I basically started over..getting re-licensed and had to get used to the change in the way I sell Real Estate. I concentrated on taking listings and once I established myself it was pretty easy. Then came the boom market. Properties were flying off the shelf and there were fights literally in front of the property. Buyers were out bidding each other just to be able to be the lucky purchaser. Inventory was so low that by the time I would get all my marketing up and running..the property was sold at least twice and everyone was happy.
Well...now it is a different story. I did some research back in July to see exactly what was happening. "Do you know how much inventory there is in Broward County?" If you click on the inventory link you will be able to truly see what I am talking about. There was more than 35,000 homes actively on the market. Dade and Palm Beach county figures were simular. I know that across the country many people are experiencing the same debacle. After looking over that the numbers I figure that if the current inventory stays the same and not one other property is to come on the market...."it will take at least 2-3 years or more for all these properties to sell." But in reality...there are probably at least an average of 5 new properties coming on to the market each day. There is an influx of owners starting to realize that they must act fast and constantly reduce their price to get someone to actually see them. I am also starting to see homeowners just take their properties off the market because they realize they are just wasting time with unrealistic prices.
Some are taking their properties off the market but I do not think it make a large enough impact and probably will not change anything. There are just too many properties gathering dust which is causing others to be drowning and never able to recover in time. This market will probably not change for at least another 2-3 years. We have to help the consumer understand that this will not just go away. As Realtors®we need to educate our clients and help them realize that the hole they are digging will only get deeper and there could be a few cave in's along the way.
Every time someone puts their home on the market they are picking a "wish price". But I hate to tell you that the only wish that will come true will be the longer wait time you will have to endure.
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