Almost all Media are reporting about the "bad" housing Market, even here in Southwest Florida. But is the Market really that bad? Florida was and is always a great place to live, work, have a second home, go on vacation or retire. The Job Market is healthy and a lot of companies are investing and opening new businesses in the Metro Area Cape Coral/Fort Myers.

In my opinion the current Market is great, it is great for every home buyer or investor. The prices are low and very often still negotiable, there are a lot of properties to choose from. Buyers and Investors are able to find a property that comes very close to their Real Estate Needs. Interest Rates are still affordable for both commercial and residential loans. The property Tax and insurance reform will benefit everybody, the primary residents, the second home owners and the investors.

We as Realtors are seeing buyers and investors coming back into our market. One of my fellow Realtors is working with a client who is buying every single Gulf Access Lot he can buy for under 80,000 Dollar. He bought 160 already. Others are following. The inventory on those and other "bargains" will shrink fast and very soon the buyer's market will turn into a seller's market again.

Good for the sellers, bad for the buyers. We still remember the housing boom in 2004 and 2005, everybody expected the housing market to turn from the buyer's to the seller's market but nobody expected it to happen that fast and that drastic as it did. Buyers bidding against each other for one property, some properties did not even make it to the open market before they were sold. This is for sure not the right time to buy, that is the right time to sell.

Everybody expects the Real Estate Market to recover some when between the end of this year to about 2 years from now. CNN Money Magazin and Forbes published in their August issues that they are expecting for the Metro Cape Coral/Fort Myers an increase in property value in 2008 of about 25% and name this area among the Top Ten in the Nation with the highest Property Value increase.

Is it worth waiting for another few month before investing? Are the prices declining even more? I don't know, but there are signs that that might not happen. We are seeing more and more buyers and investors taking advantage of the current market situation, that will cause a decrease in inventory, which will consequently lead to price increases for certain properties.

I am a Realtor in Cape Coral/Fort Myers since 1994 and I have worked in quiet some Buyer's and Seller's Markets since then. If you are a seller and if you are able to, hang on to your property just a little bit longer, times will change soon. If you are a buyer or investor, I honestly think time to buy is now!