Special offer

REAL ESTATE - Have we hit bottom yet?

By
Real Estate Agent with Esslinger Wooten Maxwell, Inc.

I hear many national experts giving their opinion about the real estate market and I find their opinion to be as accurate as someone on the space shuttle trying to pick a red, sweet juicy apple from space. With today's technology he may be able to see the trees - he may even see the apples. But only someone on the ground can go to the tree pick a red apple; smell it; take a bite and say if it is a nice sweet juicy apple.

Real estate is the same, yet we have all these national experts telling people what to do and often people make their decisions based on those opinions. Those of us who deal in real estate on a daily basis have the pulse of the market... but not the whole market -- we know our local market. In South Florida and particularly Miami-Dade County we may be bottoming out in the single family market. We are also seeing more activity by foreign buyers who want both waterfront single family properties and waterfront luxury condos.

Many buyers are waiting for some expert to tell them that the market has bottomed out, to begin buying. However, in our local market we are seeing a slight improvement that will need to be observed for another two months to determine if it is a real trend. Then we will need to watch it for another three months for experts to say with confidence - the market has really bottomed out and we are now on the upswing. If you notice, it will take at least six months for experts in our area to confirm a change in the market. Of course this needs to become a national trend before national experts notice what has really happened. So it may be 8 to 9 months before average Joe who is waiting for the market to bottom out, to find out about it.

So if you want to know how's the market doing, ask your local Realtor. He/she really knows better than the national experts what is happening in their market. He/she can tell you where to find the nice red, juicy, sweet apples of investments in your community. He/she is like the expensive fishing guide who knows how to find all the nice local fishing spots.

In our area we are seeing an increase in overall activity including actual transactions. There are more international buyers from Spain, France, England, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and other nationalities. Different groups have different focus areas. We are also seeing more buyers from other states who are also coming into our area. We recently passed a State law (Amendment 1) that allowed buyers to take their tax savings (portability) from one property to another. Many thought that law would create a wave of down-sizing and up-sizing transactions that never materialized.

At this point we are in the midst of the first wave of foreclosed properties. Banks are quickly disposing of their inventories and some buyers are taking advantage of those properties. Most of these properties require a good amount of work, but many are being offered literally "dirt cheap". They are good deals for those who want to fix them. Every so often you may find one that needs little or no work, but those go very fast.

In conclusion, it really doesn't matter if the market is at the bottom, midpoint or event higher. If you have plans of owning a property, this is the time to buy. If you are a marginal buyer at any level. Let's say that you want a single family home and your affordability limit is $250,000 right now we have plenty of inventory - I even saw a foreclosed 3/2 single family house in Coral Gables offered at $299,000-that's 2002 prices. So if you've been dreaming of owning a single family house in Miami-Dade County this is your opportunity. Let's say that you always wanted to live on the water with access to the ocean and your limit is $1,000,000, your dream could be fulfilled right now. For that price don't expect to get a property with no fixed bridges to the bay, but you can get a nice house mostly in the northern part of the County and there may be one or two in the south side. 

However, those who wait to hear the experts say that we have bottomed out, can be guaranteed to be a day late and many dollars short. If you have been planning to buy and don't expect to sell for five years or more, this is your opportunity to buy. For you the market has hit bottom.

 

Comments (2)

Steve Harless
Resolution Realty - Las Vegas, NV

carlos: best part of the artile for me was:

 it really doesn't matter if the market is at the bottom, midpoint or event higher. If you have plans of owning a property, this is the time to buy.

True words Man!

Apr 18, 2008 10:00 AM
Anonymous
Robin Speronis

My name is Robin Speronis and I am the Owner/Broker of Zen Real Estate in Southwest Florida; www.AskZenRealEstate.com  ; 1-877-890-0121. As you can imagine being in Real Estate in Southwest Florida, I get asked that question a lot, so I answered it in detail on www.AskZenRealEstate.com as well as questions on long and short term trends in the Real Estate Market and Currency Exchange Rate Fluctuations and Property Values. 

Sep 18, 2008 03:31 AM
#2