So let me take a step backward for a moment. Let’s not totally forget about the past, just the learn and remember the lessons that it has taught us. Now move forward!
We will most likely not see a real estate market like we’ve dealt with for the past 7 years. With that said, real estate is and always has been cyclical. There is an 18-year cycle to real estate, with the exception of the WWII time period.
Every depression is preceded by a boom of which real estate dominates.
So, of course, the question is when will this end? When will housing values begin to increase? A crystal ball is a wonderful item, but since the one I have doesn’t appear to work well…
In a perfect world…well this probably wouldn’t have happened. What I’m trying to say is this. There are many factors that will contribute to the when and where. Right now with the price of oil, and therefore, gasoline being so high is a major contributing factor. That will contribute to the lengthening of this recessionary cycle as well as some major global events.
But history indicates that a balanced market is on the horizon. We are already seeing some improvements, albeit not very dramatic or maybe even permanent. But they are steps in the right direction.
OK, so enough doom and gloom. The fact is that everything is relative. Homes bought and sold in today’s market are equivalent.
Mortgage rates are still quite low. We will not, or hopefully shouldn’t, see some of the mortgage products that were out there where we could purchase property with basically no documentation. Unfortunately, we appear to have very short memories, so….time will tell.
Now on the bright side, unemployment is down and tourism, or at least the hotel occupancy rate, is up having hit a 3-year high. These are some key factors in the Greater Orlando area which has a tourist economy.
The facts are that the month over month figures show that the number of sales are up as are the average and median sales prices. Also, the inventory has been reducing and in greater numbers as each month passes. The unfortunate item is that foreclosures and short sales still dominate the market, but this too shall change as well as we progress.