What Does Everyone Think is Going to Happen with the Real Estate Market?

Most sellers everywhere are still in denial and still think they can get 2005 prices. But not all are. Look hard for good deals, because they are out there. It is a buyer’s market and you are in the driver’s seat. You may need to make 3 or 4 low-ball offers before someone accepts one, but try hard and you’ll make tens of thousands of dollars.

My prediction is that prices continue to drop for 6-12 more months, then stagnate for about 3 years, then begin a normal (3-5%) appreciation from that point until the next big spike in about 10-20 years. I think prices will hit 2005 levels again in 2011 or 2012.

I don’t know if it is necessary to wait, I’d keep looking, but do your homework as to the location of your next home in Broward County. Make sure to check crime in the area before you make an offer.

DING! You said the magic word,” it was not an easy task.”
Real estate investing is for the pros.
My own advice, don’t wait too long, the market will rebound.
Of course, if my advice were that good, I’d be making a fortune flipping houses.

I’ve been investing between Europe & Florida for circa 20 years and I head three syndicates of investors. One thing’s for sure. There’s always a silver lining in real estate if you look long and hard enough for it – good or bad times.

Using our European connections, we are able to get deals not available to people in the US, simply because if they knew about them the market could tumble even faster. It has to be said this always happens during a down market. Absolutely anywhere in the world where builders find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Not certain about Weston right now but there are deals floating between 15% & 50% off list prices which have already been lowered. Why SO low? Well, the credit crunch is hurting buyers and in turn the banks are nervous about developer loans taken during the boom times.

Unless you’re able to buy in bulk most of these deals are not on the table of course. Developers usually trade – and trade fast – with syndicates or networks able to deliver.

However, it may well be worth opening a dialogue at senior level (certainly not their Realtor nor the sales manager) and you might just get 15%-30% off. Definitely worth a try.

A word of warning however. When buying at discounted rates I ALWAYS conduct a due dilligence report for myself and colleagues. Why? Anyone offering big, VERY BIG discounts on off-plan projects might also be contemplating doing a runner. In which case it’d be a great way to lose your deposit – escrow account or not. I know of several people this happened to in Orlando last year and where the developers contract permitted him to transfer from one escrow to another for ‘expenses.’ He ran with the expenses of something around US $6M.

That said, I’ll definitely be taking a look into Weston myself now.

Best of fortune to you…

Some sellers are holding out for 2005 prices, but those folks can look forward to alot of days on market. Savvy buyers are shopping around, looking for those diamonds in the rough. They are out there, some sellers are eager to sell and willing to look at any offer.

As you said, not an easy task, but it can be done.

Good luck!

Matthew said it best. The market will probably continue losing value for a little longer before eventually stabilizing. Then after a period, it will begin to move forward again. Each area will be a little different as even now some places in the country are experiencing increased values while ares like Fresno CA are feeling a higher drop in prices and are expecting a greater number of foreclosures than other cities.

Depending on your needs and what you find, you might want to extend your search for the best deal over a few months or a little longer unless something great comes along. The market isn’t going to turn around over night and so there is very little risk that you will miss out on the “rock bottom” prices. But if you are needing financing, you might want to keep an eye on rates.