The market, then and now. Has anything changed from 2005-2008

Sep 13, 2005

The market, then and now. Has anything changed from 2005-2008

This is a blog post I wrote in September 2005. It was my 5th blog post ever and if asked back then, I probably could not have stated with certainty that I would keep the blog active. But here we are nearly 3 years later. A lot has changed and nothing has changed.

Little did I know that those 12 new listings were the seeds to an excessive listing inventory that continues to rage out of control. Over 36,000 homes for sale in the 5 county Central Florida area that we service. I also had no clue how wrong I would be in guessing that we would be returning to a "normal market". What we have experienced since the middle of 2005 has been nothing close to normal. Most of us with 20-30 years of experience have never seen a market quite like this.

At least I got one prediction right. Agents have found out, the hard way, what an expired is. It is possible that more agents today instead of asking for are demanding price reductions or releasing the listing back to those sellers who will not budge.

Has it been interesting? Tiring, a little stressful, revealing, confusing for sure. Interesting? Ask me again in 3 years.

Here is my post in Sept. 2005

We had 12 new listings to caravan this morning after sales meeting. After
going week after week after week with few homes making it past a day or two on
the market to now seeing 12 listings must be an indication of something, right?
It may just be the time of the year. Perhaps everyone is just catching their
figurative breath. If we are starting to see the end of the "putting a sign in
the yard and the home sells in a day" market, that is not a bad thing either. No
reason to fear bursting bubbles, with over 76 million baby boomers nearing or
retiring over the next several years. The Florida real estate market should
maintain a healthy glow. Add to that the fact that the West Volusia County
market has always been lower than other surrounding counties in regards to
pricing , I would expect a normal real estate market to continue and last for
the next several years to come. Of course this could mean that Realtors who have
joined our ranks within the last couple of years, may now have an opportunity to
learn what an expired listing is or how to ask for the price adjustment or how
to do a true market analysis.

Should be interesting.