What's On Tap for 2007- Sarasota Markets

To my readers I must apologize for the gap between my last posting and now- I have been working on updating www.drewrussell.com to serve my clients better and took a break from posting blogs. For my first blog of the new year, I thought I would answer the question that virtually all of my clients are asking me- and that is "where do you see the market going in 2007?"

My prediction is that 2007 will feel vaguely like 2006 except without the bleak Winter-Spring the real estate industry saw last year. The first three months of last year were so quiet that most everyone was scared of what was in store. We are on the other side of that now, and from what I can see prices are beginning to stabilize and buyers are making moves on the properties that they had been waiting for. Couple that with low rates- my last closings featured rates at 5.875%- and I see absorption increasing in the coming months. It will take us a good long while to get out of this funk, but better times are ahead in a more equalized market. 2006 was still a great year to do business. My personal sales volume was higher than 2005, and I was able to find many clients great deals on the buying side. The listing side was a bit more challenging, but many sellers who were savvy took my advice on pricing and still made large profits.

On a bit more sour note, I did serve some investors who got some bad advice from other sources and ended up losing a lot of money. That was tough to be a part of, but as amateur investors are getting flushed out of this market, so are those are wanting to sell and move back up north. Another factor that is going to affect this market greatly is the segment of sellers who are looking to make in town moves. As soon as their houses sell, they will be out hunting for new homes as well. As this market starts to slowly gain momentum, I think everyone will be surprised at the speed of the rebound- especially in unique residential sections. This does not apply as much to cookie cutter developments and condos overwrought with irrational investors.

For those of you who like cold hard numbers with your highly speculative real estate forecasts, consider some of these. In late December the Main Street Office of my company had a $20 million dollar day- that's right- $20 million in about 6 contacts- all high end sales. For the year of 2006- the worst year in several- 397 properties closed escrow for over $2 million. This shows me that there is confidence at the top of the market- and regardless of how you feel about trickle down economics on a macro scale, I do think we are going to see this confidence trickle down and help revive a weak market.

That's the update for now- be sure to email your comments to drewrussell@michaelsaunders.com.