Prices are going to drop $50K!

I don’t think so, but a dear friend of mine who is also a realtor heard this from her client. I, myself, also heard someone say that they will not buy in this market because they expect prices to drop $25-35K. This is absolutely ridiculous!! But, unfortunately, people believe this because of what they’ve read in the media.

There was a great article in this Sunday’s Orlando Sentinel (10/15/6), “Signs point to a healthier-than-expected real estate market,” (pg H-51). I’ve been professing this since the beginning of this year.

We are basically in a normal market & that we’ve been going through a market correction. I just didn’t expect mortgage rates to remain this low. I really thought that they would inch up to the 7% range by years end. It looked like we were going there, but they have retreated to the approximately 6% level. That is absolutely fantastic! What that really translates to is market affordability for many that might have been locked out with higher interest rates.

What we are seeing now is a “correction” to a previously overheated market leading us toward “normal” market conditions. I do not foresee a “crash” that so many have been professing and many fear. Prices need to adjust. It comes down to the basics, that we learn in Economics 101, of supply & demand. With an oversupply (10 months at present for the Greater Orlando area) you need to market your home accordingly. Too many home sellers think that this is the summer of 2005 & won’t adjust to this reality, at least in their mindset.

I still see homes being placed on the market that are wholly overpriced. This is just ridiculous. This home will just sit & then the realtor needs to ask the home seller for a price reduction. Many in the industry are calling this a “price improvement,” but let’s get realistic, we all know what it is. I, as a realtor, cannot see why some people wish to take overpriced listings. OK, so you will have your name on a sign rider in front of this home, but that will stay there for quite a while. As a consumer, people have to wonder when they see a home sit on the market for such a long time. The homeowner may wish to price it high, but the realtor at the same time needs to take the blame as well. This is just poor marketing.

According to the article author, Kenneth Harney of the Washington Post Writers Group & Doug Duncan, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, “Not only to the doom reports ignore the positives in the marketplace – mortgage rates in particular – but the rhetoric is just way overwrought.”

Until next time – MARC IT SOLD!