Hitting the Real Estate Bottom

Many of my clients have been telling me that they were waiting to buy when the market hits bottom.  So when is that going to happen?  I feel that the bottom and the turn around will be different times for different areas.  And the truth is that you will not know the bottom until it is past and prices have started to move up. 

Don't look for the bottom in the list price on properties, you may find it in a few properties but not most.  Look for the bottom in the SOLD properties.   

My belief is that the coastal properties along the Forgotten Coast area of Florida will start to recover sooner for several factors.  Our market hit a wall in the summer of 2005 and has been hit hard since then.  2009 will be the year of the foreclosure here.  Prices have tanked and are in many cases 50% or more off from their price of three years ago.

I have been wrong about the market here for the past three years as I never thought the market would get this bad.  My belief is that 2009 will see the bottom, because that is when we will see the most foreclosures.  However I can't pinpoint the exact bottom and nobody else can either.   I do know that buyers are taking advantage of some great prices and motivated sellers.

We are beginning to get activity on the foreclosures and the properties with motivated Sellers.  Since the first of the year we have already closed on over $3 mil in properties on Cape San Blas.  Change is coming.  Buyers who have the courage to buy in 2009 will be slapping themselves on the back in future years for making such a smart decision.