Bill Mitchell

Hello all,

First off let me say that I don't want to jinx a good thing. BUT when your phones are ringing off the hook and your writing deals everyday maybe something is really happening.

I have been in Southwest Florida since 1985 and started buying real estate around 14 years ago when you could buy a Cape Coral off water lot for $500.00. Back then you didn't have to wait to see if you were out bid or hope that you could afford the tax bill. You were just buying to hold for a future investment or you were building your portfolio for the better. Then came the boom and we saw those $500 vacant off water lots sell upwards in some of the areas selling for $90,000 or more. We were all still fighting the urge to buy but some of us back off for quite awhile UNTIL NOW.

When today's buyers are seeing that we can deliver a home built in 2005 that's never been lived in for under $100,000 they start to perk up. They realize that even if they missed the $500 lots that we were buying in 1998 they are not going to sit by while the home prices of 2001 have come back into our market. They realize that if they can afford rent payments around $1600 a month for the same home they can purchase why not make the move to ownership.

So to pick up on my topic three paragraphs later is Southwest Florida bouncing back? Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the biggest movers and shakers in our real estate market and still communicate with them on a daily basis. When all of these professionals are radiating the same statements as my office I know we are not the only ones who are busy. The biggest thing is that people are seeing that now IS THE TIME TO BUY so they are.

I just read an article in our local paper talking about dwindling inventory in SW Florida and how our 2 year supply of homes in the market had moved down to about 9 months worth in just the matter of a few months. This is partly because of the influx of the many foreclosures that have finally started to hit the market but is also because as realtors we stopped taking a listing just to get one. We as professionals finally stood up to the sellers and told them NO, you cannot sell that home for that much and YES you could have back then but not now. So even though the sellers were reluctant to move their prices down they did and saw sales. Like I said in the beginning of this blog, I don't want to jinx a good thing but it does feel good to sell again.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog posting and if I can be of any help to you or any of your clients I am always available by email or phone and always pay out a 25% referral fee for any consummated sale.

Bill Mitchell
www.ForeclosureToursRUs.com

I was talking with a group of teacher the other day and for the first time in a few years I didn't hear them say "We can't afford to take this position in Southwest Florida". This was not the case over the past couple of years and I think that we as a community missed out on several young teachers that could have made major differences in our children's lives if the only could afford the housing at the time.

With real estate prices moving downward and more affordability coming back into our market it now makes since for young professionals to make the move from the cold and down to 85 degree weather in February. The biggest part of the downward spiral is the ever so popular foreclosure segment of our market. Now as I can't speak for all areas of the country Southwest Florida experienced a huge growth in a very short time and was fueled by speculators thinking the rise would never stop. Whether it was greed or pure stupidity the gravy train came to a screeching halt and started to "drain" the investors on a monthly basis. Eventually those who were unable to make obligations to their monthly payments had to surrender those properties back to the banks and now the banks need to unload them.

Move forward two years and that is where we are today, when a young professional who might only make $46,000 a year can now move to our area and buy a three bedroom, two bath home under $90,000 they can make since of their payment. They can live the SW Florida dream with the rest of us and not feel that they need to go stock shelves at night or deliver pizzas just because they have a passion to teach our children.

The foreclosures will pass over the next few years and I hope that the people who are buying today don't repeat the same cycle in the short amount of time again and the primary residents who are buying today will enjoy making fun of their friends up north while they bask in the warm sun of Lee County.

Thank you for reading my blog, I hope to contribute more of my thoughts again soon.