Economists Predict Improvements To Florida Housing
If Florida housing starts for the year have been done, many economists would like to think that’s going to change in the near future. In fact, economists predict significant improvements to the Florida housing market.
According to a report, http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/06/bz-economist-optimistic-for-florida-housing/ “the Tampa Bay area is months away from the bottom of the downturn in single family housing market, and prices aren’t expected to fall any further.”
So what does this mean? From a sellers perspective it means that hopefully soon they’ll see the market perk up and as a result begin to see an increase in selling prices. Any small amount would b e a welcome change after the slump that Florida’s been facing. And not just Florida, the country for that matter.
For buyers it means the time may have come to get off the fence and make that commitment to purchase that home, summer property, or investment property you’ve been considering. After all prices are better than they’ve been in some time and there are plenty of motivated sellers.
The increase is certainly what Florida needs, but there still seem to a debate about what the outcome will actually be. Chris Lafakis, an economist with Moody's Economy.com, “calls for a 27% price drop in the Bay area, when measuring from the peak of the market to the bottom. Prices have fallen 12 percent so far, he said, citing data from Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home price index.
Let’s hope other economists are more on track. What to do? If you are selling, and you’ve got time on your side you could wait, but what if Lafakis is right? If you’re a buyer looking to buy a new home but you’ve been waiting in hopes that there might be more of decline in pricing, you could wait but what if Lafakis is wrong and prices are actually on their way up.
Do what’s right for you. Interest rates are excellent, financial institutes are offering some good terms. Don’t put off what you can do today.
The Bahia Team, Tampa Real Estate