As goes Florida so goes Vermont?

My brother-in-law, a Realtor just outside Orlando in Florida, mentioned in a conversation just a little while ago that the market is now booming with regards to buyers. Sales for single family homes are up 68% (yes, sixty eight). Multiple offers on homes are not unusual at all, good for sellers and perhaps tough to swallow for buyers. Wow, what a change from just a few months ago!

If you are in a good spot financially now would be a good time to start thinking about moving into the market. I hear many folks who are "waiting for the bottom." The issue here is that, as is the case with stocks, no one knows the bottom until the market has changed. At this point it's too late...sellers mentality changes very quickly and the need to "deal" can go away very quickly.

Here is an article I found that pertains to the change that is going on...enjoy! Give a call if you have questions, or I can assist in any way



-David



Real Estate Outlook: Sales Rising?
by Kenneth R. Harney
Pushed by a powerful combination of historically-low fixed mortgage rates, an $8,000 tax credit, and affordable prices, sales of existing homes jumped 5 percent in February compared with the same month last year.

The biggest gains came in the Northeast, where sales were up by nearly 16 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. Home sales in the South came in 6 percent higher for the month; they were up by nearly 3 percent in the Western states and one percent in the Midwest.
Nationally, sales of condos rose faster than detached single family dwellings – 11.4 percent versus 4.4 percent.
Underlying the improving sales picture were continuing declines in median sales prices. Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, noted that the downward trend in median prices – off 15 percent for the year – is being driven by high rates of distressed sales in California, Florida, Nevada and parts of the Midwest.
Though sales nationwide rose by just five percent last month, in some areas hard-hit by the boom and bust cycle, the increases in sales were far more impressive.
For example, in south Florida, sales were almost off the charts – up 68 percent for detached houses and up 71 percent for condos.
Charles Richardson, vice president for Coldwell-Banker in Dade County, told the Miami Herald that "this is the sharpest (spike in sales) we’ve seen year-over-year. It’s going to accelerate our recovery. Buyers are starting to think that prices are where they should be and that the market is near a bottom." That may be a little optimistic, but any signs of a bottom in Florida – one of the worst hit states in the U.S. – is potentially important news elsewhere.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates continue on their sharp downward track, hitting six-decade lows last week. Fixed rate thirty year loans plunged to an average 4.6 percent from 4.9 percent with one point, while 15-year rates sunk below four and a half percent according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
For potentially hundreds of thousands of consumers waiting for the cyclical low point in the financing cycle, it looks like we’re either there or pretty close, whether for buying a house or refinancing your current loan.