Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Great Expectations

I had an interesting conversation with a prospective buyer last week. Among his criteria was "being able to take advantage of the poor market conditions in the area in terms of significant below market pricing and leveraging the fact that he'd be paying cash". "Poor market conditions"? The current market would be better described as en fuego (see the previous post). "Significant below market pricing"? I'm not aware of any sales happening at significantly-below market prices. Buyers are standing by ready to purchase good properties when they're priced at current levels with over half of them paying cash. I suspect this particular buyer is going to be looking for a very long time unless he modifies his expectations.

Are the deals all gone? No, but expecting to purchase property significantly below market pricing will eliminate most if not all possibilities. There are plenty of properties that are deals at current market levels. Just matching the last sale in many neighborhoods and complexes would qualify as a deal in my book. Some prices at current levels are down 75% from the peak. Expecting to buy significantly below that level is unrealistic. As always, buyers need to do their homework and know the dynamics at play in the current market so they can have a better chance of success. I'm glad to help if you have questions about the Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral market.

Some of you will have read this similar post from 2009 but it's worth revisiting. Self Defeating Games

"Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics." ___Gen. Omar Bradley