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Hurricane Housing Market

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Paul George,

Hurricane Housing Market?

Happy Holidays! What an interesting year.  No matter what is going on in today’s world, we can always count our blessings.  Linda, Niko, Luka, Ringo and I want to wish you a happy and gracious holiday.

2022 has brought a shift in the housing market. So many changes have happened so quickly that homebuyers and sellers are not sure what to make of it.  None of this market is “traditional.”  Typically when we have rising interest rates, we have a buyer’s market. Not so fast because rising interest rates are usually coupled with high unemployment and desperate sellers trying to get out from under a mortgage.  Typically rental rates fall and housing inventory rises.  These factors are what make this market confusing.  We still have low unemployment. We still have low inventories.   Prices of homes and rental rates are still rising, although at a slower pace.

Linda and I own a vacation condo in Estero, Florida, which is between Fort Myers and Naples, and luckily only suffered minor damage in the last hurricane.  We all know about the devastation of Ian.  The interesting thing about hurricanes and tornados is when we see overhead pictures of the destruction, we always see some houses that are almost untouched and wonder how that happens.  Sometimes it seems like there is no rhyme or reason.

The current housing market kind of reminds me of that phenomenon.  I see two almost identical houses very close to each other and one sells with multiple offers while the other just sits with no offers.  This is the shift I’m seeing.  At the beginning of the year and last year, if a house was on the market for more than a weekend, there was something wrong with it…they all sold no matter what the flaws and what the price was.  Now it seems like there are two distinct markets, the one where homes sell in a weekend with multiple offers and the one where houses just sit.  This is where a good, experienced agent can help, and sellers must be willing to look at the current market conditions and not the market of just four months ago.  Sometimes that is a hard pill to swallow when your neighbor’s house sold for $50,000 more than asking four months ago and now, a similar house just sits.

A good agent will be realistic about what it takes to get a house sold, possibly with multiple offers.  Will sellers listen? Good agents have to be realistic with buyers, setting the right expectations.  Buyers today seem to think sellers are desperate because they see the news about the market shifting.  But they are not unless the house has been on the market for a few weeks.

There are new ways to “create a frenzy” for listings but, the number one place to start is being realistic and putting in the work.  I have many clients who will be selling next year and I’m stopping over to map out a plan to sell when the time is right for them.  Please contact me now if you are thinking about selling in 2023 so we can be ahead of the market.  These last few years, there was not much planning and preparation needed to sell or purchase a home.  This is where the market has shifted, and this is why you need an experienced agent to guide you through the shifting market.

Thank you again for a successful 2022.  My family and I are so blessed to be a part of this community.  We wish you all the best for 2023.

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