The recent election and the financial cliff around the corner are enough to drive any person into paralysis and fear, keeping them from not doing anything until the dust settles. I have heard from a few of my clients that they are just going to wait until everything is finalized and we have a clear direction. The problem with that thought is that the next catastrophe is always around the corner. Modern day media is very good at pumping fear into all of us who pick up a newspaper or turn on the news.
I’m a believer of the Warren Buffet mentality of being greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy. That’s exactly the lesson most of us didn’t learn in the last dramatic downturn a few years ago. On the flipside, home prices are leveling out, if not rising, in certain areas. Our inventory is going down and the market is improving almost daily. Waiting for the next big event just doesn’t make sense if you are a buyer right now. Prices are at all time lows and interest rates are at all time lows, so if you are in it for a long-term investment I don’t know what else you could possibly be waiting for!
Buyer mindset can be a funny thing. I’ve talked with people who were willing to pay $300,000 for a condo in 2006 – and were excited to because everything was going up. Now that same condo can be bought for only $100,000 and that same person is afraid to pull the trigger! This is my point. The value of that same condo has increased dramatically! Buy it for the value, not the price and then wait. Remember the old saying, “Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and then wait.” That cannot be more true than it is now. This is the time to build long-term wealth by realizing the perfect storm of low rates, low prices, and high rental rates from tenants.
Don’t let the media get you down. It’s easy to fall into the trap and always feel like the sky is falling down. However, we all wake up the next day to sunshine in beautiful SW Florida. Everything passes and people tend to forget things over time. Our market has never looked so good. There’s a lot of new construction going on currently, which shows a vote of confidence as builders dump millions of dollars into our market. Take advantage of today. A deal today – gone tomorrow!
Gabe Mellein was voted a Top Real Estate Agent – Exceptional in Service and Overall Satisfaction by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2012. He is the broker of Gulf Pointe Properties, Inc and has over 8 years experience in the SW Florida Real Estate Market. He is a member of The Naples Area Board of Realtors, Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors, Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, The Florida Association of Realtors, The National Association of Realtors, and is nationally certified in Feng Shui for Real Estate. Need real estate help? Please contact Gabe at: 239.825.2234, Gabe@GulfPointeProperties.com or www.GulfPointeProperties.com
