For any of you buyers that think the way to “a deal” are Short Sales, PreForeclosures or Foreclosures, I would LOVE to hear from you.  I will be happy to provide my personal opinion based on extensive experience in both representing my buyers as an Exclusive Buyers Agent, or in representing my sellers who have gotten themselves “over their heads” in the current real estate debt situation.  There are opportunities to be had with the right situation… but you had better be prepared for a Patience and Frustrations along the way.  I can help you through the entire process… whether buying or needing to sell your property where you owe more than your home is currently worth.

A quick word of advice for the sellers, “Bad news does not get better with age… only Blue Cheese”. If I can help… just let me know.  I can save you a ton of aggravation and frustration… and also help guide you through what is possible using my extensive experience in this arena.

I hope to hear from you… with your experiences as well on my BLOG. It will help everyone….  

I believe the words of advice for the day concerning Brevard County Florida Real Estate market conditions are: Don’t lump all of Florida into one bucket..THIS IS A VERY LARGE AND DIVERSE STATE…. and please don’t believe all that you hear in the national press. I always tell my buyers and sellers who I represent to not generalize based on all the “bad news nationally”… and secondly “never confuse asking prices with selling prices” in these obvious buyers market conditions …. especially in Brevard County Florida.   I have noticed over the last 5-6 months that the actual buying prices (as opposed to asking prices) have begun to stabilize/flatten, i.e. even though asking prices may still be all over the map in these turbulent times, actual selling prices appear to no longer be dropping like they did over the last 2-3 years.  This is the good news and the bad news.  The buyers that I continue to work with are almost all from out of the area (with the exception of local investors with readily available cash and/or first time home-buyers with good credit locally), i.e. with heavy contingents of potential buyers from New England, New York, PA, MD, Virginia, some from Ohio/MI (if they have the ability to sell their homes), along with increasing activity from overseas foreign buyers (Europe, Canada and Middle East) due to the advantageous currency exchange rates and from South Florida, where the heavy traffic and congestion are driving people north up to our slice of paradise.

I have concluded that we have seen the worst… and are on the cusp of a turnaround in Brevard County, FL, even though I am fully expecting that it will be 2-3 years (maybe more) before we again begin to see normal appreciation rates again, as opposed to our past 2-3 years of depreciation. It will take this amount of time before the excess inventory of homes - especially in the lower end due to PreForeclosure, Short Sale, and Foreclosure listings - will begin to get back to a more normal level of options for my buyers to consider.   I have also concluded that the the “National Press” has not figured this out… and hence “WE ARE NOW IN  THE BEST TIME TO BUY” that most of you have seen in a long time. I maintain that when the press begins to turn positive across Florida in general and across the USA with the national press, you will have then missed your opportunity to buy and get the best prices possible in a long time.  The real estate market is much like the stock market in that respect … when the news starts feeling better…. then the buyers will begin coming out of the woodwork… because everyone still wants to live in our wonderful Paradise of Brevard County Florida… and we will again see the beginning of a buyers frenzy to get the best deals possible… but if you wait for that… you will have missed the best opportunities.   The best opportunities exist when the buyers are in a position to buy now… and the sellers are still nervous and jerky….   When the press turns positive, the sellers will be less likely to be realistic and deal … and the numbers of buyers for those prime “realistically priced” properties will increase… and the market turn will be on.
BUYERS… Don’t miss the opportunity.. NOW IS THE TIME! The time to get the best deals possible, but not to be totally unrealistic thinking you are going to “Steal Everything” because you probably will not be able to.  If you the buyers are not realistic these days, you will miss the best properties on the market… because most of those “best properties” owners are not desparate (there are some exceptions - but not many).

I would like to hear from you concerning the above… DO you agree?  Why?  Do you disagree? Why?  Let me know… 

Welcome to Dave Congdon’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Brevard County Florida, including all “of the beaches”, i.e. Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic and Melbourne Beach, or the Mainland cities of Melbourne, Grant/Valkaria, Malabar, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Cocoa, Port St John, Titusville, including the PUD’s of Viera and Suntree.  I would like to hear from you.. “What subjects would you like to talk about”?  Let me know… and we will use my BLOG as a means to gather opinions and information for everyone.