It's nice to opine, but my ego stays grounded by a comment offered by someone in the audience as I took questions following a recent speech to the Sarasota Association of Realtors.
It's blowing this way and that, like the unsettled breeze we feel when a hurricane is a bit too close by in the Gulf. More and more homes are for sale -- that's good for buyers, but bad for sellers and investors needing to flip. The interest-rate scenario is risky for folks with adjustable-rate and interest-only mortgages, or equity loans tied to the prime rate -- but fixed rates are still low for folks looking to buy for the long haul. Florida continues to be an attractive destination for buyers -- at least those who don't mind the threat of hurricanes.
And affordability isn't just an issue for would-be buyers. It's a problem for homeowners who want to trade up or downsize, too. We're all on the same boat, just on different decks. And they're not loading the lifeboats right now.
To top it off, Sarasota County voters just passed a government land-buy program that may preserve some green space, but also will make property even more expensive.
And I haven't even mentioned increasing taxes, the cost and difficulty of obtaining homeowner's insurance, and a world that is going you-know-where in you-know-what.
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