Coconut Grove Real Estate Market Update
August 17th, 2008 | categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate Market Conditions
Sellers want to know whether to sell now, or sell later. Buyers want to know whether to buy now, or buy later.
After studying the market and the recent numbers that just came out regarding Coconut Grove Real Estate this is where I see the market going in the near future.
I think that by the end of this summer we will have seen the bottom of the market in the number of sales, however not the bottom in price. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. If you go back in history you will see that before a market can truly recover, prices must continue to fall and sales must increase. This gives a boost to the market that is the catalyst for recovery.
I expect our absorption rate (the amount of time it takes for all of the inventory that is currently on the market to be sold) to fall from a high of 48 months in April to approximately 12 to 15 months by the end of October. Why? Because I see the number of homes sold drastically increasing over the next few months. Investors and first time home buyers are really taking advantage of all of the great deals out there, and people are tired of “waiting” for the bottom of the market. With the number of home sales increasing, there will be less on the market, and the time it will take to sell all the inventory will definitely shorten.
I expect prices in Coconut Grove to slightly fall over the next few months, at least until the end of the year. We have not had the drastic price reductions (with exceptions) that other areas in Miami Dade County have seen, but we have seen an overall slight fall in our prices and will continue to see that.
So what should sellers do? It depends. If you need to sell your house quickly, now is the time. Buyers are out in droves visiting open houses and scheduling appointments with Realtors. If they find the right home at the right price they will buy. The key to pricing your home to sell? You must not price it at the current values, you must expect a slight decrease in value over the next few months and calculate what that price is. Otherwise, you are chasing the market instead of getting ahead of it. If you can afford to wait things out just a little bit, and really need to see a higher return on your home you may want to wait until 2009 to place your home on the market.
What should buyers do? Buy, and buy now. It is a buyers market, and right now you have so many homes to choose from at some of the lowest prices in 5 years.
To search the MLS in Coconut Grove click here.