Buyers Coming Back to FLA!

First-time buyers are stepping forward, overjoyed at the idea of finally being able to afford places of their own. Retirees paying all cash also are getting into the game, yanking their money out of the volatile stock market and putting it back into real estate.
Even investors are returning to the closing table. They’re not flipping properties for quick profits anymore. Instead, they plan to live in the homes or rent them out, at least until the market recovers.
Buyers are purchasing a dozen properties over the next year or so, with plans to rent them as Palm Beach counties homes now sell for less than $295,000, a price not seen here since spring 2004.
It’s no wonder that once-skittish buyers are jumping back into the housing market, creating a sales surge for the first time in four years.“People are starting to say, ‘Wow. How much lower can prices really go?
Buyers have a buy-and-hold strategy.”In July, August and September, sales of existing homes rose each month by as much as 52 percent in Broward and 11 percent in Palm Beach County from a year ago. Condo sales also have been brisk over the same period.
Properties in the $100,000 to $250,000 range appear to be the most popular among buyers, agents say. Despite the recent sales rise, South Florida’s housing market is expected to remain soft into 2009 because of the slow economy and the large supply of homes for sale that will continue to drive down prices.
People view real estate as a safe harbor for their cash.
Real estate has always been a good long-term investment.”