Realtors® are supposed to be trusted advisor – providing consumers with industry knowledge needed to make one of the most critical financial decisions they make in a lifetime. In the current environment, South Florida Realtors® regularly declare that “Now is the time to buy.” Should you listen to their advice?
Before you decide, you should consider what Realtors® were saying back in 2005 in the peak of the bubble (long before the 40% price reductions we’ve seen in South Florida).
One my favorite “trusted advisors” is Ron Shuffield, President of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell. In 2005 he wrote an essay title, “Bursting the Bubble Talk” (Click to see the whole article) Here are some excerpts:
“While the growth in South Florida values will probably not continue at such heated rates for the remainder of the decade, most acknowledge that we will experience rates of growth far-exceeding national averages. The long-term perspective for our markets is one of continuing world-wide attraction.”
“Just about everyone agrees that thousands of newcomers will continue to purchase homes in Florida, either as permanent or part-time residences. As the demand increases for homes and the supply of developable land decreases, South Florida values are going to rise. It’s that simple.”
“It’s not a question of, ‘if we build it, will they come?’ They’re already here… hence the growing demand for first, second and even third homes. It’s a great time to be living and working in South Florida.”
I'm sure at least some people bought homes in 2005 based on this advice.
Stumble It!
5 comments:
I decline to respond, on the grounds that any answer will incriminate me.
By remaining silent.... perhaps sufficient time will pass so that all forget what Shuffield advised?
Glad to see you are back in action.
Glad to see ya back in business. My comment is that South Florida it's not such a great place to live as some may say. I did not follow Shuffield's advice as I can see, think and act for myself w/o any realtor telling me anything. I've had the experience of realtors pushing me into purchasing a house in '05 but was able to identify the volatility of the market as well as the fact that the prices could not be sustained by the average income of the regular Joe. I have said enough but one thing I would still like to add is that REALTORS are nothing but a bunch of vultures feeding of people's ignorance and inability to make decissions on their own.
Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions in this mess. Real estate agents and banks aren't the ones to blame for all of this. These are adults that made the decision to buy. As a buyer you should have looked carefully at what you can afford and what kind of loan your are getting. People are incompetent these days and want to blame everyone else for their problems. Stop whining and get a job to pay off that house you got a 100% loan and paid too much for.
Get a job?? Maybe a second or third one as wages are not as far ahead as home prices.
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