Orlando’s real estate market… bottom?

Are we at… B… B… B… Bottom?

Yep, the much anticipated “B” word - no one wants to risk saying it. I mean, what if you’re wrong? There was Jim Cramer (Mad Money) with Bear Stearns, and George Bush with Mission Accomplished. Why take the chance of making a public gaffe?

Well, I’m not about to stick my neck (all the way) out - but the fact is, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Sales and pending sales of homes have turned in hard-hit markets. House prices are finally affordable. Consumer confidence polls show noteworthy improvements in the public’s outlook. And mortgage rates are at 4.7%.

Each state and community will rebound according to its own economic underpinnings but the signs are that even the Orlando condo market is on the way to recovery.

In last week’s developments:

Mortgage applications for purchases of resale and new homes were up again - 8 % for applications using conventional loans, and a remarkable 17 % gain in applications to buy houses using low-down payment FHA mortgages.

A group of new consumer-sentiment polls came out showing that Americans are feeling better about their economic prospects for the first time in months. The Times even put the results at the top its front page with the headline: “Poll finds Brightening Outlook on U.S. Economy.”

Members of the National Association of Home Builders reported that shoppers’ visits to look at new houses for sale are “on the rise and consumer interest is increasing.” The Association also announced that more than half of all U.S. households - 55 million of them - can now afford to buy the median priced $200,000 new home. That’s up 45 % in the past 2 years.

Even Business Week, particularly harsh on U.S. housing in recent years, ran a cover story about the turnaround getting underway, focusing on hard-hit areas like Florida, and Las Vegas, where sales have been rising fast. In Orlando unsold inventory is taking a plunge.

In view of still-rising unemployment and depressed levels of available credit we’re not out of the woods yet. But if you’re a buyer and you’re still on the sidelines, then there’s an Orlando real estate genie who’d like a word in your ear!

Contact the Orlando Real Estate Pros on 407-290-3408 to get the latest Orlando data on buying or selling a home.

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