Busy, Busy, Busy

Although we can't yet see it in sales results, many of us are busier than we've been in years.  One agent recently told me that he has more going on than he's had in 20 years!  What does this tell us?  It says that people know that it's a good time to buy (true), that rates are low (very true!), and that the economic climate is improving (true).  Businesses are busy, but they are still not pulling the trigger on space.  Maybe they are too busy to do the work, or they aren't confident that sales will improve and stay better.  Whatever the reason, we are in the part of the cycle that reminds me of my old days of rowing college crew--the stroke has to raise the stroke by putting his/her oar in the water first and doubling down until everyone else catches up.  That's where the market is--we are doing the work, and the results haven't appeared yet.  But it appears that they will, meaning that those who rented or bought sooner will do better than those who waited.  Where will you be?

Timing a Sale or Purchase

As I think we all know, it almost never pays to try to time some financial event exactly, be it a stock sale or a real estate transaction.  The most we can hope for is to get close enough to either the top or the bottom of the market, depending upon whether you are buying or selling, to feel good about your decision. 

Well, when it comes to the real estate market, people have been trying to pinpoint the bottom of this  particular cycle for years now.  We may not be at the absolute bottom for demand and prices--in fact, I think that we are slightly past that point--but we are close.  So is it time to sell?