Orlando Real Estate

I read about two sentences of an article yesterday and stopped. I cannot remember where I read it, or who the author was. He lost all credibility with me when he said nobody is investing in real estate these days. Maybe I stumbled across an old article, or it was an article about some other specific market. I just don't know because I clicked it off and went on. I try to mention in all my blog posts that when I am writing, I am speaking of the Orlando real estate market. I do try to read about other markets and of course the national perspective on real estate and the economy overall, but I recognize that the area I know best is Orlando. In my opinion the national real estate market and even the national economy, while interdependent, are both a summation of the individual markets around the country.

Now that I have that out of the way, I have to say people are investing in Orlando real estate. If we could close all the contracts that are being written, we would be making national news. Last month (July) we wrote 3,696 new contracts, and that was the fourth month in a row that we had over 3,400 contracts in a month. I personally have a number of investors actively purchasing (or trying to purchase) real estate in the Orlando area. The two biggest obstacles they have had to acquiring properties have been short sales and other investors. I have short sales under contract, but the banks are extremely slow to approve if they approve them at all. The bank owned properties get multiple offers, and more frequently they are selling for over the asking price. In the past week, I have written very aggressive offers on two bank owned properties the day they came on the market and still did not get them. I have heard of properties getting 25 offers on them, and the banks are cutting them off after one day on the market. In the case of condos, investors are pretty much crowding out owner purchases simply because of financing. Condo financing options are limted at best, and investors with cash in hand are picking up units dirt cheap to use as rentals. My point is that people are most definitely investing in Orlando real estate.

We still have plenty to choose from, but at these prices they won't last.

Orlando Real Estate, David Welch Real Estate Optimist