The following statistics compare January 2019 to 2018
Sold Single Family Homes UP 27% (19 vs 15)
Sold Condominiums DOWN 29% (25 vs 35)
Sold Single Family Vacant Lots DOWN 30% (7 vs 10)
Pending Condominiums DOWN 35%(41 vs 63)
Pending Single Family Vacant Lots DOWN 21% (11 vs 14)
(Pending means it went under contract but has not closed yet)
Inventory:
353 Single Family Homes (UP 8% from 2018)
433 Condominiums (UP 20% from 2018)
318 Single Family Vacant Lots UP 6% from 2018)
1,104 Total - Is on the rise, keep an eye on this.
Summary:
A total of $42 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in the Month of January 2019. $50 Million dollars last month and $43 Million in January 2018 (last year). Let's just say this year is starting out with a clang instead of a bang. Cutting right to it; here we go. I blame the stock market which ended the year with The Dow and S&P 500 recording their worst December performance since 1931 and their biggest monthly loss since February 2009. Folks, I don't care how good a Realtor you know I am, it's hard to sell MAGA hats at the Democratic Convention. That's it. The whole shebang. Now you want to know why the Stock Market took a pooper? Only I could figure this one out. Ready? It is because of the restaurants and golf courses here in Marco and Naples. WHAT! you ask does that have to do with the stock market? Here is the hidden algorithm I solved, stick with me. Our real estate market rides on the coattails of the boys up on Wall Street. Many of them fly into Naples on their private jets on the weekends to stay at their Mega Mansions. When they get here all they want to do is go out to dinner and play golf. As soon as they realized the wait times at the local restaurants and tee times at the golf courses were increasing because more and more people were moving here and crowding them out, they decided to take action... with me so far? So, they all flew back to NY around Thanksgiving and they met in secret where they devised a way to make the market drop, knowing when they hit Collier County prospective property purchasers in the wallet/pocketbook, real estate sales and discretionary spending would slow, resulting in a decrease in the hungry people going to restaurants and golfers hitting the 19th hole. This strategy would simply thin out the herd. Once the herd is thinned, there is plenty of room at the old watering hole for the privileged few. Ingenious I say for them to pull it off - and this brought a new meaning to the Trickle Down Theory of economics. What they weren't counting on is the fact that little ol' me would figure out their scam and bring it to light. Since I have, you may have noticed that the stock market is robust again and I think February and March will show much stronger real estate numbers. Mankind can thank me later when I accept the Noble prize in economics for cracking this.
As my faithful 7.6 readers know, my first wife is smarter than all of these fancy wall street actors and knows how to get immediate results. Last month she asked me to meet her for cocktails at Trulucks Restaurant to discuss the fact that our son Willy was accepted into The University of Florida, and how was I going to pay for all of it. Apparently, Willy can't live in a dorm with the regular students, he will need to live in a private home with a staff based on what she told me it will cost. Anyway, Barbarita asked for 2 seats at the bar and was told there was a 45-minute wait. She then announced that she was "vertically challenged" and demanded that she be accommodated immediately. The manager got very nervous and figured to avoid a lawsuit he better act quickly. He pulled two stools out from a back room, pushed 6 other patrons closer together and squeezed us right in there and offered my first wife a complimentary Hemlock cocktail and me a Manhattan. When he brought out a phone book for her to sit on so she could see over the bar, she fist punched him. From there the dinner became complimentary as well.
Now, as usual, you are asking what does all of this have to do with Real Estate, and as usual, I will pull it all together and try to make sense of something. Sometimes in Real Estate, things are simply out of your control. If you are a Buyer, the Seller may be extra motivated and sell you something cheap because an alimony payment is coming due and liquidity is needed. Or, sometimes you may be a Seller and the Buyer makes you what they think is a very generous offer, you figure if that is what they offered, there MUST be more meat on the bone. Ultimately you sadly find out they were vegetarians and there were no more peas in their pod and the deal goes South. It is an awful feeling not to be in control of something (shout out to my boy Andy here), but if you go with what the deal brings you, sometimes even though you may not be in control, you can get it all wrapped up nicely and move on with your life to new adventures.
Barb and I are now Slingers and are open to anyone that wants to take us out for dinner and Sling later on.
As always, please reach out and contact me if you have any real estate questions.
And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought.
Gerry Rosenblum
Broker Associate
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty
Realtors
2008 Realtor of The Year - Marco Island
239-450-4770 (cell)
1-888-239-5131 (toll free e-fax)
1-800-237-8817 (toll free)
To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com
1-888-239-5131 (toll free e-fax)
1-800-237-8817 (toll free)
To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com
