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The good old days of Fort Lauderdale Real Estate and when will they return?

Very often I hear people ask me, “When will the good old days of Fort Lauderdale Real Estate return?”  I don’t want to risk sounding sarcastic so I usually have to temper my answer. But, in reality what I am thinking is, What good old days are you talking about?

Sincerely, the answer the person asking is looking for depends totally on their definition of the good old days.

Some may define the good old days as the five years where we saw Ft Lauderdale Real Estate prices rise at 20% per year, but I doubt it would be the buyer who bought near the peak. Most often I feel these are people asking the question.

Some may define it as the time when Ft. Lauderdale Condominiums were selling out in an evening, sometimes with hundreds more buyers on line than units to sell. If you were number 200 at a property with 199 units for sale; I doubt you would agree these were the good old days.

Some may define the good old days as the many years that Ft. Lauderdale Properties only went up in price along with the rate of inflation, and there were an average of 18,000 properties for sale in Broward County all the time.

Some may define it as the year the City of Fort Lauderdale decided to make a conscious decision to wave good-bye to the wildest of spring break crowds. The closing of many Ft. Lauderdale hotels followed and the first of many brand new luxury hotels did not open for almost twenty years.

I personally think the good old days of Fort Lauderdale Real Estate are closer than we think. To me it means that the average days on market will close in on a reasonable number.  The inventory of buyers and sellers will be more balanced giving neither an unfair advantage. Short Sales and Foreclosures will represent a smaller portion of the overall Ft. Lauderdale Real Estate market. And finally prices will level off showing annual increases at a level that will allow builders to slowly start building again.

We all have our own opinion as what the Good Old Days mean and when they will return, but if anything can assure you that this lull is not going to last forever I think I have just the thing.

Last week I inquired about a small new project that is going to be built. Details were lacking but one comment was clear, “We have had so much interest and so few units that we are considering having a lottery, would you like to register your client”.  

Well ….Yes, I…. would…… (I responded with surprise), as I felt I had just entered a time warp.

Please remember at Eric Miller and Associates we are here to help with all your Fort Lauderdale area real estate needs, and help you uncover the areas best kept secrets.

Eric Miller is an award winning Florida Realtor, salesperson and broker. His website Fort Lauderdale Real Estate provides the most complete buyer, seller and investor information for the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Market.