HOME SALES ARE UP! WAIT, THEY’RE DOWN! WAIT… UMMM

Jeffrey D. Rubin, CDPE — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:03:00 GMT

All of the reports from the various "experts" and news outlets this week, and in previous weeks, can confuse people as to what is really going on within the housing market.

You have home builders reporting on Wall Street, and other places, about housing starts and permits being down. You have the National Association of Realtors reporting sales of existing homes are up. And you also have short sales surpassing foreclosures, in sales, for the first time, ever.

"Good News on Housing Permits More Than Offsets the Bad News on Starts”— HIS Global Insight

“Housing Starts Decline Again” – Capital Economics

“March Multifamily Starts Down; Permits Continue Upward Trend”— KBW

“March Construction Numbers Aren’t As Bad as They Look”— Trulia.com

“Housing Starts Lacking Consumer Confidence” — Sageworks Inc.

Here’s the problem: We are living a tale of two housing markets, single and multi-family. Depending on what kind of builder or investor you are, you’re going to see the housing starts numbers differently.”

She is correct. But what most people, even the smart ones, forget is that housing is NOT a national economy! It is not even really a regional economy.

It’s a local one.

What I mean is what is happening in Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Palm City or anywhere in Martin County or St. Lucie County, Florida is not what may be happening in West Palm Beach or Orlando or Ocala.

If something happened good or bad for the local economy in Jacksonville it may not have any impact at all to the Treasure Coast. It could, but most of the time it isn’t the case.

In fact real estate can be scaled down so much that it can just be a particular neighborhood or series of blocks that differ in value – up or down – for various reasons.

So next time you hear about real estate on a national level be sure to take a look around your area afterwards to see if you agree with the numbers.

Remember just like when you are choosing a REALTOR to find your next purchase or to sell your current home, use the information that is available locally to be better informed for your part of the world.

To do so you can tune in to my weekly radio show on WPSL 1590 AM or watch it here. You can also keep up with my Blog, read the newspaper or talk to your neighbors and business associates to get a better feel as to how things are going.

Jeffrey Rubin : housing market, palm city

HOME SALES ARE UP! WAIT, THEY’RE DOWN! WAIT… UMMM