Season's End

It's Labor Day week and with it comes an end to the fast paced energy that our short season brings us here on the outer cape.

The resort town lifestyle resembles the real estate market performance, in a way. Amuse me if you will and let me explain.

The mad rush of buying, selling, refinancing and exponential appreciation from 2001-early 2005 fueled what can only be described as a frenzied real estate market, not unlike our summer from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

With the summer season officially over, we now enter fall, a quieter time, yet still a little busy with tourists. However, after New Years… we all know, its like hitting a brick wall of silence and isolation. Dinner parties and the occasional holiday weekend may pop up… but let’s face it, its pretty dead. That’s where we are right now in the real estate market. It’s the winter. We have seen pockets of activity and some large commercial transactions, but overall, we are not immune to the national trend.

Some experts are saying the market is starting to turn around. Others say it will still be another 9 months to one year.

With prices low, interest rates hovering in the mid 6’s, new federal and state laws created to stimulate the housing market, hopefully, we’ll see a new season begin shortly for real estate.

Even though we are most likely skidding along the bottom, until homebuyers truly believe this is where we are and start buying, activity will remain sluggish.

How far away is Memorial Day for real estate? No one really knows. Stay tuned.