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“Where are Pinellas County home prices going in 2009?”

I didn’t make that question up. Some people find this blog by searching Google, and one reader from somewhere in Ontario found me by typing that very question into the Google search engine yesterday.
It made me think, “That’s more than just a Google search string; it’s a pretty basic question about what we may expect real estate-wise during the coming year. It’s a question that everybody wants answered.”
So here’s my answer: I have no idea.
I don’t think ANYBODY really knows where home prices will go in Pinellas County in the coming year, and that’s the problem. Uncertainty is everywhere right now, not just in the housing market but in every corner of the economy. We have many more questions than answers because we’ve never been in this position before — not for a very long time, anyway.
So, having no real answers, I’ll venture an opinion:
I think we are at or near the bottom. I have a couple of reasons for thinking that; for one thing, prices seem to be holding fairly steady and have been for some months after a period of free-fall. For another thing, first-time homebuyers are pretty active in the market right now, which tells me that young employed people are seeing value in the current marketplace. And third, investors are coming forth and buying properties, often with cash.
Those are all good signs. BUT, I don’t have to tick off the areas of uncertainties in the economy, inside and outside of the real estate market.
Anyway, I’m going to try to remember that question from that Ontario reader about Pinellas County home prices, and I’m going to post some stories on this blog throughout the year that respond to that question in one way or another.

Tags: home prices, pinellas county

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 6:42 am and is filed under Market Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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