Normally that is the chant of someone that is exuding pride in an accomplishment, however in this case it is not one to take a lot of pride in. Fort Myers/Cape Coral/Naples was just recognized as the leader in foreclosures for the entire US. We took the dubious honor from a California community.
However with all bad news comes good news. It is never reported and often over looked by the pundits. The good news is that this dubious distinction has generated an abnormal supply of ready and willing buyers. They might be called everything from bottom feeders to opportunist but in reality they are the thing that changes markets. They are the people that when there is blood in the streets come in and take advantage of the opportunities that exist.
Many of us here in the leading foreclosure market wish we had more money to invest because the old ad adage that buy low sell high has never been more dominant. However our dubious distinction will be short lived. In January we had a 24 month inventory on hand and as of last month that inventory had dropped to under 10 months. You see, we are at our bottom in this writer’s opinion. Most of the foreclosures are properties of investors that overbought during good times and walked from their investments. Our average home price is now within the means of most working families and our market is actually strong at this time.
So I guess in spite of having a distinction we would prefer not to have, the outcome is positive. So CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and the rest of the news media, perhaps it is time to tell the rest of the story!