Although it takes nearly three times longer, on average, to sell a home in today’s real estate market than it did during the recent “boom” years, people are still eagerly getting back into the real estate business, according to agencies like Florida’s State Department of Professional Regulation[1]. While the numbers are not back where they were in, say, 2007, when Florida alone boasted 305,000 real estate agents and brokers, the population is edging up again with about 268,257 registered agents and brokers actively working at the end of February of this year. Furthermore, agents and brokers are not the only ones getting back in the game. “A lot more financial investors who were sitting on the sidelines [of the real estate market] are starting to come back…now,” says investment associate Patrick Whitney, noting that qualified investors are getting picky and avoiding distressed assets in favor of “stable, quality, cash-producing properties”[2].
While just a few years ago many parties demonized real estate investors as participating or even creating the housing boom and subsequent bust, now real estate agents and brokers are teaming up with investors to “scout deals” and help identify quality properties that meet the new investing criteria for today’s real estate professionals[3]. Investors are “optimistic” about their chances of making money in today’s market, report many agents, and this new level of interest and involvement is contributing to a rise in real estate professionals and real estate education offerings.
Have you been sitting on the sidelines? Are you ready to get back in?
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[1] http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-04-07/business/os-realtors-careers-20110407_1_real-estate-sales-distressed-market-brokers
[2] http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/print-edition/2011/04/08/quality-real-estate-is-back-in-demand.html
[3] http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/04/06/business/20110406-housing.html
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