BLOOMING

“Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.” – Jim Carrey

April is filled with the wonders of life, new beginnings, and is when the explosive colors of nature’s incredible palette come to life. It’s also a time of reflection and am I the only one thinking “what just happened?”

The last 24 months are a blur and even in the high times of selling real estate during 2005 I never saw the frenzy I am seeing now in the real estate scene. I painfully lived through the Great Recession, as most of you did as well, when the housing market went from boom to bust seemingly overnight. At the end of 2018 interest rates crept up about 1% and the real estate market almost came to a complete halt.

So, what gives? Here are my thoughts for the day …

The investment buyer is still out there and very potent, rental returns have risen dramatically, and the combination of solid returns and a hedge against inflation is enticing. The construction industry is struggling to ramp up production due to supply chain issues and a lack of skilled labor. Most importantly, pricing and valuation is always driven by supply and demand - there is not enough inventory.