Today’s Seller is much more aware of real estate market conditions than Sellers of the past. Unless you live in a cave, it’s impossible not to know that property values have declined significantly and the future is uncertain. I am asked daily to gaze into my crystal ball and "see" when we can expect a turn around.
My answer is this: markets like ours in Prescott Arizona that saw massive increases in values over the first half of the decade, were fueled by the frenzy of speculators, investors and irresponsible lending. We’ve seen a decline of 40-50% in property values, fed by short sales, foreclosures and repos. We are at least close to values bottoming out, but any appreciation is likely to be slow and cautious. It could take a decade or two to rise to the values of 2005-2006. Facing this new reality is the challenge.