The real estate market in Southwest Florida was one of the first markets to crash in 2006 and has been declining ever since. So if would be fitting that it should be one of the first to stabilize, and stop crashing. That very thing looks now to be happening! For the past few months there has been a decline in the number of new listings on the market compared each previous month. This is new!

Also there has been an increase in the number of sales in the local area. This is the first sign of stabilization. Another sign is that prices appear to have about stopped declining in many categories! This is great news for sellers who possibly can now for the first time in 5 years not lose more value in their property as they are selling it.

For buyers this is their sign that waiting to buy may be a costly mistake. For those of you who have longed to own a property here, or move in this market to another, the time for delay may be over. Now I‘m not saying that prices are going to rise soon, though clearly in the short sale and foreclosure market they have done so already (they were artificially low).

From my 25 years of selling local real estate, I have been through downturns in the market before, and each time the market has begun stabilizing, the choices for buyers became fewer for the properties on their wish list. And for many, as the stabilization continued, they had to settle for something that was not their number 1 choice or not buy at all. I can’t tell you the number of times buyers would come back to me and say; “I wish I had bought the house (or condo) you showed me last year. Can you find me something like it?”

Real estate markets wait for no one. A caution, for those who have read into this that price rises are just around the corner: please know that stabilization of prices usually takes a few to several years and returning to 2005 prices could like take as many years or more as we have been in decline.

But, we now have something to be Thankful for and smile. Recovery is a great thing!

On a personal note, as a small independent business person, I always have appreciated those who have stepped up and risked everything to open or purchase a small hometown business. Many of them, hire and employ local people, and small businesses are the backbone for our economy.

The idea of Small Business Saturday is one I believe in and is overdue. I hope that you respond to this idea by patronizing small local businesses this Saturday and every Saturday! They compete with huge corporate interests in a local environment and patronizing their businesses does more to stimulate the economy and job recovery than almost anything you can do!