Very interesting, this "mixed media" moment we're in....
So important, when all the "news" points us in only one direction, focusing us on some aspect, that we remember we also have peripheral vision skills.
There is no road map right now, and this "real beginning" to the 21st Century is just taking shape. One needs to be consciously bringing the editing function to all this sloshing around of raw data, in order to practice our human skill of making sense of raw material.
That peripheral vision skill set will help.
The Year of the Fear, which is what I'm calling 2008, certainly created a shuddering halt to "everything". The societal meltdown (financial institutions faltering, major companies disappearing, stock markets collapsing, housing bubble bursting...) was certainly a fearful moment, and in such times it's human to simply "stop". When one is in shock, one doesn't "act".
Underneath all that, though, the peripheral vision beings were noting signs that there could be a recovery. Not, however, a return to past conditions.
The endless printing of paper money, with all the bailouts to stave off a total plunge to the bottom, are eroding the value of a currency. It seems very likely that hyperinflation will occur. Cash could certainly be the next "bubble".
In spite of the gloomy media reporting (they do not forecast, they "follow" the herd, and are repetitive in nature), some people were on the hunt of good hard asset investment late last Fall. By February, globally, there was a return to interest in real estate as an investment vehicle, although it was only in the low end residential options. The luxury market remained "flat".
That's when it was noted that sales volume may have been down (by as much as 54%!), but inventory had remained low. Unless one "had to", one simply did not want to sell. Where would one go? What to do with the money? Can't trust cash/the banks! You get the drift....
Back in October, I forecast an early Spring upsurge. I also forecast, in still gloomy January, that the media would flip to the positive by May. I'm on record as saying that by mid-July we would start to see movement in the higher end options, with August being a pivotal month in that market segment.
Fear of inflation may be the driver to action, from this market category. The protected nature of a Gulf Islands investment, due to the cap on growth from the Islands Trust, is an attractive feature, of course.
This is not a time to keep suppressing prices, from a seller's perspective, and it's not a time to assume one can "lowball" an offer, from a buyer's perspective. There's not enough inventory out there, to assume that a buyer is in control. Mulitple offers are occurring in the city marketplaces, and this may happen on the Gulf Islands, soon.
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