"Pent Up Housing Demand"

"Thou shalt not covet... Thou shalt not covet... Thou shalt not covet."  There, I feel a little bit better now... but not a lot.  "What's my problem," you ask?  Well, it seems that the real estate market is showing signs of recovery in the Northern Virginia - Metro Washington, DC area.  You know - the market I moved from - to come back to Florida in 2001.

All my buddies in my old Remax and Century 21 offices are struttin' a little bit recently.  "The market is brisk again," they say.  To be fair, it's not "1995-2005 brisk" to be sure, but brisk, nonetheless.  I'm pretty wired up... you know - Facebook, Twitter and an endless stream of websites and blogs, etc.  "Three closings this week!" they say.  "Thirty buyers through my open house!" they boast.  "Our office phones are ringing off the hook and we got two walk-in buyers yesterday!" etc., etc.  It's enough to make a grown man cry (especially if said grown man is a Real Estate Broker / Sales Agent... in Florida).  However (and it's a BIG however), our time is coming! 

Florida, you see, is a "destination State."  People really want to come here to Palm Coast and Flagler Beach.  We are surrounded by the Beaches of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, drenched in Sunshine, and blessed with year around Warmth.  You can ride your motorcycle or bike, go fishing, surfing, hiking, walking on the beach, or play golf - in February!  And the machine is oiled by the guy "up North" being able to sell his house first, so he can move here. 
Simple math: "No sales in NJ/PA/MI = No sales in FL"

Please don't interpret this as me saying, "The recession is over," because it's not.  We have a lot of messes to clean up first and we have to put a lot of people in Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan, etc. back to work.  Banks have huge "shadow inventories" of foreclosures and short sales to push through the system.  We've got to look in the mirror and promise ourselves that we won't be defeated any longer... and that's not "foo foo" talk.  Recovery really does start with attitude shifts!

And as the tide starts to turn, hang on to your hat, because we too will then get our share of "brisk" sales, in response to pent up demand. What Does "Pent Up Demand" Mean?


When the demand for a service or product is unusually strong. Pent up demand is used by economists to describe the general public's strong return to consumerism following a period of decreased spending.

Pent up demand is often seen immediately following a recession or depression, where consumers have built their savings or held off on purchases, due to the prevailing uncertain economic climate. Quite often, pent up demand accelerates the economic recovery period immediately following an economic downturn, thanks to a sudden increase in consumer confidence and spending.  If you live in Florida, especially Palm Coast or Flagler Beach, make sure you cover all the bases, by crossing your fingers and saying your prayers!