Association News from the President Bill Filbin, 2011 President, MIAAOR

Marco Island activity continues to heat up this season! Month-to-month, year-to-year, and quarter-to-quarter comparisons all show increasing activity!

Inventory on Marco Island continues to decrease. On a month-to-month comparison, February 2011 to March 2011 there is a 25.47% decrease of new listings coming on the market. Year-to-year comparisons from March 2010 to March 2011 also show a decrease for new listing activity, by 26.17%.

Total active listings, all property types, are down from last year by 8.88% and down in the month-to-month comparison by 3%. Now is the time to buy!

Sales activity is up! Pending listings, all property types, are up in the year-to-year comparison by 32.08% and down only slightly in the month-to-month comparison by 10%. Total all property types closed is up 6.67% in both comparisons.

In a quarter-to-quarter comparison, January – March 2010 to January – March 2011, the same high level of activity is reflected. Inventory was down. Total active listings, all property types, was down 8.88%. Total pending listings, all property types, was up 32.92% and total all property types sold was up 16.85%.

The market is busy! The dream is still alive! A majority of Americans still believe in the importance of home ownership (according to a study conducted by Fallon Research & Communications, Inc.). Marco Island is our piece of paradise.

“Passionate for the Real Estate Profession”

The state of the economy is a frequent conversation for many of us. On April 5, I attended an Economic Development Council meeting featuring Dr. Sean Snaith, Director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economics. He is an award-winning forecaster, researcher and professor and was named by Bloomberg News as one of the nation’s most accurate forecasters in 2008. Highlights from his presentation:

Nationally –

• Believes we are solidly into a recovery
• Labor market is slowly recovering, but it is not healthy yet. Spending has not yet improved. There is a pent-up demand to spend and eventually some of that demand will get released.
• Personal income is going up.
• Home equity was at $13.2 trillion in 2006. It dropped to $6.4 trillion in 3rd Quarter, 2010 and that wealth is not coming back.
• Financial assets are coming back.
• GDP growth was down from 4th Quarter 2010 to 1st Quarter 2011. It will be a mixed picture the rest of the year.
• The Euro is still under threat. What happens to Greece won’t affect the big picture as long as the rest of Europe doesn’t go that way.
• While the deficit is worrying, it is not as bad when it is compared to the numbers of the total economy, but don’t want it to get much worse.
• Foreign-owned U.S. debt is now at 56%. Foreign-owned U.S. debt was at 13% in the Reagan years.
• Consumer confidence decreases as oil/gas prices go up. Gas at $5 a gallon would be devastating but it probably won’t go that high.

Florida –

• Will start seeing growth in 2012 and 2013. It has been underway in 2011, but will take time.
• Unemployment will stay in double digits the next couple of years.

Naples/Marco Island –

• The economy will start to grow in 2012, but it won’t be until 2014 until we see the effect. Construction jobs won’t come back.
• Job growth is coming back.
• Population growth in local area will increase in the next couple of years. It will be the third largest growth area in the state.

Mr. Snaith concluded with an optimistic outlook for our local area. “I am often asked, as I am sure many of you are, too, by our customers and

others, ‘how things are going?’” My response is, “the light at the end of the real estate tunnel is getting brighter and brighter because of our hard-working Realtors® marketing efforts.”