by Joe Savage, On-site Associate Broker
Happy New Year! Have you heard about Disney World? They were turning people away during Christmas break because there were too many! Could this be an omen? Will we have to turn people away during spring and summer because we can’t accommodate them?
Although I’m not an economist, the Disney situation seems to indicate that the American consumer is ready to spend again...notably on family leisure. Let’s hope this means higher occupancy rates in 2012 because more vacationers mean more (and higher priced) sales in two ways:
1. A certain percentage of vacationers are interested in purchasing a unit, so more visitors mean more potential buyers.
2. Higher occupancies mean more impressive rental histories. As a rule, buyers in this market plan to rent their units when they aren’t using them and some buyers purchase units primarily for their rental potential.
Rental histories strongly influence whether a unit gets offers or sells at, or near, the asking price, and that affects everyone’s property values.
And again, it is critical that a property be well-maintained and “renter-friendly” to improve property values through higher occupancy.
Mandoki Realty maintains rental histories of units it lists for sale and if the unit has limited or no rental history, we use rental histories of comparable units. In 2011, thirty-one condominiums sold and Mandoki Realty brokered fifteen of them, selling four times more than the next best agent. Mandoki Realty has a contractual obligation to its listing clients to promote, market, show and sell their units and that is evident in our performance.
