Background: The Cotton and Company are industry leaders the sales and marketing of residential real estate throughout the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Managed more than 1600 properties over the past 28 years. Provides integrated market research, analytics, marketing, web development, public relations, sales management, and customer database management services.
Some of the more salient findings:
The vacation home market has experienced a rebound in 2011, moving from 4% to 36% interest year-over-year. This is the
highest level of interest throughout the 3-year period.
• In 2010, 95% of the respondents who were no longer in the market for real estate cited economic instability as the reason for not
purchasing. In 2011, 46% of the respondents cited no desire to move, indicating a 41% drop in the response aligned with
economic conditions.
• Buyers who must sell their home prior to purchase dropped 10% year-over-year, reflecting 32% in 2011.
• Buyers who plan to purchase within 6 months saw a 21% increase from 2010. In 2011, 25% of the buyers indicate a timeline to
buy within 6 months, however, a 13% increase in the “over 2 years” category was also noted.
• Respondents remained virtually unchanged in their answer to “Have we reached the bottom of the market?” signifying continued
concern over pricing stability.
• The level of anticipated price reduction continues to show improvement in 2011, a result of significant price adjustments in the
market. In 2009, the median anticipated discount was 50%. In 2010, 30%. In 2011, this level has reduced to just 20%.
• Buyer transition indicates a continued trend toward downsizing and geographic relocation. This trend is also reflected in the
increased interest in smaller villa product type.
• 1,700 to 2,300 square feet remains the most popular residence size. However, growth occurred in the smaller home segment
with 31% of the market seeking a home between 1,000 and 1,600 square feet of space.
Mr. Cotton offers up his advice to Realtors and Mortgage pros on how to get their marketing ready to handle the realities of todays real estate market.
