The timing is perfect. The holidays are over clouds and snow blanket the north. Bundled-up snowbirds are descending on the warm beaches of the Suncoast, their hearts beating faster with each interest rate drop. So far, so good – home prices haven’t yet reported they’ve begun their inevitable rise. Could this season be the optimal season — the final season of the Buyer’s Market?

For the next three months, real estate brokers will experience a groundswell of showings and for the following three months statisticians will measure results as each sale closes. Because the contracts written today will take a couple of months to close and be reported, it’s extraordinarily difficult to precisely time the market. Because you need more than an upward blip to identify the turnaround, by the time you know it conclusively — the great deals will be gone.

If you’re lucky, six months from now you may look back and say: “February, March or April was the perfect time to buy”. Prices could still slide a little, but if you intend to hold for a while it really won’t matter over the long run. Then, you’ll say: “It wasn’t quite the perfect time but it was good enough for me”. By far, the worst admission would be: “The opportunity passed while I waited for perfect timing and by the time I saw it — it was too late”.

Who cares if you’re a little early or a little late - as long as it’s a little. We’re clearly near the bottom and some sellers are so desperate that you may negotiate a further discount to be sure. Maybe, just maybe you’ll hit this market’s timing directly at its low, the absolute nadir, right now at the beginning of this season before reported sales and rising values become common knowledge.

I don’t think we’ll be discussing this again next season. With interest rates dropping and a large inventory to choose from, this broker thinks today’s timing is perfect to make your dream a reality.

Joe Vermeren is a licensed real estate broker president of Longboat Realty, and may be contacted at www.LongboatMLS.com