RISMEDIA, March 1, 2010—Rei L. Mesa, President & C.E.O. of Prudential Florida Realty, Florida Real Estate Services was the Special Guest Speaker at the Broward County’s Board of Trustees Business Meeting on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 for the Realtor Association of Miami-Dade County (RAMDC) with over 15,000 REALTOR(r) members at the Jacaranda County Club in Plantation, Florida, the company announced.
Martha Bullman, C.E.O, Realtor Association of Miami-Dade County, began the well-attended breakfast meeting by expressing “that by working together, we will make 2010 our best year ever.” Martha introduced Rei Mesa, “Our speaker is extremely well respected throughout our industry.”
“He is someone who has a great perspective on our business locally, statewide and nationally,” she said. Rei was recently appointed by Florida Realtors President to serve for an unprecedented second term as Chairman of the Florida Large Firm Brokers Top 50. Rei brings tremendous credibility and passion for our industry and the state of Florida.
Rei Mesa had the honor and the opportunity to discuss with the sold out audience of real estate business executives including South Florida broker/owners, managers, and sales associates, the Florida real estate industry from “Where we’ve been, Our Challenges & Opportunities and Where do we go from here?”
Rei emphatically stated that every Realtor, mortgage, title, insurance and related real estate professionals that they need to “refrain from using the words, ‘price decreases’ in our great state of Florida; we have experienced, ‘affordability increases.’ Affordability is currently the highest it’s been in 40 years in Florida. And that is great news as consumers will be able to return to purchasing the ‘American Dream of Homeownership’ and a piece of paradise in Florida again.”
“The 2010 trends seem to be the new normal,” commented Rei. “The good news is that according to the experts, Florida is currently undervalued. The listing inventory that is currently selling at a fast pace is all about price and financing.”
2009 was a growth year for Florida real estate, he said. Closed transactions for single family homes were up 31% and affordability was up 24% and condominium closed transactions were up by 47% with affordability increases of 34% compared to 2008, he added.
During Rei’s presentation, the engaged audience continued to take copious notes and ask follow-up questions. As requested, a copy of Rei’s presentation was made available to all attendees.
“One of the biggest challenges we are facing is lack of financing for the luxury and move up markets. Banks have to become more competitive in their lending policies to the high-end or move-up buyer’s,” continued Rei. “Opportunistic long term investors are back in the market buying the well-priced entry level REO (real estate owned) properties, thus driving demand and a thriving rental market.”
Rei concluded the meeting with answering the question: Where do we go from here? “We must continue to focus on conveying a balanced message about the local real estate values & markets to the consumers. Those messages include Florida’s affordability being the highest in 40 years, historically low interest rates, and first time homebuyer’s sense of urgency with the tax credit incentives expiring April 30th, 2010. The need and opportunity for all of us in the industry to work together towards a common goal ‘increase homeownership in Florida.’ For the industry leaders, now is the time to shed the egocentric attitudes of the boom cycle and replace them with a ‘humble and hungry’ inclusive servant leadership attitude approach. There is an abundance of opportunities for Florida REALTORS(r) and consumers in Florida. We need to take advantage of this paradigm shift and move forward with positive exuberance.”
“We are very fortunate to have Rei, the passionate, insightful, and inspiring leader of Prudential Florida Realty, as our speaker this morning” said Martha Bullman C.E.O, Realtor Association of Miami-Dade County.
For more information, visit www.prudentialfloridarealty.com.
