Berlin Patten Ebling, PLLC, 3700 S Tamiami Trail #200, Sarasota, 941-954-9991. https://berlinpatten.com/

In the July/August 2022 edition of SRQ Magazine, we interviewed William C. McComb ESQ., partner and shareholder at Berlin Patten Ebling, PLLC as part of our In Conversation feature about current trends in real estate. Below is an excerpt published in the magazine in which McComb shares his insights with SRQ readers.

How would you respond to people who are worried whenever there's a hot market and they start talking about 2007/2008–the year we pinpoint as sort of a market collapse situation?

The 2007-2008 build up and then ultimate market crash, all the contributing factors to that are entirely different than anything we're seeing right now. So I wouldn't say that because we had this rush or high increase in pricing and low inventory, similar to that buildup, that all of a sudden the bottom is going to fall out of the market. A lot of that was based on just really bad lending practices. There's been statutes put into place to counteract that, to make sure that lenders are qualifying borrowers. The Dodd-Frank Act basically came out in the wake of the last mortgage crisis. So in this case, I don't see any of the same market conditions, other than the fact that the market's really hot, to be concerned with there being an absolute collapse again. Now, could there be something else that impacts our market like rising inflation, rising interest rates, low inventory? Sure. And I do think there's going to be an impact. At least at some point, you're going to see some type of correction nationwide. In our little local Sarasota market, I don't think that impact is going to be nearly as severe just because of how desirable it is to be here. So if someone's asking me, “Should I buy right now?” The answer is, if you find something that you like, buy now, as opposed to waiting any longer. As interest rates go up, your buying power is going to go down, so if you're on the fence and you have the ability, I would pull the trigger now if you can find something.

Berlin Patten Ebling, PLLC, 3700 S Tamiami Trail #200, Sarasota, 941-954-9991. https://berlinpatten.com/

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