Written by Ann Richardson Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Ocean City Gazette
At Goldcoast Sotheby’s International Realty, broker and owner Burt Wilkins said he, too, is optimistic.
“It really picked up at the end of 2011,” he said. “A lot of people came out of the woodwork to look at houses. Our listings were shown a lot over the holidays. It was very, very busy; much more so than the past few years.
“Consumer confidence is up and interest rates are down, things are looking good,” he said.
Prices, he said, remain flat.
“Overall, the average price year-to-year, 2010 to 2011, is identical,” he said. “Personally, I’m encouraged. Everyone I talk to, car dealers, people in construction, people on the street, everyone had a good December and they’re feeling more confident.”
Goldcoast, he said, was up about 40 percent for 2011.
“We did extremely well,” he said.
The first eight months were gangbusters, the hurricane shut the island down and the fall was a bust, he said.
“But we finished with some really good activity. We had a busy summer and December, a usually slow time, was busy."
“I think people are tired of being in a negative economy,” he said. “Human nature is generally more positive than negative, and people are tired of being complacent. The hurricane really let the air out of the balloon. People went home, sort of like after 9/11. We had a month there where everyone was in shock, and a lot of our Pennsylvania clients had damage at home, flooding and so forth to deal with. We’re looking forward to a good year.”
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