Lee County Florida saw new real estate listings entering the market rise 3.6% in October.  This is a welcome sign because year to date new listings are down 4.8%.  New listings do not include properties that were taken off the market and quickly re-listed, so it should be an actual representation of new listings entering the market.

Total inventory is down 9.2% from last October, so new real estate listings are a welcome sign.  If we’re going to continue with sales gains, we’re going to need more listings.  This is an excellent time for sellers; however, sellers should be careful.

Other sellers might have the same idea and decide now is the time to sell their home too.  Prices have gone up slightly over this past year, and mortgages are paying down, which opens equity for more sellers.  With interest rates near record lows, more sellers may get the same idea and put their home on the market.

New Real Estate Listings Rise Early This Year

We always see listings rise in January.  This year we saw it in October.  Closed sales were up 10.4%, so we’re not alarmed at all.  In fact, as stated earlier, it’s a welcome sign.  Median sales prices were up 3.6% year over year in October while average sales prices were up 2.3% It’s not uncommon to have more new listings enter the market as prices rise.

We’re beginning to see lots of misinformation again.  This is a result of large data aggregators trying to be the center of the consumer experience.  Unfortunately, when you can’t get the data right, the consumer experience is degraded.  For this reason, we believe a good Realtor who studies the market should always be at the top of your list for information.

We’re going to concentrate in 2020 on providing more data and insights for Lee County homeowners. We’re starting up again our Customer Club.  Ellis Team Customer Club members will receive timely updates about the neighborhood they live in or neighborhoods they’re interested in as well as videos we create about the market.  It is Free and we intend to put the local and accurate back into the consumer experience.

We’ll have a new website you can register to become a Free member soon.  In the meantime, simply send me an email at Brett@topagent.com and put Customer Club in the subject line.

We hope you enjoy reading this article every week.  If you have questions or ideas you’d like covered, please feel free to email me.  Your ideas could be great content for this article, or perhaps a video explaining an answer to your question.

If you have a home to sell and want a fast and free estimate of your home’s value, check out www.swflhomevalues.com  People love the estimate, and many times they’re pretty darn accurate.  Of course, if you’re thinking of selling, we’d love to sit down and discuss your options.  We can provide a more accurate analysis of your home’s value as well as go over the challenges of selling your home in today’s market.  Sometimes it’s price, other times it’s timing.  Still others it’s where would you move to next?  We can help, and together we can answer these questions based upon your needs.

We have lots of other stats we can share, both at the county level and neighborhood level.  This is important data for both buyers and sellers.  Having this data puts you at a distinct advantage over other buyers and sellers.

Feel free to call Sande or Brett Ellis 239-489-4042 Ext 4 We’ll be happy to answer your questions and see what makes sense for you.

See last week’s article “Total Dollar Sales Volume Rises Again in October”

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!