Southwest Florida Real Estate Archives - Page 59 of 83 - Fort Myers Real Estate and Homes For Sale

Sellers around SW Florida should be happy. Actually buyers should be too, which is a rare thing indeed.

Official numbers weren’t released as scheduled due to the holiday week, so we ran our own numbers which should be pretty close. Once official numbers are out we’ll revise our charts to reflect official data, but in the meantime we’ll analyze why people should be happy in SW Florida.

As you can see, median single family home prices in SW Florida continued their upward trend in 2012, rising to $135,000 in November. Each month traditional sales have risen which means less percentages of distressed sales. Sellers will like this because not only are prices rising, but more people can afford to sell with the rising prices without having to sell as a short sale or foreclosure.

Buyers surely love this market as well. More traditional sales means less buyers have to wait months and months for an answer on a short sale. That’s always a scary proposition because market inventory is light anyway. It’s never fun to have a bid in on a house waiting patiently for an answer from the seller’s bank while more homes come and go on the market, never knowing exactly what the bank will do with your offer.

Buyers are also happy with prices. Sure, they’re not at their lows in 2009-2010, but many buyers didn’t buy back then anyway because they were afraid it wasn’t the bottom. Investors propped up the market back then and bought most of the homes traditional buyers were afraid to buy. Regular buyers rarely purchase at the bottom because they’re too afraid prices might dip lower.

Rising prices prompt buyers to say “Darn, we missed the bottom, but we better jump in now before things go higher. We can still get a good deal.” Buyers actually like the confidence of knowing other buyers feel strongly about the market too. It’s called the herd mentality, and it’s true on Main Street and Wall Street.

So buyers have their confidence. They also have very low interest rates. Home affordability is high which means buyers have purchasing power.

Heading into the New Year we have a wish list for the SW Florida real estate market. They won’t all come true, but we can wish can’t we?

1. More Inventory
2. Repeal of Dodd-Frank Act
3. Extension of Mortgage Interest Deduction
4. Improving Economy
5. More Jobs for SW Florida
6. Budget Fix by Congress-President

We don’t control many of these factors here locally. If by chance we were able to do several things on this list, the local SW Florida real estate market is poised to take off like a jet. Our market has seen some pain over the years and has been recovering nicely. We are starting to see the fruits of that recovery this past year or more.

How fast this jet takes off is due in large measure to how fast we address the 6 issues. So sit back and enjoy the fruits of our market, and with any external luck, those fruits could turn into treats.

Here’s to a great New Year to your family from ours!!!! Cheer Cheer!

Last week we brought you an article about Grading Period Ends Friday with a focus on days on market. So many people called or wrote to us that we thought we’d keep the ideas flowing.

SW Florida Real Estate Grades Are In — SW Florida Real Estate Market

Since this past week students had mid-term exams, it’s too early to get all the grades in, but we are seeing some preliminary numbers. SW Florida is doing pretty well overall, however we do see a few falling short in Math. Math is a subject some do well in and others struggle with, so we decided to give some helpful advice.

Sometimes 2 + 2 doesn’t equal 4. If you bought a home for $250,000 back in 2005 and put $50,000 of improvements, upgrades, and maintenance in it, simple math would tell you your cost is $300,000. Cost doesn’t equal value.

If I had the money and built a home in SW Florida for $50 million dollars, it would be fairly easy to prove that I had $50 million in cost. However, most people would quickly recognize I could never sell it for $50 million. Depending on where it is, maybe I could get $2 million, $3 million, o possibly $10 million, but $50 million might be a little over the top for this market. This isn’t Dubai or Hollywood.

What you paid for a home has little to do with its value today. Buyers know this, and that’s why they scrutinize their purchase so heavily, because they don’t want to overpay. The other fact is that markets change. What you paid years ago has little to do with value today.

It’s funny, because sellers often times tell Realtor how much they have in the property as if that’s a baseline to begin valuing the property. Let’s say a seller has $200,000 in property and thinks they deserve $100,000 profit after owning for 10 years. The seller might want $300,000 plus selling costs. This logic right here is what’s holding the class back. Some students get it, but some are using funny math.

To these sellers I would ask a simple question. Let’s say your grandmother died and left you with a property that is worth $500,000. How much are you going to ask for it? They typically answer $500,000, that’s what you said it’s worth. I answer, why would you ask $500,000, you got it for free. Isn’t that a bit greedy?

They then proceed to tell me if it’s worth $500,000, that’s what they should get. If they still don’t get it, I might add another qualifier. What if I told you this home cost your grandmother $800,000 to build? Now how much do you want? When it’s someone else’s cost, they typically get it and realize the answer is $500,000.

It’s amazing that if you’re given something for free people accept they have to sell it for today’s market value, but if it was your own blood, sweat, and hard work, they become emotionally attached and feel they deserve more. The problem with that math is that the buyer doesn’t feel that same emotional attachment, and they won’t pay more than market value.

So we’ve established cost doesn’t equal value. Another equation we might want to address is the principle of substitution. Buyers will look at several properties before making an offer. They may have a wish list of things they’d like in a home and go out and find several properties that meet that wish list. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere another home presents itself. It doesn’t quite match everything the buyer wanted, but it meets their basic needs and it offers value. Buyers love to buy value.

I’ve heard many Realtors complain that “Buyers are Liars” because they said they wanted one thing and bought another. Buyers are not liars. You just have to ask more questions and go deeper. When you do that you uncover true motivations.

I’ve seen situations where a buyer and seller are counter-offering back and forth. The seller mistakenly believes the buyers are locked into their home and it’s just a matter of what price they’ll end up at. Along comes a home at the 11th hour and the buyer switches, leaving the seller at the altar. The seller wonders what just happened, and this is the principle of substitution. Even though inventory is limited, buyers still have choices. If you price your property at today’s value, you’ve got an excellent chance of selling. If you’re stuck on fuzzy math, this one class could hold down your GPA and keep you from graduating to the next level.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!!!

Grading Period Ends Friday! Do those words bring back memories from your childhood school days? Were you one of those students that began searching for lost assignments the last week and began studying for that all important test so you could catch up and get that acceptable grade before your parents saw your report card? Perhaps you were organized and on-time and the reminder from teachers didn’t faze you much.

As the parent of two students in the school system I get these notices emailed to me so we can remind our children. It does bring back memories, although it seems my generation worried about grades and assignments just a little bit more than today’s kids seem to. I don’t recall having assignments not turned in, but my kids do, and other parents I talk to say the same thing.

Real Estate Grading Period Ends Friday!

Did you know that there are report cards in real estate too? One such grade you might want to pay attention to if you’re a seller is the Days on Market class.

As you can see from the attached chart, the average days on market for a foreclosure (REO) is only 33 days. This means they sell almost as fast as they come on the market. Buyers know it’s best not wait too long to make an offer on these properties or they’ll be gone in a blink.

Traditional Sales

The good news is traditional sales are down to 40 days on average. We have a shortage of homes on the market and a home that’s priced at the market will sell almost as fast as a foreclosure will. Short sales take a little longer, 109 days, as some buyers can’t afford to wait and see if the bank will take their offer. Some buyers need housing now and can’t wait for a yes/no/maybe answer for several months; all the while new listings hit the market and sell each week.

If you’re a seller and you see the average days on market is 40 days and your home has been on the market 200 days, it might be time to ask yourself some important questions. Your sale is failing the test. The market has not accepted what you’re doing.

Is it the Marketing?

It could be the marketing, the presentation, or the price. Of course, all the marketing in the world won’t sell a home that’s dramatically over-priced. Usually it is the price. If you’re going to pass the test, it’s wise to study the market and evaluate where your property stands in the market, not in your eyes as the seller but in the market’s eyes. It never mattered how smart I thought I was, what mattered was what the teacher thought. And believe me, the teacher’s thoughts mattered to my parents. There’s only so much fast talking you can do when the grades don’t come in.

You might ask yourself. Who am I fast talking? Am I selling myself on the value of my own home, or the buyer? If you’re selling yourself, you’re essentially buying your own home back at an inflated price. You wouldn’t do that if you were buying someone else’s home, so why do it to yourself? If the buyer’s aren’t buying and your home has been on the market a long time, you probably know the answer.

All Real Estate is Local

In school grading there is a district wide average and then there is a class average, and in real estate there is a county or city wide average and a smaller neighborhood or type average. This is important too. Perhaps $1 Million + homes take longer to sell, which they do. Golf course properties with high mandatory golf fees do as well. If your maintenance fee is high, that can add time. Be sure to compare the grades of like kind properties. Although, if you live in a home or community that has an average of 1.5 years to sell, you might want to price your home so it is the Next to sell, not # 14 on the list.

We hope this helps explain the Days on Market class grading system. If you have questions or considering selling your home, feel free to call us. 239-489-4042. We’ll be glad to help you get that perfect report card. You can search all the homes for sale at Ellis Team Website.

This past week I attended a training session at the Board of Realtors for a newly updated product used by the MLS called Realist. While I’ve used the product in the past, I must say I was blown away by the new reports and functionality. The usefulness to Realtors just multiplied exponentially. New Tool Assists Realtors Value Property!

There is a lot to the program and it will take agents some time to learn how to use it effectively, but it will be an investment well worth it. I’ll attempt to show snippets of a few of the reports, but it won’t do it justice.

New Tool Assists Realtors Value Property — Map of Comparable Sales

Once Realtors get the hang of the program it will save time and produce some amazing research results. The program not only identifies and provides a multitude of information about a subject property, it also helps identify comparable properties, market trends, and useful neighborhood information. The trick to providing accurate valuations has been and always will be interpreting the data.

One of the things I was impressed with was the AVM (Automated Valuation Model). The AVM identifies provides a range of value along with an estimated value. It comes with a degree of confidence and a Standard deviation, the higher the confidence and the lower the deviation the greater its accuracy. Let’s say it determines a property has a AVM value of $200,000 with a degree of confidence of 87% and a standard deviation of 8%. What it’s really saying is they feel the property has a 87% chance of selling 8% +/- of $200,000.

The system does a nice job of identifying comparable properties through both MLS and tax data and mapping them as well as a grid format complete with details. It makes it easy to select the best comparables.

Another feature I liked was the market conditions in the neighborhood, zip code, and the city. It showed graphs of median list prices over time as well as median sale prices over time. At a glance an agent and seller could see market trends which would be helpful in pricing a home.

There is even a distressed property section which shows foreclosure rates and identifies the percentages of homes in pre-foreclosure, sold at auction, and in REO (Real Estate Owned) status typically by the lender.

I ran a sample report on a property after studying the comparables and it generated a very nice and informative 25 page report. I talked to some agents this week who didn’t go to the class. They felt since they worked more with buyers than sellers it wouldn’t benefit them as much, but I would argue it would.

Buyers can benefit from these reports too. There is a neat report that shows all the neighbors, how long they’ve owned, what they paid, and quite a lot of information on each house. It provides this all in a map format along with a neighbor report. What a great way to show stability, or find out who the neighbor is with the barking dog. If you see they’ve lived there since 1988, chances are they might not be moving anytime soon.

The system provides walking and driving distances to schools, businesses, restaurants, etc. It will even rate the schools with a 3rd party rating service. The software incorporates census data too and combines all this in an easy to digest format. I particularly like the section that shows MLS data and tax data and points out where they differ. The system makes no attempt to explain which is correct. It’s possible the owner added on to the house without a permit, or perhaps there is an error on the listing. Either way you’re miles ahead of potential problems at a glance.

If you’re a Realtor in the Greater Fort Myers MLS, you’ve got to spend some time with this product. If you’re a customer, you’ll be amazed at the results. And the best part is, Realtors in the Florida Gulf Coast MLS have access to every county in Florida.

It’s so exciting to live in the age of useful technology. One day soon we’ll wonder how we ever lived without programs like this.

Good luck, and Happy House Hunting!!!!

It’s been almost 2 months since we covered the SW Florida housing supply and even longer since we covered the traditional sales versus distressed sales with breakdowns by month. Since both affect our market and tell a story, we thought we’d revisit the issue which may lead to clues on where the market is heading into season.

Listings for single family homes and villas has increased by about 500 in the past month which has increased the months supply of inventory to 3.8 months, up from 3.5 months the previous month. When new inventory hits the market there is a lag because we calculate past sales into existing inventory to derive this number. Since the inventory wasn’t available to sell until now, there’s no way it could close. Because properties are being scooped up almost as fast as they hit the market, the months supply will come down, all else being equal.

When we look at the breakdown of sales by month, we see traditional sales rising by 96 sales over last October. Short sales are roughly the same, but you’ll notice a big difference in foreclosures, or REO’s (Real Estate Owned). Foreclosures are less than half of what they were last year, and traditional sales are rising as prices increase. More sellers can afford to sell as the prices rise.

Banks have worked hard at accepting short sales in lieu of having to sell at foreclosure months later. Because the SW Florida real estate market was artificially too low, there has been upward pricing pressure. This is why median sale prices jumped $10,000 in October over September. Heading into season we could see more of the same.

We know prices fell too far because they were far below replacement cost, which essentially cooled the jets of the building industry for a several years, however now that prices are rising builders have found ways to build again at lower cost points.

With each rising price point it becomes feasible for builders to build again. Building bolsters our local economy in so many ways, so it’s nice to see that, especially since building was such a large component of the SW Florida economy.

The SW Florida real estate market is set to take off even further once the overall economy improves. We’re seeing price gains now simply because we were undervalued. We’ll see more once traditional demand picks up. We think there is pent-up supply and pent-up demand just waiting to attack our market. Both will rise as the economy improves, and each may temper the other. We have many sellers who would like to sell once prices rise enough to cover their mortgage. They are current on their payments but strapped in their home.

We have buyers who’d like to buy but need to sell a home first, or are just waiting until they feel better about business. You’ve heard the term a rising tide will lift all boats, and the same is true with the economy. Once that happens, this market could blast off.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with friends and family. While most of the other Holidays seem to be so commercialized, Thanksgiving is still one Holiday when we can all get together and be thankful for who and what we have and not be so concerned with the presents we just opened or lamenting at the missed objects we desired but didn’t receive. I tell my kids each year, Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful for what you have, not to worry about what you don’t. If we worry about what we didn’t receive, whatever we have will never be enough. It will always be about what could have been, not what is. This week is a special week.

Now, throw all that out the window on Black Friday. Of course they had to start Black Friday on Thanksgiving. I hope they don’t ruin that. I hope those that were out shopping early continued their Thanksgiving and ventured out with friends and family.

Here in SW Florida we have more to be thankful for this year than in years past. Prices rebounded nicely up to $134,000. As you can see by the graph, prices typically start going up this time of year, and this year was no exception. It’s nice to know our market is continuing a positive trend.

One of the other factors we like to look at is the mix of properties in various price ranges. For instance, in 2009 our median price bottomed because the low end firmed up, but that wasn’t the end of the story. The upper end had room to fall while the bottom was rising.

We are seeing positive signs across all price ranges. We need look no further than the over $500,000 price range. Last October there were 24 traditional sales and 3 short sales over 500k. This year there was 33 traditional sales and 4 short sales.

In the $200k-500k range there were 113 traditional sales and this year there were 187. Same goes for $100k-200k. The only price range that sales declined in was the under $100k range, but that’s because most of those properties increased in price and graduated into the over $100k range, another good sign. It’s getting very difficult to find anything under $100k, and one day we’ll be saying the same thing about $200k. This is all indicative of a recovering market.

A few years ago we mentioned the market was healing and that it was a process, not an end. We had a lot of making up to do and forgiveness wasn’t going to happen overnight. Main Street is a little bit like Wall Street. A few stocks can move a market, but if trading volume is light the full breadth and scope of the market can be missed.

We are beginning to see signs of strength with a wider breadth which indicates we are in full recovery. I’m not saying our market is completely healed. It is still a price sensitive market. There are some things that can still stall the market, both here and nationwide.

However, this week isn’t a week to focus on what we don’t have. Thanksgiving week is the time to be thankful for what we do have, and we do have a recovering market with tons of opportunity.

So let’s all sit back and savor. Inventory is rising a bit which is good, because we’re going to need it heading into season. Enjoy your leftovers this weekend. And with that I’ll leave a word of caution to buyers.

The early bird gets the worm. If you see something you like, grab it. If you miss the main meal, you might be stuck with the leftovers. Leftovers can be good, but I’d rather have a crack at my first and second choices before they’re picked over. It’s just not as much fun settling for your 5^th most favorite home when you could have had your #1. You’re not in competition with the seller; you’re in competition with others buyers.

Consider this season a Black Friday sale. The first one in the door gets the first crack. Those that wait take their chances the shelves may run empty.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!!!!

I recently read an article in Florida Realtor Magazine which is a trade magazine for Realtors that showed 14% of Realtors are using video. The article focused on the fact that video is now the number one Internet activity even surpassing emailing. They recommended using YouTube Analytics to verify the reach of the video audience. Realtors Using Video!

Because the Ellis Team has used video for awhile I decided to look at the analytics and see if the results the magazine touted matched what we were seeing.

Realtors Using Video — Ellis Team YouTube Channel Video Statistics

In the past 30 days our channel www.Youtube.com/brettellisfl has received 4,471 video views. 71 came from a Google search about SW Florida. 33.9% came from mobile apps which may explain why Facebook is concentrating so much on the mobile platform.

The YouTube search pulled in 691 video looks so one could argue YouTube is a bigger search engine than Google is, at least for video.

Video Statistics by Country for Ellis Team at RE/MAX Fort Myers — YouTube Analytics by Country for Ellis Team YouTube Channel

Recently we’ve sold homes to buyers from Germany, Canada, and Dubai, so I wanted to see if video is helping us reach those markets. Sure enough, Germany and Canada scored very high at #2 and #3 right behind the United States. United Arab Emirates came in at #15 with 23 video views. The buyers said they were on our website and found us on the Internet, but I guess the next question should be where on the Internet?

Did these buyers find us on our MLS property search page www.AllswflRealestate.com or www.LeeCountyOnline.com ? Did they find us on video first which led them to other areas on our site? When a buyer says they found us on the Internet, maybe watching a video is the sum total of what they meant and they looked no further?

The International list goes on for pages so we just showed the top 25 this past month. I’m amazed that there were 13 views from Turkey, 14 from Kuwait, and 95 from Saudi Arabia. Could it be that we’ll sell a luxury home to a Prince from Saudi Arabia in the next month?

The answer is it’s possible. Buyers from all over the world are finding Realtors through video. These views we’ve provided don’t even count the virtual tours we use. Last month our virtual tour site link which can be found at www.Topagent.com received 4,125 views in addition to the YouTube video views. Throw in our MLS property search sites, our Topagent.com site as a whole and views, our Blog and the numbers grow substantially.

The point is, only 14% of Realtors are using video now and more should be. If Realtors knew the staggering number of people using video to find homes and research areas more would reach out and learn. The trouble is video is hard to do on your own. Sound quality is an issue and production costs are high. With today’s modern technology those costs are coming down.

For instance, we produce our shows in-house and add our jingle and graphics. While we have an advantage from doing TV shows and radio shows over the years, an agent without all this could hire a virtual assistant to create logos, music, and even edit videos. An agent can even do voice overs if the initial sound quality isn’t good.

Doing video poorly isn’t good, but doing nothing can cost as well. As you can see from the numbers, video is becoming one of the most important things. Reaching the mobile buyer is critical.

More tablets and smart phones will be sold this year than PC’s. More Internet traffic will occur over mobile than the office. The sands are shifting, and Realtors have to be at the forefront. The good news is, the real estate industry has always led, and will lead with video.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

This week we decided to focus on the local Southwest Florida real estate market and study how the distressed sales market is affecting the overall market. As we’ve been reporting median prices have been dropping the past few months which is typical this time of year. Many people will blame it on foreclosures and short sales dragging down the market but a closer look reveals it may not be.

Average days on the market has been slowly rising, however it did the same thing this time last year so we’re not too concerned. There is sometimes a brief lull before the season sales heat up beginning in January. Inventory is up slightly but hardly enough to keep up with demand in season. This upcoming season could be held back due to limited inventory. Depending on how election goes, prices could rise quickly or stagnate. We’re writing this article before the election so we have no idea what consumer sentiment about the national budget, the fiscal cliff in January, or anything else until more is known.

What is known is that distressed sales actually increased in the 3rd Qtr of 2012. This isn’t the end of the story however. People usually associate foreclosures and short sales with lower prices, and it’s true the distressed sales were at lower price points than traditional sales, but an in-depth look reveals something interesting.

Traditional sale median single family home prices actually fell $6,000 while short sale median prices rose $3,500 and foreclosure prices rose $1,775. We can’t blame the decrease in prices to distressed sales, so something else is going on.

It is seasonal. It can also be the economy. Employers have been on hold waiting to hear what the health care regulations will be, along with what will happen in January with the financial cliff. Several large employers nationwide were set to give pink slips to employees until the Obama administration said by law they don’t have to give the notice. He made an executive order to suspend that law during the election.

The thinking must be that whomever is elected will work with Congress in Nov and Dec to avoid severe cutbacks in defense spending and high tax increases in January. Once employers know what the true cost will be to hire employees they can make decisions. Our nation has been in a no-man’s land and it’s hurt the economy.

The economy drives the real estate market, and in turn real estate sales pays back the economy with spending on things like appliances, carpet, home improvement, etc.

Either way I think season will be good because we have low inventory.. The question is will it be great? The answer to that relies on the economy and the next president’s ability to work on solutions with Congress, for the benefit of us all.

Good luck, and Happy House Hunting!!

We’ll attempt to answer a few questions we hear things buyers say:

1. What did the seller pay for the home? What the sellers paid back in time really has no bearing on its value today. If a seller paid $300,000 5 years ago and it’s only worth $200,000 today you’re not going to offer $300,000 because that’s what the seller paid. Conversely if the seller paid $62,000 back in 1975 and it’s worth $300,000 today their not going to sell it for $90,000. Sellers should expect to sell at today’s current value and buyers should expect to pay that as well. What a seller paid or how much they owe has nothing to do with value.

2. If it’s meant to be it will happen- When a buyer says these words it’s typically out of fear of making a decision, so they sit back and let someone else make the decision for them. Let’s say more than one buyer is interested in a home. Buyer A doesn’t know what to counter offer in light of the news another buyer is interested, so they freeze. They essentially let another buyer make the decision for them. I’ve found in life that when you let others make decisions for you, you might not like the outcome. You are in control of your own destiny. If it’s a home that suits your needs and you really like it you have a chance to control your fate. Step up or you may be forced to offer on your 3rd or 4th best favorite. In this market there is limited inventory, so finding 4 homes you really like might be tough.

3. Is the Seller motivated? If I am the listing agent I simply answer the buyer agent with yes, they are interested in selling or they wouldn’t have put it on the market. It’s in the buyers interest to find out what they can if a seller or seller’s agent will tell, but it’s not in the sellers best interest to do so. You can always ask the question, but don’t be offended if you don’t receive an answer. The buyer doesn’t get to know the seller’s private business just as the seller doesn’t need to know the buyer’s private business, other than if the buyer is qualified at the agreed upon price.

4. I heard you always offer 10% less on a home. We’ve had buyers say this is a rule where they came from. First off, there is no rule. Secondly, all real estate is local and certain areas may have customs, but I highly doubt asking 10% less in any market is a good idea unless sellers typically overprice homes in a certain area. Most homes in SW Florida sell for about 96-97% of asking price, so if you’re offering 10% less you’re probably losing out to other buyers who are more realistic. If a home is overpriced by 10% or more that’s another story, but those homes typically aren’t getting offers because they are so over-priced.

5. Will the seller do a lease-option? Most sellers wish to sell outright. Occasionally a seller wouldn’t mind leasing first, but they hate to lock in a price today at today’s prices in a rising market. Buyers typically have misconceptions about how the lender will finance the home at the end of the option. Rent money cannot be used for down payment money unless buyer pays over fair market rent as determined by the appraiser and then only that portion above fair market can be credited as down payment. Also, the buyer loses the option money if they don’t close for any reason. Many buyers ask this question because they don’t have good credit today and they may not have 1st month, last month’s rent and security deposit. Both buyer and seller should sit down with an agent and discuss their options first or a situation like this could turn out badly for both later.

Sales volume has slipped this year primarily because inventory levels are down. However, we have noticed a slight trend in the past few months worth noting.

Inventory levels actually rose in September for single family homes, albeit only 5 homes which is rather insignificant. Because sales are less, it did raise the standing inventory to a 3.5 month supply, up from 3.4 months the previous month. Both numbers are low.

Another trend we are watching is the median sales price, which has fallen for 2 consecutive months. This is a seasonal trend we see this time of year so we are not alarmed. Heading into season we’re going to need all the inventory this market can muster, and right now it may not be enough. Prices are still much higher than last year.

We would have liked to see home prices rise the past few months, but not for the reasons you might think. Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, and all of SW Florida is considered a declining market by FNMA and Freddie Mac. The appraiser usually notates this on the appraisal report to the lender. According to guidelines, and area must have 3 consecutive quarters of rising prices to break a declining market tag.

Lee County had a strong 4th qtr 2011 and 1st qtr 2012 but came up short in 2nd qtr. This contradicts our data so I’m not sure how they calculate this. I’m hearing whispers that the tag may come off Collier County Florida in January, but we’ll wait and see if that actually happens.

The reason this is important is because it removes additional restrictions and paperwork requirements when the tag is lifted. FNMA is already making loans tougher this November with new guidelines. For instance, self employed borrowers will find it more difficult and cumbersome to receive a mortgage. They will require personal and corporate tax returns for last 2 yrs no matter what. Lenders are just now receiving the new guidelines and sifting through the changes.

September is seasonal, and it’s not uncommon for sales to lighten this time of year. It does feel on the street as though there’s a dichotomy to the market. Agent listings seem to either get a ton of activity and offers or very little. This may change in the next few months as snowbirds tend to scoop up higher priced inventory for second homes and investment.

The upcoming election may have also stifled buyers who are afraid to make a big purchase until the see which leadership will guide the country and what the new economic landscape may look like. We’ve seen on TV many company CEO’s waiting to make hiring and firing decisions until after the election, and it’s quite possible buyers will do the same. If you’re worried about your job, chances are you’re not in the market to change your housing.

Once the election is over, the direction the nation and economy goes in may become clearer, and consumer confidence could rise. If and when that happens we believe SW Florida is poised to take advantage with lots of potential for price appreciation. All signs point to higher once the job outlook improves, and help may be just around the corner.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!!!

Fort Myers Real Estate and Homes For Sale

SW Florida Real Estate Market Updates & News

Category Archives: Southwest Florida Real Estate

Happy New Year SW Florida

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Congrats! Finals Are Over

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Grading Period Ends Friday!

Real Estate Grading Period Ends Friday!

Traditional Sales

Is it the Marketing?

All Real Estate is Local

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New Tool Assists Realtors Value Property

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December SW Florida Real Estate Update

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Thank You From SW Florida

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Realtors Using Video

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November 2012 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

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Things Buyers Say

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2012 Shaping Up to Be 5th Best Year on Record

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Real Estate Grading Period Ends Friday!

Traditional Sales

Is it the Marketing?

All Real Estate is Local

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