Local listing inventory fell 64.5% in February while closed sales rose 24.7%.  As you can see from the chart, we’ve never seen inventory levels this low.  It is a great time to be a seller right now.

Buyers are not having as much fun, but the ones who do score a property are winning too because now they are in the equity business.  Home prices are rising, and you must be in to participate.  Interest rates are rising so getting in sooner will save buyers money too.

The Ellis Team is busy creating our own market.  We are not relying on MLS alone to find properties for our buyers.  We have a database of over 12,000 people looking to purchase a property in SW Florida.  Obviously, there are not enough properties for all of them.

One of the newer things we are doing is playing matchmaker.  We are calling and contacting our database asking if they would sell to one of our buyers.  Sometimes the answer is yes, but they would need a place to buy as well if they did sell.  As our team makes more calls, we can identify more people that would be willing to sell if they could find a new place.  As this list grows, we simply matchup what we have and make dreams happen.  If you wait for a property to hit MLS, you’re too late as it will be gone in hours or days.  There simply is not time to put your home on the market, sell it, and go get that new listing that just came up.

If you knew of a seller that would sell if the circumstances were right, you would have time to make your move.  All we must do is identify enough people who would make a move and our customers are in business.  It’s like making your own market.

For sellers this is an attractive option because they get to buy a home before a seller lists it for sale.  This only works if the real estate team has a large database to draw from, and we do. Our marketing has been creating buyers for years, and we have years full of past clients in our database.

Our team still sells plenty of homes through the MLS.  This is just another way we can find homes for our buyers.  The MLS is slim pickings in many cases.

If you are a homeowner and would like to make a move but you are not sure where you would go, give Brett or Sande a call 239-310-6500.  We may already have a buyer for your home, and we may have a home that meets your needs you could purchase from one of our past clients who would also like to move.

If we match enough people up, we can identify and find hidden inventory for buyers.  We believe there are many people who would like to sell but just do not know where they would go.  You still pay us a commission.  This is a creative way to find a home to buy that the public might not know about.

The Ellis Team is marketing for buyers into high tax states where Florida is a bargain.  We are taking the advertising directly to where the high dollar buyers are, and it is working.  In the past 6 months we have sold so many of our listings above asking price.  The more buyers you have to choose from commands a higher price.

If you have a property to sell, imagine getting top dollar for your home and being the only buyer for a hidden home.  These homes are not withheld from MLS, they are not even for sale.  We are identifying sellers that would sell if the circumstance were right.

If you’d like to get a ballpark idea of what your home is worth, visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com The great thing about this site is not only will it give you a value, but it will also email you monthly how much your home is increasing.

If you would consider selling someday if the price were right, call Brett or Sande today! 239-310-6500

See last week’s article “Top Real Estate agent Mastermind Conclusions“

One of the things we have admired about Gary Keller, founder of Keller Williams, was his ability to see and predict the future.  Gary does not see himself as smarter than everyone else but rather a student of the industry.  He looks at life and business with questions, and it is these questions that bring him and the company clarity.  The national housing supply shortage was predicted years ago by Gary, simply by studying the numbers.

Back in 2005 and 2006 we had an over-supply of homes being built.  We had a false sense of security about the housing market, and many people knew it.  Brett reported in 2005 the SW Florida real estate market was overbuilt.  We simply did not have enough demand.  We had flippers selling to one another, but not enough end users.

National Housing Supply Shortage

Today we do not have that problem.  In fact, it’s the reverse.  We have strong demand and not enough inventory.  Builders and banks were skeptical after the housing crisis in 2006 and held back.  As you can see from the graph, we had deficit home building starting in 2008 and 12 years later we are just now getting back to normal.  However, the damage was done and now we have a different crisis of sorts.  We have a national housing supply shortage.

Few places is it worse than SW Florida.  SW Florida has strong demand from northern states who have suffered from COVID-19 lockdowns and high taxes.  People are flocking to Florida in droves.  We don’t believe this is going to change.  The pandemic has taught us that people really can work from anywhere.

If you could work from anywhere, would you work in a high tax state?  Would you work in frigid cold temperatures?  Would you work in a big city?  The answer for more and more people is no.  They would prefer working and playing in Florida.  When you hear government talk about travel bans from Florida, they’re not really talking about Covid-19.  Transmission rates in Florida are nothing spectacular.  This isn’t about new strains either, as the new strains are or will be everywhere by March.  This is about protecting tax bases in other states.

Politicians are afraid because high tax states like California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey have budget shortfalls.  They simply have more bills and unfunded liabilities than income and if their top wage earners leave it puts more pressure on the people who are left.

Demand Outpacing Supply

This article is not about politics.  It is about math.  The simple math tells us more people are coming to Florida and will in the future.  The trend started years ago, and 2020 sped things up.

We are going to have to build our way out of this.  If you read this article frequently, you’ll know that we talked about builders shutting down or slowing new home sales.  They simply cannot keep up.  This past week we heard of a builder refunding buyers deposits and raising prices $70,000.

New home construction costs are going up.  Builders are raising prices.  They must.  Resale home prices were rising too, but they were limited because if they got too high buyers would just buy new construction.  When new home construction prices rise or slow down, it throws buyers back into resales.

It’s getting rough out there.  Realtors say it’s a war zone out there.  We are not making light of actual war, but it is a fight.  Buyers are in combat with other buyers competing for the home they want.  Sellers, this is the best market we’ve seen for you in 30 years+ years.

Would You Sell if We Had a Buyer for Your Home?

If you are thinking of selling, please call Brett or Sande Ellis today 239-310-6500 or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com for a free estimate of what we could sell your home for fast.

If you are a buyer, the Ellis Team knows where the inventory is.  It is limited, but we know how to find it.  We feel like a fishing guide where fisher men and women hire us to use our secret fishing hole. We know where the secret fishing holes are, and we can help you hook ‘em. Our fish finder can be found at www.LeeCountyOnline.com  It will tell you where the fish are in real time.

Good luck and happy home fishing!