Each year we tell home sellers not to get too excited about showings until about mid-January. Showings and contracts tend to increase as the month goes on and builds throughout season. 2017 however is different. Southwest Florida home sales are heating up earlier than past years. Could it be there was pent-up demand from 2016? We think so.
Our team set a goal to sell 4 homes this past week. We sold 6. Our agents have been out showing every day, sometimes working with 2-3 buyers per day this past week. Sure, some of these are buyers in our pipeline we’ve been working with for weeks or months until they arrive. Others are new buyers we’ve attracted to our website or referral calls. In any event, activity has picked up earlier than past years.
Showing activity on our listings from other agents has picked up too. Combining this with what our team is seeing leads us to believe the market is heating up. So I went to MLS and did some checking.
In the first 10 days of January 309 properties have gone under contract. The average list price is $317,843 and the median list price is $230,000. These prices are pretty much in line with recent sales numbers. What’s encouraging is the number of properties going pending so early in January. This potentially bodes well for an excellent season.
2016 was a year in which the number of transactions was down. It was a year in waiting. It seems people were waiting on the election, waiting on the economy, waiting on something. Now there is renewed hope and optimism and we hear it.
People have renewed confidence in jobs staying in America. The U.S. has its swagger back and people are optimistic. Even the people who threatened to leave if Trump got elected are staying. This article isn’t a political post. The United States is the greatest nation on the planet and people recognize that, even if their candidate didn’t win.
Southwest Florida Home Sales Outlook
We think 2017 is going to be a better year in real estate than 2016. Prices were largely flat in 2016 and sales volume was down. We think we’ll see rising sales volume, and who knows where prices will head. Rising interest rates could dampen price gains, or not. They’re still low.
Rising inventory could dampen price gains, or not. Sometimes I think sellers haven’t listed because they didn’t know where they wanted to go. As inventory rises, more choices open and it could spur more sellers to act. It’s a cycle that could really get the economy moving again, raise tax revenue to the state, and sales tax revenue to local governments as people buy appliances, flooring, etc. for their new home.
Where 2017 goes is an open book yet to be written. Way too early to predict or know for sure. We are encouraged by the flurry of activity so early in the season. It just seems like 2016 was a year in limbo and 2017 is a year of action. People don’t wait forever. They move on. They move forward.
If you’d like to search for your piece of paradise, check out www.LeeCountyOnline.com You can search the MLS like a Realtor as our database has all the listings and it’s updated every 5 minutes. You can also get a Free estimate of your home’s value. If you like the value and want to talk to us about your options, call us at 239-489-4042 Ext 4. Brett or Sande will be happy to talk to you and make sense of the process.
If you don’t like your home’s value, don’t give up. It’s just a computer, and it’s not 100% accurate. How could it be? It’s never been inside your home. We’ll be happy to look at it with you. Sande and Brett are experts at getting Top Dollar for your home, because our marketing works. Just give us a call.
Whether you’re buying or selling, it pays to talk to the Ellis Team! 239-489-4042
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