This past week I’ve spoken with several real estate agents in Southwest Florida and all have offered varying perspectives on the current state of the real estate market. Two feel the market has stalled and not doing much while others feel the market is on fire for December. We believe Santas sled bringing gifts Southwest Florida.
Just looking at the quick Market Watch statistics provided by our local MLS we can see that in the last 7 days 291 new listings came on the market in Lee County and 265 went pending. That sounds like a pretty balanced market. If you look further, you’ll also notice 257 price reductions.
It’s possible we placed so many homes under contract because, so many sellers adjusted their price to get in line with the market. Price reductions are not a bad thing. Imagine getting a D or an F on a test and being stuck with that grade. It kind of stinks doesn’t it?
We’ve probably all had that one teacher that allowed test re-takes and makeup homework. This teacher was more interested that you eventually learned the material than if you learned it on time the first time when it was due.
Price reductions are a lot like test re-takes. You misjudged the market the first time. Your final grade can still be salvaged, if you respond to the teacher’s directions. You must show up and try again. Some say you must try harder. Wanting that A isn’t the same as working for it.
An A in a real estate sale is selling at fair market value in the time-frame that works for you. If you overprice the home and it eventually sells for less because it became stale on the market, you don’t get an A. When your home takes longer to sell, and you miss your ideal time-frame because you overpriced the home, you don’t get an A either.
You can still get a B though. The sooner you react and make changes, the higher your grade will be. Sellers who price correctly upfront receive higher sales prices and faster sales than sellers who overprice the market.
In a shifting market, you never want to get caught chasing the market down. I’m not convinced we’re in a shifting market. We had 5 closings last week and several more for the month. That’s the result of hard work in October and November. The sales we have in January will be a direct result of the hard work we’re putting in this month. December is a month where many Realtors take off and ride easy into the New Year. They tell sellers nobody is buying in December and we’ll go get them next year. The truth is sales are there, if you’re hungry and willing to work for them.
The Ellis Team is hungry, and we work hard all 12 months for our buyers and sellers. We’re getting Top Dollar for our sellers. When the market doesn’t respond, we’re honest with our sellers. Just because your home doesn’t sell in the first 30 days doesn’t mean you have to take an F in the class. In fact, if you’re time frame didn’t dictate a 30 day sale, there’s still time to get an A. If you absolutely must sell your home quickly, over-pricing it doesn’t make much sense, does it?
We’ll be glad to sit down with you and discover your needs. Together we’ll come up with a marketing and pricing plan to get you on your way. Santa is bringing gifts, so you might as well get yours. The market is good!
Always Call the Ellis Team
Call Sande or Brett Ellis at 239-489-4042 Ext 4 if you’d like to explore selling your home. If you’d like to shop around on the MLS, check out www.LeeCountyOnline.com for Free. It has all the listings and is updated instantly when new properties enter the market. You’ll beat out other buyers to hot new listings. It’s like having the teacher’s test ahead of the other students, so take advantage.
Happy Holidays from the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty.