A few weeks ago, we wrote about how strong closings have been in 2018.  This week we’ll talk about two more indicators that help us evaluate the health of the market; median time to contract and dollar volume.  Currently median time to contract date 63 days this year.

The median time to contract is 63 days this year.  This is measured by taking the number of days from listing to time of pending contract.  In other words, it’s taking just over 2 months for homes to go under contract.  If you have a home on the market and it’s taking longer than that, it’s either not being marketed correctly, it’s overpriced, or both.

Because the market has been strong in 2018, the median time to contract is down 4.5%. It’s taking less time to sell homes this year than last.  In the past month or two we’ve seen listings increase, and yet the market has gobbled up many of these listings.  This tells us buyers are out there and ready to buy, but at the right price.  Even in a hot seller’s markets some sellers seem to overshoot the market.  Ask all those sellers in 2005 and 2006 who were on the market and failed to sell if they’d love to have that opportunity back.

Some sellers will always be too greedy for the market.  There’s a term for them.  They’re called Expireds because they were never priced to sell at the market.  It might not be their fault.  If they demanded more than the market would bear, it is.  Perhaps they listened to their agent who didn’t really know that market, or really needed a listing badly and convinced the seller they could sell it higher than any other agent.  I guess you could say it’s the seller’s fault for listening to the wrong people, but how is a seller to know for sure?

We see the same mistake from buyers.  They low-ball sellers and seem to come up short on every offer.  Their goal was to purchase a house, and yet they see everyone else buying but they can’t seem to score a deal.  Greed is getting in their way, just as it does for sellers who overprice.  Greed prevents more buyers and sellers from accomplishing their goals than anything, followed closely by fear.

People have a fear of making a mistake, so often they do nothing.  The sad reality is doing nothing may very well be the biggest mistake they could make.  A seller riding the market down is no fun.  A buyer watching interest rates rise while they sit on sidelines is no fun either.

Getting back to the market, the other indicator we watch is dollar volume. Dollar volume is the cumulative total of all sales.  It is of course influenced by the number of closings and the average price.  As you can see, dollar volume of sales was up 12.9% in August and up 14.9% year to date.  By all accounts, 2018 has been a very good year for real estate sales.

Waiting in this market can be a costly mistake, both on the buy side and the sale side.  It pays to work with a professional that knows the numbers.  I can assure you, agents on the Ellis Team know the market numbers.

If you’re looking to sell a home, call Sande or Brett Ellis at 239-489-4042 Ext 4.  If you’re looking to buy, our team of friendly and knowledgeable agents can help you too.  Don’t forget to check out www.LeeCountyOnline.com  It has all the listings, and it’s updated instantly, so you’ll know about hot new listings before other buyers and sellers on those other sites.  Sometimes they take days to update, and sometimes listings are missing because the agent decides not to list them there.  We have all the listings.  You can even find out what your homes is worth online too.

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042.  We’ll take good care of you, and give you the straight scoop with what’s really going on in the market!

Ellis Team Weekend Open House

Saturday October 20, 2018 11AM -2 PM