Today, more than ever, the agent you choose matters when listing your home in SW Florida.  Pending sales are down 7.1% year to date, and down significantly in March and April.  Obviously, the economy took a big hit from Coronavirus, but that is no excuse to sit back and do nothing.

One thing we know is when pending sales take a big hit, closed sales will fall in the coming months.  When closed sales fall, agents get out of the business.  The agent you are thinking about hiring to list your home may be hanging on by a thread and may not make it to closing.  Furthermore, even if that agent has a side gig and can withstand a sales pullback, they may not have the experience to guide you through a shifting market.

Agent You Choose Matters

Our team has been through several shifts, so we know what to do.  In times like this, you work harder, and your experience pays off for clients. Ellis Team sales are up year to date, as are a few other experienced agents we talked to.  But for the most part, agents will feel the brunt of the pending sales slowdown.

Believe it or not, even though pending sales are slower, pending sales are outpacing new listings about 2 to 1.  This means it can be a good time to sell.  While new pending sales were down 36.9% in April, listing inventory is down 22.9%.  We believe the month’s supply of inventory will go down.  Officially it stands at 4.3 months in April, even though we had it falling to 4.2 months back in March.  For April we have it at 3.85 months supply.  This puts us firmly in a seller’s market, which means an experienced agent should be able to get you Top Dollar and get your home sold fast.

Speaking of fast, in April the median time to contract was 48 days.  Contrast that with April 2019 when it was 71 days.  That is a 32.4% reduction in time to sell a home.

Thinking of Selling?

If you are thinking of selling, you should talk to Brett or Sande Ellis 239-489-4042 Ext 4. Brett and Sande have the experience of selling over 5,000 homes in SW Florida and have been through several market cycles.  This market cycle is different than others.  One thing we know about shifts, and this is true no matter what the cause, they happen gradually then suddenly.  When markets shift, buyers and sellers have fear.  Fear causes people to pause or do strange things.  It is not strange at all when you realize what is happening.  It takes skill and trust to turn that around.

Brett and Sande have the skill and trust of buyers and sellers.  Because we have experience, our deals are more likely to close, and when problems arise, we know ways to keep them together.  Quite often the buyer still wants to purchase, and the seller still wants to sell.  We simply must overcome the obstacles the lender or the parties put before us, and this leads to a successful transaction.

Marketing is also key.  Many agents will tell you it is all price.  Price is important, but so is marketing.  We have had great success marketing into northern markets and pulling buyers.  Every shift presents obstacles and opportunities.  We prefer to focus on the opportunity, and when we do that, the obstacles seem to melt away.  Let us show you how we are attracting buyers with our marketing.

Of course, we must also price your home correctly for the market.  No amount of marketing is going to overcome and overpriced listing.  If you have a home that failed to sell in the past, let us take a look at it.  Today’s low inventory, proper pricing, and our marketing might just be the winning formula to get you on to your next venture.  We are experts at making dreams a reality.

Find out what your home is worth for Free at www.SWFLhomevalues.com

And remember, the agent you choose matters when listing your home.

See last week’s article “Rising Home Sale Price Trend Continues Despite Pandemic“