Monthly Archives: August 2020

Targeted Real Estate Advertising Selling Homes for Top Dollar

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Part of any successful advertising campaign should include the ability to identify and target people most likely to buy a product.  The Ellis Team uses targeted real estate advertising as an additional way to sell homes for top dollar.

Let’s say your company makes the best dog treats on the planet.  You would want to target pet owners, and more specifically dog owners.  It would do no good to target cat owners if cats do not like the treat.  When we list a property, we try to think like a buyer.  If I list an 800 sq. ft home, chances are 8 roommates are not going to buy it.

In the covid-19 era we know many people lost their job, so they are not in the market to purchase right now.  Others who kept their job may want to take advantage of the low rates.  Still others do not need a job to purchase.  It gets complicated.  What we do know is an owner has hired us to find a buyer for their property.

As aggressive real estate marketers the Ellis Team casts several nets.  Our newspaper, PPC, radio, TV, social media, and direct mail campaigns cast a wide net.  We advertise the property to anybody and everybody hoping to find one or more buyers who show interest.  We call this the shotgun approach.

Additionally, we cast tighter nets.  We call this the rifle approach.  Lately we have been targeting cities up North where we know buyers are selling and leaving.  We talk to agents daily who tell us they have sellers leaving their state and they are not coming back.  Florida is one of the areas they are moving to. We have the ability to advertise our listings anywhere in the country.

Targeted Real Estate Advertising

Targeted Real Estate Advertising Selling Homes for Top Dollar

Targeted Real Estate Advertising Selling Homes for Top Dollar Wildginger Dr

The graphic shows two separate ads we ran this past weekend.  As you can see, these two ads generated 40 buyers in just one weekend.  Keep in mind, we are showing you just 2 of the out of town ads.  We may run more ads than 2, and we also run local ads for buyers who have an interest in real estate.  I count 61 buyers signed up just last weekend alone.

By casting multiple nets, we have been able to accumulate a significant amount of people interested in buying property here in SW Florida.  This data is useful because our team of buyer specialists can see what they are searching and call them with new properties entering the market.

It works like this.  Let’s say Sande or I go on a listing appointment and the seller wants to sell.  We know they will have their home ready next week to put on the market.  Our buyer agents can begin calling buyers in our database ahead of time letting them know that a seller will be listing their home next week in an area they are looking in.

We May Already Have a Buyer

Our team may already have the buyer for that listing.  We acquired that buyer through endless marketing, both during the time of the listing, and even before we took the listing.  Sellers benefit from the previous marketing our team has done because we keep the database of buyers.  This database is so valuable because it not only includes their name, email, and phone number, it also tells us what they are searching for and what they like.  Our agents can search the database and find buyers quickly.

Do not call us if your home is listed with another Realtor.  We offer this service for Ellis Team clients only.  We already know about the homes listed on the MLS.  Our buyers can see your home on our website. The Ellis Team proactively calls buyers when our team lists a new property to MLS.  Those sellers hired us, so those are the sellers we spring into action for.

If you’re thinking of selling and want to talk to us about the process, call Brett or Sande Ellis 239-489-4042 Ext 4, or visit www.SWFLhomevlaues.com for a Free instant online estimate of your home’s value.  Find out how targeted real estate advertising can help your home sell for top dollar too.

Good luck and Happy Selling!

See last week’s article “Total Real Estate Sales Volume Bounces Back for the Year”

Ellis Team Open House

Open House Sunday 1-4 PM

14120 Reflection Lakes Dr

14120 Refletion Lakes Dr
Open House Sunday 1-4 PM in Reflection Lakes Fort Myers

New Listing – Video Walkthru

5259 Skylark Ct

 

Total Real Estate Sales Volume Bounces Back for the Year

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Total real estate sales volume, also known as dollar volume, has bounced back for the year.  The total real estate sales volume is the sum total of the actual closed price of each sale.  This results in the total dollar volume of sales.

Total Real Estate Sales Volume Bounces Back

When prices are up and sales are up, dollar volume must be up.  The same is true when prices are down, and sales are down.  We know total dollar volume would be down as well.  Sometimes prices are up, and total number of sales is down, and vice versa.  Therefore, we look at the total dollar volume of sales, or total real estate sales volume.

This metric is another indicator of the overall health of the market.  We reported back in June when May’s official numbers were released that total real estate sales volume was down 42.7%.  That hurt, and of course was a direct function of covid-19 and the stay at home orders the nation was under in March.  Of course, Florida was under a stay at home order in April, as were other states.

Realtors learned to adapt.  Buyers were itching to buy, and they still are to this day.  We found a way to make transactions happen even in a pandemic.  The good news is we are back to the plus side for the year.  You will note, total real estate sales volume was up 1.5% over June of 2019 numbers.  While this is fantastic, it is not what brought us back to the plus side for the year. January, February, and March are what did it.  We were in a fantastic market pre-covid.  The great news is, we are getting back to a positive market again.

Interest rates are historically low, and the stock market is doing well.  The economy is doing better than expected given that states are not back to 100% open yet.  Some are wondering how mortgages in forbearance will affect the market going forward.  Nobody seems to know.  All we can say is the top Realtors learn to adjust their marketing in times of shift.  Top agents learn to pivot on a dime.  This is exactly what we did when covid-19 hit, and the Ellis Team sales numbers are up over last year.

Many local Realtors numbers are up, and many are way down.  The Realtors that pivoted and adjusted have done well, while those that did not market or keep up with their database have not.

The Ellis Team has several databases.  One of course is our past customers.  With over 5,000 sales in Lee County over the years, we have maintained a pretty healthy past client database.  The other database is buyers who are looking to make a move.  We have 10,677 right now in our database, so chances are, if you have a home to sell, we may have the buyer for it.

Our database is pretty neat.  When we take a new listing, we can search our database and see how many of the 10,677 are viewing properties on our site that match that home’s criteria.  Of course, we are adding to the database every day.  We spend thousands of dollars each month on the Gold Standard digital package, so we receive the best leads around.  Some of these leads are local, and some are out of state looking to make a change.

One thing we know for sure is, many of the buyers are coming from high tax states.  Other buyers are looking to escape the city life and get more rural.  We can target both buyers, and this is why Ellis Team sales are up, even in a pandemic.

To get your home sold Fast and for Top Dollar, Always Call Brett or Sande Ellis 239-489-4042 Ext 4 or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com to get your online estimate instantly.  We look forward to speaking with you!

See last week’s article “Real Estate Marketing Trends Shifting to Professional Video Tours”

Watch the Future of Real Estate Latest Video

 

Real Estate Marketing Trends Shifting to Professional Video Tours

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Today we would like to tell you how real estate marketing trends are shifting to professional video tours. Professional videos make a property come alive through cinematography.  When done correctly, the viewer enjoys a cinema like experience using all senses while familiarizing them with the property.

Imagine if children could learn math through an interesting movie.  Movies capture our attention and interest.  Isn’t that the whole purpose of marketing?  The reason most companies do not offer professional video is because it costs money, and lots of it.

Real Estate Marketing Trends Shifting

The Ellis Team is introducing professional video tours on many of our properties.  We create a single property website for each property that has professional photos, a 3D tour of the home, and a professional video tour.

Video Tours

While the video is on each property’s single website, we also upload them to www.SWFLvideotours.com where they are seen by even larger audiences.  We also load the videos on our Facebook pages where it is seen all over the world and shared by others.  This is the true power of leverage.  To get these results, you must have professional video to start.

3D Tours

You have probably seen 3D video tours used by a few agents in SW Florida.  The Ellis Team uses them as well www.swfl360hometours.com because buyers can access and view a home at their leisure from anywhere in the world.  They have helped us sell many homes during the Coronavirus pandemic. 360 home tours allow the consumer to be in control.  Many buyers love them, while others want to be wowed and not worry about the technology used to view the home.  This is where captivating video comes in.  Just as some people learn better with visual and others like audible, the Ellis Team employs multiple streams of marketing to reach the consumer how they wish to view a property best.

If you like the 360 self-guided tour, we have that.  If you like professional still photos, we have that too.  Now we are introducing professional video tours, and recent real estate marketing trends suggest consumers love it.

We ran an ad online last week up North and 175 people watched the video on Facebook alone.  The interesting thing is many watched the entire video.  We believe adding video to our professional photography and 3D tours will be a real winner for home sellers.

Thinking of Selling?

If you are thinking about selling your home, we have some information about what may happen in the market in the next 6 months.  You may want to talk to Sande or Brett Ellis 239-489-40402 Ext 4 to find out how this will affect your property.

If you are curious about your home’s value but not sure you are ready to do something, we have an online value tool that is fairly accurate, instant, and Free.  Simple go to www.SWFLhomevalues.com and enter your address.  It will show you your home’s value along with comparable sales in the area.

To get your home professionally video graphed, call Brett or Sande and find out how we can help get your home sold for Top Dollar.  We are marketing locally and across the world with our digital platform and aggressive marketing campaign.  Ellis Team sales have increased in the middle of a pandemic.  We believe this is the result of hard work, top notch marketing, and aggressive lead generating by our team.  The Ellis Team is not sitting back and waiting for the market to come to us, we are taking it to the market.  Isn’t that the kind of Realtor you want working for you?  Don’t forget to check out the videos at www.swflvideotours.com

See last week’s article “Rapidly Changing market Conditions in SW Florida”

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042 Ext 4

Rapidly Changing Market Conditions in SW Florida

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Earlier this month we wrote an article that inventory supply was down to 3.09 months in SW Florida.  Less than 4 weeks later we want to update you about the rapidly changing market conditions in SW Florida.

Single family housing inventory supply is down to 2.70 months as of July 29th.  The rolling average of closed sales for the past 365 days has increased by 219 sales.  This is a sign that closed sales are picking up. Housing inventory fell by 372 homes.  That is a total swing of 592 homes, and all this happened in a 27-day period.

Rapidly Changing Market Conditions in SW Floridao

This is why we say we have rapidly changing market conditions in SW Florida. If you are a homeowner in forbearance, you are going to want to speak with a Realtor soon.   The six-month window that began back in April will expire in October.  For most borrowers, the lenders front loaded the forbearance.  This means you will have a balloon payment at the end of 6 months.  If it was difficult making the payment before, it will surely be difficult to make all 6 plus October’s payment.  The good news is most loans have equity.

What we found during previous financial hard times is many people did not act.  They put their head in the sand and ended up losing their home when the home could have been sold before foreclosure.   Back in the mid 2000’s some were short sales, but those sales were better than foreclosures on a seller’s record.

Today, if the homeowner has equity, it may not be a short sale.  You may be able to pay off the loan without a foreclosure.  Many homeowners believe this was a government protection and their credit will be fine.  The truth is your credit will not be fine, and they will foreclose if you go in default.  Speak with your lender, and definitely speak with a Realtor before it gets too late.

Sellers thinking about selling should keep in mind we have a great sellers’ market today.  What we don’t know is how long that will last.  We have more buyers buying today.  Florida is well positioned because we have buyers coming in from other states.  We also have record low interest rates.  The wildcard is the election and foreclosures.

We feel fortunate to be here in SW Florida.  We have a lot going for us.  The fact that people want to move here may mitigate some or most of the financial distress foreclosures would cause us.  Today is nothing like the foreclosure crisis we went through as we have end users for properties today.  We did not have that back in 2006-2010.

Hurricane Update

 For those of you that have a transaction pending, please get an insurance binder now.  We could have several storms lining up, and once we are in “the Box”, insurers can no longer write new policies.  You can assume an existing one.  One year we had hurricanes lined up for about 6 weeks.  There were very few days insurers could write new policies. It looks like we may see the same thing this year, so do not take that for granted.  It could stop your closing even if the storms are not coming here, and nobody wants that.

If you would like to talk to us about your home’s value and your situation, please call Brett or Sande Ellis 239-489-4042 Ext 4.  Or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com to find out your home’s value instantly, for Free. We will analyze your situation and discuss your options.  Good luck and stay safe this hurricane season.

See last week’s article “Timely Real Estate Trends We Are Keeping an Eye On”

3 Things We are Watching in SW Florida real Estate Market