Monthly Archives: June 2021

Fort Myers Net Migration Ranked Highest in Nation

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According to the latest report from Updater, Fort Myers net migration ranked highest in the country.  Net migration is a measure of the amount of people moving in and out of a metro area.  Fort Myers beat out Savannah GA, Austin TX, Wilmington NC, and Sarasota FL for the top spot in the 1st quarter of 2021.  The Fort Myers/Cape Coral area previously held the #2 spot for 4th quarter of 2020.

Fort Myers Net Migration Ranked Highest

Fort Myers Net Migration Ranked Highest in Nation

The top 5 cities people are moving out of in the 1st quarter were Milwaukee WI, Cleveland OH, New York NY, St Louis MO, and Colorado Springs CO.

Top Cities With Net Migration Out
Source: Updater

Florida is also in the top 5 states for incoming net migration.  The bottom five states were Nebraska, New York, Alaska, Vermont, and South Dakota.  Our blog will have a link to the entire report you can see for yourself.

Advanced Marketing to Reach Out of Town Buyers

The Ellis Team uses artificial intelligence to advertise in markets up North looking for buyers for our sellers.   Reports like this make it easier for agents who do not have access to artificial intelligence to give them a guide on where to spend marketing dollars.  For instance, if you were listing a home in SW Florida with this information you could now seek out targeted buyers from these markets who have an interest in buying in Florida.

When we list a property, we not only market to local buyers but also worldwide.  Simply listing a home on Zillow or Realtor.com does not count.  That is not marketing.  Some sellers mistakenly believe that having their home on national portals will sell their home.  The fact is, every home is on these portals, so what will make your home stand out if everyone else is on them too?

Nothing Special About Online Listings

If someone handed you a vinyl record of Elvis’s top song “All Shook Up” you would probably be happy because you now owned something valuable.  If you later found out that some company produced these as a promotion and made 2 billion copies and everybody had one, you might feel a little let down.  The same is true with online listings.  Sellers believe if their home is listed on Zillow and Realtor.com they have done something valuable.  When they later find out every listing in the MLS goes there automatically, they begin to realize that service is not so special.  They are just like everyone else.

Marketing a home directly where buyers are coming from is taking it up a level.  In the old days, to make our listings stand out we would market homes both locally and in places like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.  This was a way to reach buyers that were not typically attracted locally.

Today we can find those buyers both in print and digitally online.  Last weekend we ran print ads locally and digital ads in several markets throughout the country. We pulled in several buyers for our $800,000 listing in Cape Coral.  This weekend we will be doing the same thing for some new listings. We have two beautiful listings coming on the market in Horse Creek and Cape Coral.

Top Dollar For Your Home

In this hot market anyone can sell a home.  To get Top Dollar, your marketing must go the extra mile.  Years ago, marketing was important to sell a home at all.  Today, marketing is critically important to getting Top Dollar.

Call Sande or Brett Ellis at 239-310-6500 to find out how we can put this exclusive marketing to work for your home and get you Top Dollar.  Or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com to find your home’s value today the free, quick, and easy way.

Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty!  You’ll be glad you did.

See last week’s article “June Housing Inventory Levels Update”

New Listing in Cape Coral-Pool Home Hitting the Market

June Housing Inventory Levels Update

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June housing inventory levels remained at 3 weeks of inventory compared to April.  We did see some movements in the markets the past few months.  Let’s look at which price ranges changed since April.

June Housing Inventory Levels Update

We have a little more inventory today in the $300k-$600k price range.  The $300-400k range grew by 42 homes and the $400-600k range grew by 50 homes.  Overall inventory grew by 91 homes. We saw an increase of 38 homes on the market in the $250-300k range.  All price ranges saw increases in inventory except for $250,000 and below which all saw decreases in inventory.  What offset the increase in inventory was steep closed sales in the $300k+ market.

While $300k plus market did very well, the $600k+ market is booming. June housing inventory levels are declining in the $600k+ market while it is increasing in the $250k-600k market.

The 365-day moving average number of homes sold has increased since April which indicates the market is gobbling up any increased inventory. The numbers tell us we have a robust housing market despite rising interest rates.

In April we saw a 160.2% increase in the number of cash sales over 2020.  Closed sales were up 63.3% in April, so this tells us more buyers are paying cash.  In fact, 35.5% of all deals in April were cash.

If closed sales were up 63% in April, why are agents talking about a slowdown?  We may see a slowdown in sales, but it will not be because of lack of demand.  Supply plays a role too.  New builders may turn out less product in the second half of 2020 and it will not be due to lack of buyers.  Many builders have cut off sales to keep their backlog manageable.

We will keep our eyes on the market to see if certain price ranges begin to accumulate inventory.  So far we are not seeing it in any meaningful way, and in fact many ranges are still decreasing.

New Listings We are Working On

Our team has been working on several nice listings we will be bringing to the market soon.  What is different now than in years past is it seems to take sellers longer to make their decision to sell. Many factors go into a decision to sell and sometimes a lot of things need to happen first.  We work with sellers to help with these details.

We have a new program for sellers that allows them to purchase a home first then sell their existing property with no interest or payments for 6 months on their existing home.  With the correct marketing plan sellers receive Top Dollar in this market.  The biggest mistake we see sellers make is believing the market is hot, so they will automatically receive top dollar.  There is a difference between selling for a number you would settle for versus selling for the top end of what the market will pay.  Sometimes that difference can be tens of thousands of dollars or more.

To find out what your home is worth, go to www.SWFLhomevalues.com  This is a starting point.  Often, we are selling homes above appraised value.  You can speak with Brett or Sande Ellis at 239-310-6500 and we can discuss how much we could really sell your home for, where you would go, and help with those details that impact whether it is a good time to sell now or not.  Believe it or not, it is not usually the price that matters to sellers.  Working out the details of how a sale would work is usually the biggest obstacle.  Many people would like to sell if only they had someone to help them with all the details.

This is where the Ellis Team comes in.  We look forward to working with you to manage all those details and get you Top Dollar.

Good luck, and Happy House Hunting!

Getting Buyer’s Offer Accepted in Low Inventory Markets

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Last week we wrote about how common mistakes cost sellers thousands at closing and we got a lot of response.  We also heard from buyers throughout the country asking for help getting buyer’s offer accepted in low inventory markets.  We thought we would write some tips for the buyer side to help them.

Getting Buyer’s Offer Accepted in Low Inventory Markets

In a low inventory market, you must make your offer stand out to the seller.  One of the biggest mistakes buyers make is upping the purchase price without regard to their ability to pay more.  Sure, they may have a pre-approval letter showing they qualify for more, but that does not help if the property does not appraise more when getting a mortgage.

Your Competition is Other Buyers-Not the Seller

Keep in mind, you are not competing with the seller.  The buyer is competing with all the other buyers wishing to purchase the same property.  A cash buyer does not have to worry about an appraisal. A buyer putting 50% down may not either.  Buyers putting a minimal amount down do, unless they can show sufficient cash they are willing to plunk down in addition to their down payment and closing costs to make up the difference.

One buyer called me from another state asking for advice in another market.  They had the chance to buy a home there for $450,000 but did not jump on it right away.  They waited a day, and 13 offers came in.  Ultimately it sold for much more than what they could have sealed the deal for.  Waiting cost that buyer.

They have their eye on another property.  He asked if they should put a quick timeline for acceptance on the offer and threated to withdraw it if it is not accepted.  My response was, not necessarily.  The buyer is not holding all the cards.  It is to the seller’s advantage to slow play the offers to generate more interest.  Taking an offer too soon may cost the seller.

Seller Can Act at Any Time Regardless of What They Stated

The seller may say they will look at all offers on such and such a date.  This may be true, but keep in mind the seller can also accept an offer before that date if they choose to.  If you make such a compelling offer that the seller is worried that offer will disappear, you might be able to get your offer accepted.  Do not threaten it will disappear as that will turn off the seller.  Remember, the seller is not your enemy, but they are the gate keeper.  They have what you want, but the other buyers are your enemy.

Negotiating Tip

I would rather softly tell the listing agent we have a certain amount of time to accept simply because the buyer has been shut out on other properties and does not want to miss out again.  If this deal is not going to happen, we would rather find out sooner than later as there is another property they are considering.  Your home is our first choice, and they would be absolutely thrilled to buy it.  If the seller takes too much time, we must move on so the buyer does not end up homeless.

Keep in mind, the buyer still is not holding many cards.  It is just a softer way to proceed and may help your chances.  Relationships matter in this market more than ever.  If your buyer agent is experienced it helps if they have done transactions with the listing agent in the past.  A listing agent’s confidence in the buyer agent can go a long way to getting a deal together.  Buyers must be educated and soothed, and an experienced agent is better able to help with that, and listing agents know this. Trust between the agents can make all the difference.

Other Resources

We wrote an article back in 2012 that still has some great tips today entitled “Top 10 Tips For Buying a Home in Today’s Market” you can find on our blog at https://blog.topagent.com  Just search for that title in the search bar.

Another great article “Selecting Best Multiple Offer Tips From a Real Estate Pro” can be found here.

We hope these tips help.  Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042 or visit www.LeeCountyOnline.com for the latest listings.

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