Monthly Archives: May 2023

Why Sell The Traditional Way When There is a Better Way?

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Why sell the traditional way when you could sell your home for thousands more? That is the question many home sellers are asking.

Why Sell The Traditional Way

Most Realtors use passive marketing.  They list a home, put a sign up, place it in MLS, and wait for people to respond. A few will even take out ads, but they are not targeted.  It is a lot like placing bait in the water and waiting to see if a fish comes along and bites. The worst thing is, they’re not 100% sure the fish are even there, or if they’re biting today.

Breakthrough Technology

 The Ellis Team has a system to identify and target almost all the potential buyers for your home within 3-4 days. By doing so, the home doesn’t have to sit on the market week after week while buyers begin to wonder what is wrong with the home. Buyers know that other buyers have seen the home and rejected it, so something must be wrong.

Our system eliminates the two price depressing problems facing sellers today. As inventory grows and homes linger on the market, this strategy becomes more important.

Studies have shown that this new program sells homes from 8.4 to 12% higher than the MLS median price, as confirmed by 6 independent studies.

How Does it Work?

So how does the program work?  Essentially everything you thought you knew about selling is thrown out the window. There is a reason big companies like Apple sell out new products instantly. It is because they understand how consumers think, and they bring products to market accordingly. Their products are not designed to sit on store shelves for months hoping a consumer will come along and choose to buy it.

The Ellis Team has been selling homes this new way for a while, and the results have been amazing. Sure, our team did very well selling homes the traditional way because we out worked, out marketed, and hustled our way to the top. We didn’t consider ourselves traditional because our results stood for themselves, and we did things nobody else did.

Why Sell The Traditional Way When There is a Better Way?

When we looked at this new system, we realized there were some things we could do to improve, and if we did that, our sellers would benefit even more. Since implementing the system our sellers have sold even faster and for more money. The system works.

Not only does the system sell homes for more money, but it also saves money later in the inspection process. Buyers are glad they were able to get a nice home and the sellers are happy that they didn’t leave money on the table. And everyone is happy because the process goes fast.

Real World Example

Earlier this year we had a seller who bought another home out of state. They had 30 days to sell their home to come up with the down payment and financing to complete that other sale. Their out of state agent referred them to us and said I know this is almost impossible, but they just bought a home, and they need their sold fast. Can you help?

I said no problem, our system is designed to sell homes fast and for top dollar. We priced the home higher than the comparables and we sold it for cash quickly. It closed on time and the sellers had days to spare in their new home. Our system identified multiple qualified and motivated buyers for their home. The other Realtor was truly amazed as well.

Fishing

Wouldn’t it be easier to fish if you knew exactly where the fish were, at what depth to place the bait, and what time of day they would be hungry? Of course it would. This new breakthrough technology and home selling system helps with all of this, and the results are amazing.

If you have a home to sell, call Brett or Sande Ellis at 239-310-6500 or visit My Home Sold in 8 Days and we’ll be glad to meet with you and help you with your situation. We love helping people and seeing the smile on their faces when we pleasantly surprise them with results.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

New Housing Price Research Shows Changes in Housing Market

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News housing price research complied by the Ellis Team at Keller Williams suggests changes in the local real estate market.

New Housing Price Research

We have been predicting for many months that in May we will see year over year price declines in the Lee County housing market. This does not mean that prices are declining now, only that the media will first pick up on the fact that prices have come down from last year. The price declines already occurred in 2022, and then a funny thing happened.

Home Prices Stabilized

 Home prices in Lee County have leveled off in 2023. In January the average price was $581,598. Today the unofficial number is $583,567. The median price in January was $420,000. Today the unofficial median price is $438,000. While prices dropped in 2022, it looks like they’ve stabilized in 2023.

Keep in mind we’ve just come through the seasonal months in SW Florida where the higher priced homes tend to sell, so we could still see further drops in prices going forward. Inventory is still rising, and demand has softened slightly from 2022. We have been tracking closed sales more in line with 2020, and we believe there will be a spike in official closed sales for April when numbers are released next week.

Nobody can predict exactly where the market is headed. What we can say is it looks like the market is stable. There are many factors pulling the market in different directions, and which factors win out will be fascinating to watch.

Debt Watch

 Household debt has reached record levels. Credit card debt is now $2.9 trillion higher than it was pre-covid. Mortgage debt has soared to 12.04 trillion. Student loan debt and automobile debt is also up. Americans have borrowed to keep this economy floating, but there are limits.

As I write this article, the federal debt is in limbo also. Leaders have still not worked out an agreement on raising the federal borrowing limit, and the first US default on its debt is a possibility. We expect mortgage rates will soar as we get closer to a default deadline.

The real question is, would loans be funded at all? When a real estate closing takes place with a loan involved, the lender sends the money to the title company, and everybody walks away happy. The lender typically bundles that loan and sells it on the secondary market with the help of FNMA or Freddie Mac. Loans are easily bundled because the loan was underwritten to their guidelines for the purpose of bundling and selling. But what if that secondary market is uncertain? What if they don’t want to honor rate locks before a US default?  How many buyers would no longer qualify?

The other thing we don’t know is what would happen to FHA and VA loans? If the US defaults, what would happen to retirement accounts? The stock market could implode, and with that many people’s wealth.

The mind can go a thousand directions thinking of the possibilities. We prefer not to do that. We will deal with whatever comes if and when it comes. A default on debt could be catastrophic to our way of life. The dollar may no longer be recognized as the world’s currency of choice. Interest rates might rise if the dollar is replaced.

Good News

 The good news is Florida is still desirable. Whatever happens in other cities and states, Florida is still the #1 place people want to relocate to. As northern states react to budget deficits and higher taxes, Florida looks safer all the time. Predicting which economic forces will win the day is impossible. Just pray for the leaders to work out a deal on the debt and be grateful we live in a state people are attracted to.

If you have real estate questions, call Sande or Brett Ellis about this new housing price research at 239-310-6500.  Good luck, and Happy Selling!

7-Day Real Time Market Activity Report Lee County

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The Lee County 7-day real time market activity report shows some interesting facts. This report gives us clues as to how the market is doing in real-time, so let’s take a deeper dive into the data.

7-Day Real Time Market Activity Report Lee County

New listings outpaced new pending sales by 7. If we add back the 91 back on the market listings the numbers grow to 98. There were also 49 extended listings. 47 listings terminated and 57 expired. Our internal research shows that the MLS added about 50 listings net to the inventory supply in the last week.

The differential between active listings and total pendings has expanded to 1,432 single family homes. This number is the largest number we’ve seen since February 7th.

Technical Analysis

The next breakthrough number we are tracking is the Ellis Team Current Market Index. This index is published internally and used with our clients. It is on the rise again, and we are watching to see if it crosses the Mar 21st data point. If it does, we have a pretty good idea of where it’s headed based on technical analysis.

The other data point we are looking at is the price reductions. Even though we had more new listings come on the market than new pendings, we had more price reductions than new listings. This tells us sellers are recognizing the market and reacting to changes. Sellers are searching for that price point that will make their home sell in today’s market.

Comparative Market Analysis

The problem with the comparative market analysis is it tells you where the market has been, but not always where the market is going. It is important to look at past sales. Past sales will influence the appraised value, but not necessarily determine today’s value.

How Buyers Shop

Buyers do not look at closed home sales when shopping for a home. Think about when you are shopping for an item, either in store, or online. You tend to check on what you could buy it for now. You have no way to see what an item was selling for last month.

The Ellis Team has identified new metrics when pricing homes. Yes, the home must appraise in many cases. However, pricing homes based upon the past may not always be the best idea either.  We have a new form that shows sellers another way of looking at the value, and our sellers find it useful.

8-Day Sale

The Ellis Team also has a program to sell a home in 8 days. The number one complaint we hear from sellers is keeping the home nice for showing after showing for months on end. Our program identifies the best buyers for your home in 3 to 4 days with technology, then we market to those buyers. While not every listing sells in 8 days, we utilize a different strategy to sell your home along with several probability increasers. We can tell you more about those when we meet.

Watching sellers reduce their price numerous times is never fun. When a home sells in 8 days price reductions become unnecessary and sellers typically sell their home for more money. In fact, 6 independent studies show that this program sells homes for 8.4-12% higher than average MLS sales. We have the validation letter.

If you have a property to sell in SW Florida, call Brett Ellis or Sande Ellis at 239-310-6500 We will be happy to show you the latest market statistics along with the Ellis Team Current Market Index numbers and show you the 8-day sale program.

If you’re not ready to sell your home yet and are just curious about prices, check out www.SWFLhomevalues.com It’s a great way to get your home’s value every month quickly and for Free.

When you have real estate questions, Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty! Good luck, and Happy Selling! We hop you find this 7-day real time market activity report useful.

Real Estate Demand Fell Slightly in Last Week

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SW Florida inventory and real estate demand fell slightly in the last week. Inventory fell because 99 single family homes expired at the end of April. We will be watching to see how many of these homes are relisted plus the new listings that hit the market.

Real Estate Demand Fell Slightly in Last Week

Real estate demand fell this past week, and that may have been caused by rising interest rates. We have seen rates falling for several weeks; however, they have risen the past two weeks. We are not convinced the market is this interest rate sensitive, although we have seen a high correlation between modest rate movements and movement in pending sales in the past several months.

Banking

 All eyes this week will be on the Fed’s decision, and more importantly their commentary on what they believe their actions might be in the future. The failure of First Republic Bank could influence commercial real estate lending but should have no effect on residential real estate lending.

Jobless claims are a lagging indicator. We expect jobless claims to rise someday as vacant jobs leave the marketplace and companies continue to cut back. All the Fed’s actions to tame inflation will help to tame price increases in real estate. The cost of borrowing has risen and that helps cap what consumers can afford to pay for housing.

Florida

 What we do not know is how this will affect Florida. Florida seems to be better off than many states, so people’s desire to move here may offset dampening economic conditions elsewhere.

Insurance is one topic that is on the mind of many homeowners. Costs are rising and insurance companies are still in trouble. It may take another year or more for the insurance market to stabilize. Re-insurance is an increasing cost for insurers adding pressure to their decision to write new polices or stay in business.

Debt Ceiling

 Perhaps the biggest wildcard is the looming debt ceiling battle. The US is simply spending too much, and everybody knows it. The dollar is being replaced as the trading currency of choice. Should the US default on it’s debt, which is highly unlikely, it would bring grave consequences. As we get closer to the debt deadline, rate may get a little wonky, and it will bring unpredictability in the economy, and perhaps the lending markets. This could bleed through to Wall St and the real estate markets too if we’re not careful.

The reason we feel a default is unlikely is because the treasury secretary can cut services before defaulting on actual debt. Cutting services would be extremely unpopular, but far less catastrophic than defaulting. We might never recover from an actual default.

We are not sure how cutting services would affect FHA and VA loans, or the secondary markets. The Fed has been buying assets and treasuries. If they can no longer do this, the free market might take over and rates could soar. It would be hard to choose between cutting back on the military or food stamps versus monetary policy that could drastically change our debt structure and affect rates. Single handedly rates could change drastically overnight, and what would that do to the real estate market?

An overhaul of the budget needs to be made, that is for sure. How we do it, and how soon they make progress will determine much more than people realize. Stay tuned, and stock up on the popcorn. Not only will it be a heck of a show, but it might also be what’s for dinner if we don’t get this debt under control.

If you’re considering selling, Always Call Sande Ellis or Brett Ellis at the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-310-6500. We’ll help you navigate through these wildcards. Be sure to ask about our 8-day sale program.

Good luck, and Happy Selling!