The latest housing inventory supply numbers show we have a 5.89-month supply of homes on the market today. This is up slightly from 5.84 months’ supply back in February. We decided to update the graph with more relevant price categories. Before, half the categories were under $300,000. The old format was useful until prices shot up over the decades.
Latest Housing Inventory Supply
Anything $400,000 or less in Lee County has the least supply, and this makes sense. When we start getting up $400,000+ you begin to see properties sitting on the market longer as there is more inventory. Buyers have an excellent choice to choose from over $400k.
If you’re a seller over $400k, don’t be discouraged. Our team just put over $5.6 million under contract in the last 30 days, and most of it is well above that number. One listing was on the market with another company for months over $650,000. The sellers called us, and we were able to sell it in 11 days.
Our team listed and brought the buyer for another home at $800k, and we put under contract our listing at $2.3 Million. We are grateful for all the sales in the last month, especially when we hear other agents having a difficult time selling homes right now. We are not bragging. We’ve been there too, and it’s not fun when you want so much for your seller’s listings to sell, and the market doesn’t respond.
What’s the Secret?
Everyone wants to know, what’s the secret to sales in a shifting market? There are four easy answers.
- Be the economist of choice. Know the market you are in so you can prepare your clients. Educating clients on exactly what the market is doing helps them make better decisions. Always operate for the market we’re moving into, not the market that just left.
- Better Systems. Make sure your systems are tight. Communication is key, and educating on next steps is critical to getting deals and keeping them together. Everyone’s role on team is defined, and each member takes ownership of the results.
- Increase Advertising. Most agents want to cut back. This is why so many leave the business. They stop advertising, and their client’s listings don’t sell. In a rising inventory market, properties need more exposure, not less. If an agent switched to a brokerage with a higher split, be prepared to pay your own money for advertising. Most brokers do not advertise like the old days, agents do.
- Advertise in the right places. Don’t select a medium simply because it’s cheap, or just to appease the seller that you’re doing something. Use proven advertising because you’ve tested it, and it works in the market we are in.
Experience
When inventory levels rise, there is no substitute for experience. Finding an agent who is 1% less expensive isn’t a bargain when they don’t sell your house, or worse, when they sell it for less than it should because it wasn’t exposed to enough buyers. Underselling costs sellers more money, but hey, they’re saving a percent, so they’ll never know how much they lost, because they never saw the higher offers.
The Ellis Team has sold over 5,000 homes locally. We’ve worked in up, down, and sideways markets, and our research staff knows exactly where the market is, and what may lie ahead.
Don’t panic. We’ve got this. Give Brett or Sande Ellis a call 239-310-6500 We’ll sit down, discuss your property and your situation, and show you the market. Together we’ll make a plan to get you Top Dollar on your timeframe. Nobody puts more money in your pocket at closing than the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty.
Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses
Open House Saturday 12-3 PM
13916 Lily Pad Cir Reflection Lakes
Open House Sunday 12-3 PM River Grove
Open House Sunday 12-3 PM
