We are already seeing real estate consolidation trends, both at the agent and brokerage levels. As business slows for some agents, they begin looking for alternatives to stay in the business.

 

Making the Switch

Online real estate agents nationwide are asking questions about brokerages. The questions range from who offers the best split, to real estate software provided, to profit sharing. In almost every instance, the inquiring agent production is down, so they start to look around.

Real estate coaches online have chimed in. The answer isn’t which brokerage offers the best software, or the highest split. The answer is, what are you doing to create sales? It won’t matter which brokerage an agent is at if they aren’t doing activities to create sales.

The typical agent wants leads and buyers wrapped up in bows ready to buy. When the market shifts, buyers are more indifferent, and getting them off the fence requires skill, patience, activities, and relationship.

Agents that are doing business understand this, and they are active. The problem is, only about 5-10% of the agents are highly active, communicating with their database, and marketing listings. The rest are struggling and reactive. Consumers don’t always know who these 5-10% are, so they work with an agent until they are disappointed. Agents aren’t the only ones making the switch, consumers are too!

Light Bulb Goes Off

It is at this moment buyers and sellers seek out a higher-level agent. Consumers start asking tough questions. The conversation shifts from how much do you charge to what level of service can I expect from you? Consumers ask to see proof of marketing. They may want to see a list of recent past sales or talk to a few of your past clients. A shifting market is where rubber meets the road, and results matter.

In a normal market, consumers think that all real estate agents are the same. If they all do the same thing, and get the same results, why should they pay more from one versus another. When the market shifts, it exposes agents with fewer skills and marketing, and shines a light on those that produce results.

Brokerages are no different. In the absence of value, agents will switch to another brokerage. The agents not doing any business won’t make a difference, but agents that are producing have value to the brokerage. Losing agents who produce is never a good thing, so brokerages must provide value.

Independent Brokerages

It is getting harder for independent brokerages to compete in a world fueled by large advertising budgets, expensive software, and high lead generation costs from the online portals. Online portals are one of the biggest threats to smaller brokerages for too many reasons to list here. This is why we are seeing many independents retain their name but becoming powered by companies like Keller Williams. In this way, they can retain their name and the way they like to do business and marry it with the advantages of high-tech software, models, and systems. Not to mention joining a large referral network that brings in buyers.

The SW Florida real estate market is steady. Some say it is stagnant and nobody is buying, but the statistics say otherwise. 335 single family homes closed in the last 7 days in Lee County. Somebody is selling those homes.

Real Estate Consolidation Trends

We expect more consolidation and migration to those agents that are advertising heavily and working their database. Sellers will demand it. We see it every shift, and it is happening again. You don’t have to suffer with no showings and no offers. An experienced agent can show you the way.

Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-310-6500 if you’re thinking of selling your home this summer. We can get your home advertised and sold.

Good luck, and Happy Selling!

New Listing

4129 Spotted Eagle Way, Fort Myers Fl

Eagle Reserve

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

14386 Reflection Lakes Dr, Fort Myers

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

10813 Dennington Rd, Fort Myers FL

 

Both housing supply and demand level off in the latest statistics produced by the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty.

Last year we saw single family home inventory supply drop from April 25^th to May 2^nd. Some of that could have been expired listings. In 2024, we are seeing a trend of leveling off. Pending sales have remained remarkably steady since February 20^th of this year.

Ellis Team Current Market Index

The current market index stands at 3.05 and has also remained steady. It rose slightly in the last week, but we’ve been watching numbers in the low 3 range since March 12^th. The current market index accurately predicts future price appreciation or reductions going forward.

We finally received some good news on the interest rate front which has led to slightly lower rates. The economic news was bad for employment, which is good news for possible rate cuts later this year. It’s the first good news for future interest rate cuts we’ve received. Wall Street went from betting on no cuts this year to a possible rate cut or two by the end of this year. Inflation numbers have not been good and going in the wrong direction, so betting the farm on one payroll report probably doesn’t make sense. But hey, Wall Street likes optimism wherever it can find it.

Housing Supply and Demand Level

If current housing and supply level remains the same or gets better, coupled with lower interest rates, we could see strengthening in the housing market going into 2025. We are not saying price reductions will suddenly stop as there are still more sellers than buyers. We are saying, once the market chooses a direction, those price reductions will begin working their way through the system and eventually the market will level out.

Like a Train

The housing market is like a train. Once it builds momentum, it takes awhile to brake, or change direction, even if market indicators begin to shift. A train has built up residual energy that must be released before it can brake. If economic indicators suddenly became clear, there would still be price reductions until the market cleared excess inventory.

2025

 2025 could be a year for real estate recovery. Of course, we do not know if the economy will have a soft or hard landing. That outcome will determine how many people still have a job and how many can purchase. Additionally, we do not know if we will have stagflation, which is persistent higher than welcome inflation coupled with low to no growth. If this happens, we may not see a recovery until later 2025 or 2026.

So much economically is unknown. Because of this, nobody can predict what the stock, bond, and real estate markets will do. We can report only what we see, and the good news is the housing supply and demand level is stable and doing well. We’ll be keeping an eye on future economic data and housing statistics, along with the Ellis Team Current Market Index.

Thinking of Selling?

You should call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-310-6500 Brett and Sande can guide you on the latest data. We have the most advanced marketing system in the area, and we’d love to show you how it’s different, and why it’s producing results. Or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com to get your home’s price instantly.

Good luck, and Happy Selling!

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

2552 Keystone Lake Dr

Free Solar-Below Market Interest Rate

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

13916 Lily Pad Cir

Reflection Lakes-Gated Community-Low HOA Fees

People are asking what the Ellis Team 5 Star Marketing Program is and how it’s achieving uncommon results in a shifting market. We’ll tell you a little bit about it, and why it’s different than other marketing.

First off, people need to understand, when the market changes, do not cancel marketing. In fact, sellers need marketing more in a shifting market.  Too many Realtors relied on the portals (Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, etc.) to do their marketing. That’s about to change.

Never a Good Idea

 It was never a good idea to rely on the portals, but now it’s critical. We are getting frantic calls from the portals asking us to advertise.  They are changing their programs. Zillow is in the midst of cancelling their Zillow Premier agent program and replacing it with Flex. Flex essentially takes 35-50% of the agent’s commission, so agents have little to no money to spend on advertising. Flex also wants their agents to use their lenders and title companies so they can control the whole transaction.

We prefer to use lenders and title companies we know with a proven track record. We also don’t want to be dependent on a portal who can change the rules at any time, like they are now. The Realtor commission lawsuit is also playing a big part in this. Portals are forced to change, or they will go out of business.

Do you really want an agent who is spending most or all of their advertising money with one portal?

Ellis Team 5 Star Marketing

 The Ellis Team has been big advertisers for years. We’ve tested and found the best way to attract buyers.  We have not spent our money finding sellers and paying large referral fees. Our system has worked so well, we’ve developed a databank of buyers.

But it gets better! We found a way to segment this large database of buyers and advertise to them. In the real estate industry, the average click thru rate is 1-2% on an online ad. By using market segmentation, we’ve been able to achieve over 20%. This tells us not only are we serving up ads people want to see, but we’re also serving it the people most interested in buying what we’re selling.

When you see an ad online for something you don’t care about, you don’t click it. Even if you care, you still might not click.

Let’s say we have a $400,000 dollar listing. Will a million-dollar buyer click to see that ad? The answer is no. When you serve that ad up to everybody, not everyone will click it, including those interested in buying real estate.

Segmented Ad

Advertising to people interested in buying real estate is a targeted ad.  Advertising the home a buyer is specifically interested in is what we call segmented marketing. The Ellis Team 5 Star Marketing program has found a way to do both, targeted marketing and segmented marketing.

Neighborhood Search

We can also identify people searching in certain neighborhoods. Let’s say we list a property in Miramar Lakes, Whiskey Creek, or any subdivision. We can search our database and it will tell us how many leads match the neighborhood. It’s easy for us to advertise our new listing to those buyers actively searching now for homes that match those criteria.

If you’re thinking of selling, or perhaps tried before and your home did not sell, give Sande or Brett Ellis a call. 239-310-6500 Let’s see how we can put the Ellis Team 5 Star Marketing Program to work for you. There’s a reason the Ellis Team has been voted Best in Real estate 11 straight years by News Press readers.

Ellis Team 5 Star Marketing Program Video

 

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-4 PM

8515 Oakshade Cir #101, Fort Myers

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

2206 NW 18th Pl, Cape Coral

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

412 Chiquita Blvd N, Cape Coral