Fort Myers Real Estate Archives - Page 45 of 68 - Fort Myers Real Estate and Homes For Sale

Lee County Florida real estate cash sales fall 23% in September 2015 and that’s a good thing. We said several years ago one of the signs of a recovering economy is infusion of capital. We’ve been watching a fairly steady decline in cash sales for the past few years. Back in the doldrums of the market reset cash sales accounted for about 70% of all sales.

Investors came in with cash and bought up everything they could at rock-bottom prices. Cash was good because back then banks were nervous about lending. Today banks are encouraged to lend again and prices are nowhere near rock bottom, so buyers have less competition from flippers and long-term investors.

Competition is still fierce for properties and inventory is limited. It’s just not concentrated at the low end of the market like it used to be. These are all signs that the SW Florida real estate market has recovered and on solid ground now.

In fact, median days on market is down to 34 days in September, a 10.5% drop since last year. If you look at the graph, drops of 20% or more have been common this year versus last year.

We have a rising market in prices and because more deals are financed it presents a new set of challenges. Appraisals are commonly an issue in rising markets, and with low inventory sometimes there aren’t comparable sales in the same neighborhood to compare against.

Also, in a rising market, each new sale stands the chance to set the bar higher, and yet appraisers struggle with how to account for this. Appraisers are excellent at looking in the rear view mirror to substantiate prices. The problem is, the rear view mirror helps explain where the market has been, but does little to justify where it is and where it’s going.

When the market was headed south, appraisers were quick to use a time value adjustment because prices were falling. We believe they need to use this on the way up as well, and some do.

We’ve also seen an increase again in out of town appraisers. We’ve fought this before. One tactic agents would use would be simply to decline to make the home accessible when an out of town appraiser called. You could hardly blame the Realtor for slow-playing access because more appraisals were screwed up by appraisers who were not from here and did not know the market.

If an appraiser failed to do the appraisal in a timely manner, it would be assigned to another appraiser, hopefully one in town. There is a rule that appraisers should be familiar with the market but it doesn’t always bear out. We’re not blaming appraisers. We still blame the Dodd-Frank Act and many of its stupid rules. Dodd Frank needs to be repealed and more practical rules put into place.

Hiring an experienced Realtor to work with you when buying or selling is essential. It’s a beautiful thing when experienced Realtors work together to make a smooth transaction for their clients. We love working with other agents who know what they’re doing. The consumer rarely knows if their agent is good, but they find out later when things go bad.

Make sure you ask probing questions when selecting an agent. Are they full-time? How do they handle such things as code violations, permitting, defective drywall, septic systems, and inspection and repair items? Do they have a list of contractors they can recommend? How many homes have they sold in the last 5 years? The answers to these questions may help you decide if your agent knows how to get you out of trouble before you even get in it.

The market is up. Listings are hard to find but new ones are coming online everyday at www.LeeCountyOnline.com The database is updated every 5 minutes from MLS.

You can reach us at 239-489-4042 if you’d like to buy or sell in SW Florida. Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

November 2015 Future of Real Estate market Update

View our Latest Cape Coral waterfront Listing

View This Cape Coral Waterfront home on Instagtram

River views with pool-Featured Property of the week.

Island Park area home almost 2,200 Sq ft community boat ramp for boating and community pool http://www.leecountyonline.com/property/215062659/ #swfl #swflorida #realestate #ellisteam #fortmyers #RE/MAX

A video posted by Brett Ellis (@ellis_team_fl) on Nov 11, 2015 at 9:05am PST

This past week I had the distinct honor of speaking in Fort Lauderdale with some of the brightest minds in the business. Throughout the 3 day conference we heard from the CEO’s of Better Homes & Gardens and Coldwell Banker, the #1 real estate team in the Coldwell Banker system, HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti, top designers, and top agents from all over the country.

2016 Housing Projections Released

Today I’m going to focus on projections made by Freddie Mac as they control a large part of the financing in the US.

Mr. Becketti projected mortgage rates to increase somewhat which will decrease home affordability. In fact, he said home affordability can disappear on a dime when interest rates increase.

The Fed may have a difficult time raising rates as much as they’d like because unemployment is so high. Basically, our government hasn’t been completely honest with us. Unemployment is about as high now as it ever was. Statistically the government is stating lower numbers around 5% but when you factor in labor participation they’re around 10%.

In other words, our economy isn’t as strong as some would have you believe. When rates rise, it will pinch home buyers. When buyers get pinched, large price gains begin to abate. We’ve seen a nice run-up in prices the past several years, and we needed to. The question is how long will that last?

Much of the country is back to previous peaks in prices while Florida is about 24% below the peak. This feels about right here in SW Florida too. Economists are projecting higher prices for us this next year, but a lowering in the growth projections. We may not see 15% price gains going forward, which in my opinions is a good thing. That is not sustainable and a recipe for disaster were it to continue too long. It was good to catch up as we were hit too hard, but now that we’re getting closer to a normal market, normal growth it perfect.

Many sellers are trying to time the market and get out at the top. If this thing goes swimmingly, there will be no top. There would be normal positive growth for years to come. We see large ups and downs when the market gets out of balance or there are external economic factors placing undue pressure on the housing market.

We know rising rates are coming. This will inhibit buyer’s purchasing power. We don’t know who will become president or how the economy will react, so in a vacuum we’d say our market should do fairly well with rising but stabilizing prices and growing inventory levels as sellers wouldn’t be able to name their price like today.

To all sellers I would say, you’re in the driver’s seat today. Rev the motor and smell that crisp clean air rushing by. It may not last forever. We will still have a good market, you just may have to switch over to a safer, slower lane. More sellers may place their home on the market as competition to yours. Add more housing inventory to rising rates and you can see more sales but less big price jumps on the horizon. This isn’t a bad thing; in fact it would be considered a great normal market. It just may not fit current sellers’ expectations, which are normally higher than buyers by human nature. The sellers that recognize and plan for the future have the greatest chance of accomplishing their goals. Unrealistic sellers struggle in good times and bad.

If you’re going to buy or sell, it pays to be realistic. There are costs of not paying attention. Give our office a call and we’ll be glad to guide you. 239-489-4042 You can search the MLS for Free at www.LeeCountyOnline.com

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

Check out last weekend’s open house on Instagram

1917 SE 36th St Cape Coral, FL

Our team lists and sells a lot of property. We thought we’d share a few tips for selling your home.

Curb Appeal– Buyers judge the quality of the home by what they can see. You will never get to the home inspection stage if the buyer never offers. Look at your yard, landscaping, outside paint, roof, gutters, etc. If the outside looks bad, buyers judge the inside probably looks just as bad and they don’t schedule appointments to view.
De-Clutter Inside– If a room has too many things in it, it makes the room look smaller. Additionally, buyers have a harder time envisioning their personals in your home when all they see is stuff. Take out as much as you can.
Be sure to remove Personal Photos– Buyers always stop and look at the pictures on the wall, and if there are too many the home feels like it’s someone else’s and they have a hard time picturing themselves in your home. Knick knacks and photos subconsciously turn off buyers. A few are OK, but too many can be a turn-off.
If a Buyer Can Smell It, We Can’t Sell It– Cigarette odor and pet odors are the #1 turn offs for buyers today. We would suggest smoking outside and removing pets as best you can during the sales process, and hiring someone to remove any smells. Some breeds emit more odor than others.
Remove Pets For Showings– Buyers love pets, and the problem is many times they walk away remembering how cute your pet was, but they remember next to nothing about your home. Your home is in competition with other homes, and you want your home to be remembered and stand out against all others. You don’t want your buyer’s time distracted by your pet. Buyers will not buy your home because you have an adorable pet, but they may buy another if they don’t remember your home.

Be Gone For Showings-We have a saying that every word a seller says to a buyer costs the seller $1,000. Sellers think they know they’re home better than anybody and therefore they’re the most qualified to sell it. Buyers typically feel uncomfortable talking with the seller, and usually give feedback the seller wants to hear. The best and true feedback is a good offer, not meaningless words to appease the seller. Some buyers like talking to sellers because they glean information they’ll use against the seller in negotiations. Best advice is to be gone for showings.
Price-Overpricing a home is a sure fire way to make it sit. After your home is on the market awhile, buyers begin to wonder what’s wrong with it. After awhile fear kicks in and buyers don’t want to offer too much on a home nobody else wants to buy either. While the market is Hot today, it is a price sensitive market. Overpricing is a good way to ward off potential offers. Many buyers don’t want to insult the seller, so they just offer on another home that is priced where it should be. Sellers usually think the buyer can always make an offer, and of course nobody ever offers full price anyway so we’ll build in some negotiating room. This is a myth and statistically it’s proven that seller’s that overprice end up taking less later than sellers who price correctly upfront. Many homes in the market today sell at or near full price, and some sell for over asking price.
Marketing– Times have changed. Some agents employ the 3 P’s. Put a sign up in front yard, place it in MLS, and pray someone else sells it. Successful agents today rely on newspaper advertising, radio, TV, social media like Twitter, Linked In, Facebook Fan pages, YouTube, virtual tours, digital media as well as mobile technology and much more. Ask to see how your home will be marketed and which national sites it will be syndicated to when interviewing agents.
Have Your Interview Questions Ready– Agents may sound alike but they don’t all work alike or produce the same results. It’s up to you to ask powerful questions. Remember, the agent does this everyday, you don’t. It’s hard to know which questions to ask. If you need help, we have a list of crucial questions you should ask before signing any listing agreement in our Selling section on our website LeeCountyOnline.com
Select the Right Offer-Don’t just take any offer. Many times it pays to wait for the right one. Why waste time with a buyer that doesn’t qualify, or the loan program they’re pre-qualified for will present issues for your home or association. Knowledge is power and can save you from many bad transactions. If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when in the world will you find the time to do it over?

If you’d like to search the MLS like a Pro visit www.LeeCountyOnline.com or call us at 239-489-4042 and we’ll be glad to help. Good luck and happy House Hunting!

Check out our new Ellis Team Instagram account where we’ll be posting videos on open houses and hot new listings in SW Florida

We often get asked, when is the best time to put your home on the market? Homes sell pretty well year round in SW Florida. Condos tend to do a bit better in season, but even that is changing depending on the area.

We have more visitors to SW Florida once the New Year arrives and it culminates in February and March, but really we’ve seen more visitors to our area the past few years starting in October.

Just take a look around and you’ve probably noticed our streets are a lot busier this past week. I always look at the RV’s. When I see RV’s flood in I know they’re back, and you can watch them leave around Easter time or tax time.

One thing we notice statistically is more sellers place their home on the market in January-February each year. While we have more visitors here at that time; you also have more competition from other sellers. As you can see from the graph, listings tend to peak around January or February. One might point out that the reason they go down in March and April is because they sell, and this is true. However, it doesn’t explain why they spike in January.

We hear many sellers who are trying to catch the market, or catch that top end buyer in season. We think seasonal buyers research the market and don’t like over-paying just like the next buyer. Many times they research from home on the Internet before they even arrive. The difference is we have more affluent buyers with more money here in season so they buy some of the more expensive second homes which raise our averages. It isn’t because they over-pay. It’s because they’re buying a different price point.

The savvy seller will look at the graph and decide if putting their home on the market now makes more sense than waiting. Obviously you have to weigh considerations like where you’re going and when that home will be ready. If timing on your next home isn’t an issue, it may make sense to sell now versus waiting.

Selling now allows you the opportunity to sell when fewer homes are on the market. You also avoid potential rate hikes which can lower buyer’s purchasing power. And if you’re financing your next home, you can lock in lower rates today ahead of future rate hikes. When you wait, you can’t calculate the true cost of owning because of variables.

Buyers today are in a frenzy. Rental prices are high and inventory is limited. Multiple offers are common. It’s truly a great time to be a seller. In January, we have lots of lookers, but not all buy. The locals don’t buy as much in season because they’re busy working. With higher inventory levels and less locals buying, you’re banking on seasonal buyers loving your home against all the other competition.

If nothing changes, both times will be a great time to sell. We’re just saying there are some advantages to doing it now. A lot of the risk is gone if you’re successful now. And if you’re not, you still have season coming up and time to adjust.

If you’re thinking now might be the time to start looking at this, give us a call 239-489-4042 We can give you a market analysis so you can decide your options. Feel free to Search the SW Florida MLS for your dream home You can search for your next home or check on your competition.

Remember, not all agents are the same. Our sellers average almost $10,000 more per sale than the average seller. Call us and find out how we can put our proven program to work for you!

We’ve got some hot new listings that hit the market you might want to check out.

Bell Tower Park

Bell Tower Park 3 Bedroom, 2 1/2 Bath with 2 car garage end unit on lake

Bell Tower Park 5511 Cheshire Ct

Bella Casa Luxury Condominiums new listings:

Bella Casa 3 Bedroom 2 Bath New Construction

3 Bedroom 2 Bath Bella Casa New Construction $189,571

Tenant in Place Unit at Bella Casa 3 Bed 2 Bath $176,064

Tenant in Place Unit at Bella Casa 3 Bed 3 Bath $192,493

Tenant Occupied Unit perfect for investor at Bella Casa $151,553

For months we’ve been telling sellers it may cost them to wait when selling their home. This is true for a variety of reasons, but the two most important are when you sell, chances are the home you’ll purchase to replace your current home is also increasing in value, and because rising rates affects your buyer and your next loan too if you’re getting one.

That’s not the purpose of this article though. While sellers wait for the absolute highest prices on their home, they should keep in mind that prices won’t rise 12% per year forever. We’re predicting another good season. Inventory is low, rates are still pretty low, and demand is high. However, demand begins to fall off at certain prices. So we ask the question, has a seller slowdown begun in SW Florida? Let’s take a deeper look.

If you look at the graphs, you’ll notice that typically home prices peek around April each year and again in June. Many times June is even better than April. This year, we saw the peak in April but didn’t see the 2^nd peak in June.

Furthermore, homes closed in SW Florida usually peaks around May, and then we see some strength in July-August, albeit not quite at May levels. This year August numbers fell off. This could be due to lower inventory levels, but it could also be the start of a trend.

We’re cautious not to read too much into any one month period, and moving forward this will be especially true as new Federal lending and closing guidelines will extend financed closings out longer.

Cash sales in August for single family homes were 37.4%. This was a 20% decline from the previous year. This is good news as financing has helped push prices higher. We always said this market will not be fully healed until financing and capital comes back into the market. We have that now, but with that come appraisal issues and closing delays.

We think we’ve got an excellent market. Buyers are shopping though and are price sensitive. Even with low inventory, if a property is over-priced buyers are sitting on the sidelines.

October begins the start of Season. Last year we saw an uptick in buyer activity in October. It used to be said Season was January-April but it’s started earlier. We think we’ll have another great season, but sellers may not want to wait much longer. The graphs may be a sign of things to watch, or they could just be a temporary blip.

Some economists are talking about recession starting in 2018 while others are talking about the end of 2016.. Nobody can predict accurately when a market will bottom or when it will top, but looking back there are generally signs that foretold the future and they were ignored. People tend to follow the herd and ignore signs because when it’s all good, they want to believe. And when a market is near bottom, nobody wants to believe it’s over until they see proof. Thus, people usually miss the top and the bottom because they wait until they see the change on paper. For this reason, most people will absolutely miss the top and the bottom unless they just get plain lucky.

Bottom line is we’ve got a great market. Just don’t get too greedy and over-price your home. Over-priced homes sit in any market, and you don’t want to look back and say I missed another boom market like 2006 simply because I got greedy again.

If you’d like to search the MLS, you can do so. If you’re thinking of selling, it pays to talk to the Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group. Our sellers net about $10,000 more than the average seller. Call us and find out why. 239-489-4042

Good luck and happy house hunting!

Featured Property of the week! 102 Maple Ave S in Lehigh Acres FL

Check out all the Ellis Team Featured Listings

If you read our article on a regular basis you know about the new Federal regulations about to go into affect beginning October 3rd. After studying the new regulations in depth we’ve put together some Best Practices to help people understand what’s about to happen.

New regulations affect closings on financed deals only, 1-4 units residential and multi-family. This will not affect cash deals, so financed buyers will need to work with an experienced agent who understands the changes to make your offer look as Best as it can. Otherwise the seller will just go with cash deals.

Listing agents need to really investigate the new rules to protect their sellers. Gone are the 30 day closings. Plan on 45-60 days now, and if there are changes it can be even longer. Here are a few things you can do to avoid re-disclosures and costly delays to your closings. Lending delays about to get real next week.

1. Make sure buyer obtains a 60 day rate lock up-front. In a rising rate environment, if the lender fails to meet the 30 or 45 day rate lock it will trigger a re-disclosure to re-lock the rate. This new time frame could extend your closing up to 10 days or so.

2. Have seller pre-pay their condo and HOA fees. The title company may be forced to acquire a new estoppel letter if the closing is delayed a few days. This happens at the end of a month or quarter. If the new numbers affect the borrower, it could trigger a re-disclosure, which could delay closing up to 10 days.

3. If new extended closings occur before the 5th of a new month, it may not trigger, but after the 6th it can change the borrower’s cash-to-close which can trigger. Dates will become critically important under these new regulations.

4. Have two walk-thrus. A preliminary walk-thru for any repair type items and a final walk-thru solely for the purpose of making sure everything that was supposed to stay with the home is there and for any damages by seller moving out. You really want any repair items fixed well enough in advance and accounted for as new closing and lending disclosures must be accounted for well before closing.

5. Agents will no longer see all the charges to the buyer. The borrower may wish to share this document with your Realtor ASAP so if you’re being over-charged by the HOA, Title Company, or lender it can be spotted quickly.

6. There will not be a unified closing statement on financed deals anymore, so your agent won’t be able to see all the charges to the borrower. The seller charges will be seen, but not the borrower’s.

7. Not all agents will know about the changes. If the agents don’t know, how can the consumer be expected to know? Be sure to work with an agent who does several transactions and is current on lending changes.

8. Communication will be key. Listing agents should call the loan officer before seller accepts a deal with financing. The loan officer may not be able to share with buyer agent everything but a skilled listing agent should be able get the required information. Agents, lenders, title companies, and customers must communicate to avoid costly delays. One delay can create others due to new waiting periods.

9. New sales contracts are coming out soon. We intend to scour the contract for changes as we anticipate several issues that will occur because of new regulations and we want to see how they’re addressed. Otherwise they may need to be addressed by addendum.

For more information, you can review past articles on how the time lines work on our blog at http://blog.topagent.com Just search for TRID

To see all the homes listed in MLS, feel free to search like a realtor on our MLS search site www.LeeCountyOnline.com

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

Be sure to check out SW Florida’s Featured Properties of the Week.

Many are speculating that the Fed is going to raise interest rates sometime between September and November. They were all set to raise rates this month until the Chinese markets took a tumble.

Most people believe the US is in trouble because China owns so much of our debt. It’s true, China did buy up some of our securities but this was really a hedge to prop up the Yuan. China has been playing financial games for years. Their economy isn’t as strong as many would have you believe.

Mortgage rates are more closely aligned with the 10 year note. Even if the Feds raise interest rates it may not move the 10 Yr note much. So it’s not automatic mortgage rates will rise substantially.

If they do, sellers could be hit the hardest. Here’s why. For every 1% rise in rates, a buyer’s purchasing power decreases about 11%. This limits the amount of buyers who qualify for your home. But here’s the kicker. Most sellers go on to buy another place and a large percentage finance their next home.

Rising Interest Rates a Double Whammy For Sellers

So not only does the buying pool shrink for your existing home, but the borrowing costs on your next home increase as well. You now qualify for less on your next home, and if you do still qualify for more, that payment will cost you much more. Over 15 or 30 years that extra payment per month adds up.

Waiting to sell and hoping to get an extra $10,000 on your existing home might cost you $50,000 in higher interest payments. And when rates rise, the appreciation of homes may slow as well because fewer buyers can afford higher payments.

Right now we sometimes have more than one buyer for many homes on the market. When you start limiting the buyer pool with higher rates, this could change. It may take some sellers longer to sell. Some sellers may have to reduce their price when the buyer pool shrinks.

There are a lot of wildcards when it comes to interest rates. We won’t even get into inverted yield curves and other factors. Suffice it to say that the world market is complicated and rates could rise one of these days. Near zero percent interest rates by the Fed is not normal and will end someday.

Sellers tend to hold onto their property because they feel it may gain in price. Chances are, if your home is going up in price, the next one you’re going to purchase is too. And if you’re going to finance it, there’s your triple whammy.

Bottom line is waiting may cost you more money than you’ll save by eking out those gains. Nobody blames you for getting all you can for your home; you should. You just may want to weigh what waiting will cost you if you’re going to purchase another home to replace the one you’re in. You also must weigh the carrying costs.

Some sellers are hoping their home goes up $10,000 in the next year, but between utility bills, property taxes, maintenance, HOA fees, mortgage payments, home insurance, flood insurance, etc. they find it costs them much more to carry the home than the predicted gain. And that’s assuming an air conditioner or roof doesn’t go bad.

If you’re considering selling, find out how the Ellis Team puts an additional $11,892 in your pocket at closing versus the average Realtor. We’ll be happy to sit down with you and show you how much to expect. We can even help you find your next home if you’re staying in the area.

If you’re a buyer and would like to search the MLS like a Pro, visit www.LeeCountyOnline.com You can save your search and the system will email you new homes entering the market as well as price changes when they occur. You can setup multiple searches too.

Good Luck and Happy Home Selling-Buying!

Featured Home of the Week

Reflection Lakes condo overlooking the lake. Fully furnished.

View All of Ellis Team Featured Listings Here

You can always call us at 239-489-4042 and speak with us to find out how we can sell your home or find your dream home in SW Florida.

In the real estate industry one of the metrics agents use to measure their success against the market is the List Price/Sale Price Ratio. We know that the sooner the seller prices their home to the market the quicker it will sell and for more money. Overpricing simply insures it stays on the market longer and sells for less money later on. While this may sound counter to logical thinking, it is a truth known in the industry and born out by statistics.

The Realtor recommends the price, but the seller chooses which Realtor to hire and which price to list at. While the seller sets the price, the market determines the value. If it is overpriced it will languish on the market.

Assuming you have a home that is priced appropriately, there are statistics to measure the market and the average agent’s effectiveness. For instance, the average agent selling a single family home in Lee County Florida in July of 2015 did so at 94.5% of asking price. In other words, the buyer received 5.5% off asking price on average.

Could Choosing the Wrong Realtor Cost You Money?

We’ve been monitoring this statistic over the course of the last year and by and large it’s been running about 94%. It can vary a little bit each month. And we know over the years the Ellis Team averages around 97-98%. We recently pulled up our sales in the last year and it ran 98.02%. That’s about a 4% difference for the year and 3.52% over July’s official numbers.

So how much is 3.52%? Well, with an average sales price of $337,848 it works out to $11,892. The perception is all Realtors are the same, so what would account for almost $12,000 difference in net to the seller?

3 things influence how much a seller receives at closing.

Negotiating skills-The skills of the Realtor you hire make more of a difference than you might think. It doesn’t matter how strongly your agent says the price is firm or argues your position. What matters is how well your agent works with the other Realtor, how much information they gain on your behalf about the buyers ability to pay, motivation, etc. Your agent should also evaluate your position in the marketplace to see where your home stands. This tells you what cards are in your hand and how you should play them.

Marketing- Effective marketing brings more interest, and more interest brings the seller more money. Many times an agent can create multiple buyers and the seller can select from the strongest of the offers. Advertising in several places such as print, online, social media, etc, can pay off big for the seller.

Secret Sauce- All Realtors have or should have a Unique Selling Proposition. It’s your job as the seller to determine if the agent knows what they’re talking about and if that proposition actually works. Our team has come up with a home selling system so remarkable that it helps us sell homes fast and for top dollar. It is based upon interviews with Top Realtors from all over the country and our own proprietary marketing methods. We no longer share all the details of this system but we’d be happy to sit down and show you many of the parts so you can decide for yourself.

The real proof is in the results, not the proposition. When you’re interviewing agents to sell your home, look at their past sales. Evaluate their List Price/Sale Price ratio. Ask detailed questions. Have a conversation about negotiating. If the agent’s strategy is simply to say the price is firm, you might want to ask more questions.

Have the agent explain in detail the recommended price for your home. Is the strategy to test the market or do they know what it should sell for? If they don’t know, how are they going to sell it to a buyer?

If you’re thinking of selling, we’d be happy to talk to you. You can call us at 239-489-4042 to set up an appointment and see if working with us can net you more money at closing.

Good luck and Happy Selling!

You can search the MLS like a Realtor

Featured listing of the week- Riverfront Home.

Official sales numbers were just released today and as expected record sales lead to higher prices and lower inventory in SW Florida real estate market.

Single family home sales were 1,315 which were a 26.2% increase over last year’s numbers. Keep in mind our inventory levels stand at 4,311 now compared to 4,918 last year. We’re down 12.3% in inventory and sales are up 26.2%. It’s no wonder there has been upward pressure on prices.

New pending sales were up 6.3% in July in what could be a good sign for August and September closings. Total pending inventory was down 2.9% but that doesn’t mean much.

Last week we reported unofficial sales price numbers and we said the official numbers were going to be good. They’re even better than we reported and we’ll feature that in next week’s article.

Our buyer specialists have been very active in this market. We’ve recently landed several homes for our customers. In a low inventory market the secret is getting to them fast and finding where the hidden pockets are.

We’ve identified several listings that are mis-categorized in the MLS by the listing agent so they’re not getting the traffic they should. This generates opportunity if you know where to look. If you’re a seller you don’t want this but as a buyer you look for opportunities wherever you can find them.

We also look for recent price reductions. Sometimes sellers are over-priced and when this happens the property will not sell. A property is freshest to the market when it first comes on. After about 21 days on the market it gets passed over. This can be unintentional. Buyers subconsciously feel the home is stale to the market and figures it’s over-priced or something is wrong with it if it doesn’t sell in first month or so.

Some of these listings get forgotten about. While it is better to price correctly upfront, some sellers have to test the market, or perhaps they’re not as motivated Day 1 as they are later. For whatever reason the property sits on the market, and when the price is reduced it’s not always noticed. Buyers looking in that neighborhood see the sign, but they no longer call on it or check up on it after awhile. They lose interest.

That’s why our MLS search site is so important for buyers. When a buyer saves a search the system will email any changes in that search result. If a new property comes on the market, our buyers find out about it. If an older listing reduces their prices, our buyers know right away.

It’s a great way to stay on top of the market and beat out other buyers to new or changed listings. In a low inventory market, these tips can produce big results. Four of our buyers in the last month scored the home they were shopping for using one of these techniques.

Technology is great, but there is no substitute for meeting with a great agent and sitting down and going over your needs. Buyers are frustrated out there and they’re calling us because they’re tired of losing out on homes.

While we can’t guarantee to get you your first choice in a multiple offer situation, we can put your offer in its best position by using a few inside tips we’ve developed over the years. Put our team’s experience to work for you. It could make the difference between owning your first choice or your 5^th choice, and not owning one at all. We’d hate to see you rent another year. Rents have climbed so high many times it’s more expensive to rent than to own.

Visit our SW Florida MLS search site and our phone is 239-489-4042. Lets us know how we can help you!

Of course, feel free to call us at 239-489-4042 We’ll be glad to help you buy or sell. Good luck and Happy Selling!

Southwest Florida Real Estate Video Market Update

The past several weeks we’ve been providing some nice articles on tips to sell your home, information on online real estate scams in SW Florida, updates on inventory supply, and understanding today’s home buyer and why that’s critical to a sale these days. By the way, you can catch up on these great articles at http://blog.topagent.com in case you missed them.

We’ve kind of gotten away from pricing updates so we thought it’s time to revisit. New statistics will be out between the time we write this article and the time it’s published, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We’re releasing unofficial stats but we’re pretty confident they’ll come in pretty close to our numbers.

SW Florida Price Gains in July

New numbers suggest some nice price gains in July. In fact, if we’re right, median sale prices should be up around 13.95% and average sale prices up around 15.07% Our numbers were pulled August 18^th and official numbers are pulled around August 10. Some Realtors could have reported July sales after Aug 10 which wouldn’t make the official numbers.

Across the country markets are either rising or topping out. Here in SW Florida we have very limited inventory and a tight rental market. We have end users and few places to put them, so demand is outpacing supply right now. It’s a good time to be a seller.

Our MLS search site www.LeeCountyOnline.com is getting good traffic from buyers both locally and from up North. If this trend continues, we could be in for another good season, but what about all the permanent folks looking for property now?

This past month our buyer specialists have been busy putting deals together for our buyers. Basically our agents stay on top of new listings or pending sales that fall out and we jump quickly. Our clients love using technology to stay on top of the market as well, so they setup saved searches on our website that alerts them to price changes, new listings, recent sales, and of course pending sales that fall out.

In this way we have a more educated buyer who’s ready to pounce. You have to be like a cat waiting for prey in this market, because if you’re not prepared, another predator will beat you to it. And all this is before season arrives.

My advice to buyers would be it’s never too early to begin the process. If you wait until you’re ready, it’s already too late. We need to have you speak with a loan officer to see how much you qualify for and if there are any issues you can work on now that will get you a better rate.

Most people prefer to wait until they see something they like. If you like it, other buyers will too and because they are ahead of you, they end up getting the prize. It’s really easy to get pre-qualified these days, and the technology available to you makes research fun and exciting. Let us show you how. In a half hour consultation we can show you your options and how making a move can become a reality for you, but you’ve got to do some homework or your dream will go to someone else. We can help you by sitting down with you for a few minutes and talking about your needs.

Sellers, you too should do some homework. Just because headlines read “Market up 13% doesn’t mean every home is up. You may also have some work to do on your home to get top dollar. We can help you with that too. And maybe, just maybe, we already have a buyer for your home. Several times this year we’ve sold homes we just listed to buyers we’ve been working with for weeks.

It pays to call us. We’ll sit down with you and go over your options, just like we do with buyers. The market is the market. We’re here to educate buyers on how to score their dream home and sellers on what it takes to have a successful sale.

If we can help you, we’d love to help. 239-489-4042

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

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