This is the week real estate industry changes went into effect. Today we’ll cover those changes once more as this will be a whole new process for Realtors, buyers, and sellers.

Real Estate Industry Changes

Locally, effective July 31, 2024, the MLS compensation field has been removed from MLS. Sellers may still offer compensation to buyers’ agents to sell their property, but the amount can no longer be listed in the MLS.

Buyer agents will need to call the listing agent directly to find out how much the seller is offering or view it on the listing brokers custom website. Offers may be placed on signs, newsletters, brochures, etc., just not in the MLS, or associated connected tools of the MLS.

Buyers

Buyers must sign an agreement with an agent to tour homes. This agreement shall cover such things as compensation the buyer will pay the buyer’s agent for services, among other things. This does not mean that the buyer agent cannot accept payment from the seller, because they can. Any fee recouped from the seller will offset how much the buyer will have to pay the buyer agent. In many cases, the seller will be paying the entire buyer’s agent fee.

Buyers will have choices. If a seller is not willing to pay all or part of the buyer’s agent fee on the buyer’s behalf, the buyer can ask the seller to pay it through the offer. Or the buyer might decide to skip that property and move on to more buyer friendly properties. In the end, the market will dictate which properties hold the most value to the buyer. How the offer is structured will be a point of negotiation.

Sellers

Sellers will make decisions at the time of listing how much they will compensate buyer’s agents. This offer will then be communicated to showing agents. Buyers will then make decisions about which properties they wish to see based upon the totality of their criteria. Buyer agent compensation may be a big thing to some buyers and almost negligible to others. If buyer agent compensation is not offered, buyers may offer less for the property, unless the property is deemed such a good value, and they don’t want to lose it to another buyer. Again, the market will decide the total value of the property based upon market conditions.

Work Around

Buyers could go directly to the listing agent. In this case, the buyer will not need to sign a buyer broker agreement to tour homes. A buyer may need to sign a representation agreement, depending on the brokerage, but this will not require a compensation agreement.

Listing agents will in many cases be paid their listing fee plus a fee to work with unrepresented buyers because the agent will spend more time showing the property, educating buyers, attending inspections, and working both sides of the contract. The primary benefit of this arrangement is the buyer won’t need to sign a compensation agreement.

Open Houses

Buyers will not need to sign a buyer agreement to visit an open house. However, if a buyer meets an agent at an open house and asks them to show the other properties, then they will need an agreement.

If you thought buyers and sellers were confused before, these next several months amp up the confusion. The end goal is to have a more educated buyer and seller upfront.

Interview Before You Hire

The agent you list with now matters more than ever. Trust and reputation between agents will be more critical as communication through MLS is taken away. The buyer’s agents will show homes that offer the best relationships and efficient communication. If a buyer’s agent calls a listing agent with compensation questions and the listing agent doesn’t return calls, this will be a problem and that property may be skipped. This will harm buyers and sellers.

Agents know which agents do the business and who they can work with. Experience matters now more than ever. The next 6 months could be chaos, so working with an agent who has the tools and experience to handle these real estate industry changes will be critical.

Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042. We’ll guide you through the process, no matter which side you are on.

Fun Real Estate Video

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

10813 Dennington Rd Fort Myers, FL 33913

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

2752 Geary St Matlacha, FL 33993

Lee County Home Prices fell again in June, bringing the median home price to $400,000. Last year it was $430,000, so that was a 7% drop in the last year. In May median home prices were $415,000, so prices are continuing to drop.

Closed home sales fell 9% from last year, and 18.62% from last month. New pending sales are down 10.5% from last year, so things are not looking up for the coming months. The deteriorating housing market is not surprising as the effects of rising interest rates have had their desired effects to slow things down. The deterioration is usually the worst just before interest rates start declining.

The Fed can lower rates once they see data that the economy has cooled off. The risk is they overshoot the slowdown and things continue to deteriorate after they begin easing rates. Because economic activity is a lagging indicator to rates, it is very difficult to time interest rate hikes and easing perfectly for a smooth landing.

Rate Cut?

Wall Street odds place a September rate cut at 96%. The Economist’s odds are in the 82% range. We believe rates will come down 25 basis points in September or November depending on the data that comes out in the coming months.

Mortgage activity picks up each time interest rates fall. We’ve already seen rates fall about a quarter percent in the last 3 weeks. If economic data becomes bleaker, the mortgage market may react before the Feds cut rates.

Uncertainty

America has about as much uncertainty as we have seen in a long time. Inflation rose at a record pace followed by record interest rate hikes. Too much money has been released into the markets due to government overspending and it has taken high rates a while to influence the labor market and economy. Housing has certainly been affected. Couple the drastic economic fluctuations with a polarized electorate, and assassination attempt of a former president, and the current ruling party forcing their candidate to withdraw from the race, and you’ve got a recipe for uncertainty.

With election season upon us, who knows when the silliness will abate. It’s silly season alright, but there are signs the real estate market could do better in the 4^th quarter.

Currently oil prices are declining. Once we have a winner and know the makeup of the White House and Congress, our country can begin moving forward. If we have lower interest rates later this year and things quiet down in the middle east, Ukraine, and Taiwan, we could be in for improving real estate conditions.

I know these are big ifs. However, we must admit we are living in uncertain times, and much is unknown. I watched a documentary the other day that showed how America was similar to 1968. I went back and looked at home prices from 1968-1970 and prices declined about $30,000 adjusted for inflation. I did not study any other economic conditions from 1968 so don’t take this analogy in American history as a predictor of what the real estate market will do.

I think we can all agree it will be nice to settle into certainty. Our home is our castle, and some certainty with our castle will feel more settling.

Like to Sell

If you have a home to sell, always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042. We cannot settle the country, but we can settle your situation. With over 37 years of experience, Brett and Sande are uniquely qualified to sell your home in this changing market. We look forward to speaking with you, no matter your situation. We’ve been through changing markets before and hiring a professional that understands marketing must change to meet the moment. Sande and Brett Ellis know how to market to the moment.

If you’re thinking of selling, or tried to sell and it didn’t work out, give us a call. We can help.

Good luck, and Happy Home Selling!

Big Changes Coming August 1

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

5407 Parker Dr Fort Myers, FL

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

26236 Colony Rd Bonita Springs, FL

Fun Real Estate Marketing Videos

The practice of real estate is going to change in a big way as there are major real estate changes coming August 1.

In the old days, and by old, I mean last week, buyers would work with an agent, and they didn’t have to worry about how the agent was going to be paid. The seller paid for it. Going forward, the seller still may pay it, but what happens upfront is going to change.

Major Real Estate Changes

Going forward the buyer has two choices. The first is to sit down with an agent and hire them to work with for an agreed-upon amount of money. Once there is agreement, the buyer and agent can negotiate to get the seller to pay for it. In the absence of that, buyer will pay the amount owed, or the balance of the amount owed if seller is paying for part of it. Or the buyer can say don’t show me properties unless the seller is going to pay for it.

The other option is to not hire an agent and contact listing brokers directly. Listing brokers are not required to sign a buyer to a buyer agreement on one of their own listed properties. Some buyers will absolutely choose this method as they won’t want to be tied down with anyone.

This second option could get old fast if the buyer is not successful scoring a property. It takes a lot of time to research and call listing agents, attend showings, or attend open houses. Many of these buyers will not have all the required mortgage and insurance approvals needed to move forward on a moment’s notice when they do find a home they like.

The buyers will not necessarily save any money with this second option either because the listing agent will be taking time and doing both ends of the deal or hiring agents to help out. What it will do is relieve buyers from signing a buyer agreement with an agent they don’t know well or trust.

Research Before Signing

Sellers have been signing agreements for years. Before a seller signs an agreement with an agent to sell their home, typically they might research who has a track record of selling homes and interview them to make sure they were a good fit.

Buyers on the other hand worked with the first agent they met and liked. This was probably always a mistake because the first likeable agent might not be the best agent to negotiate your home purchase with. Our advice would be to interview buyer agents the same way a seller would interview listing agents. Ask them key questions about their experience and track record, and what you can expect when you work with them regarding availability, communication, and negotiations. Does your agent have access to key resources like inspectors, lenders, accountants, engineers, CPA’s, lawyers, etc.?

Information is Key

Now more than ever information will be key. Certain fields will be removed from the MLS. Established procedures will be eliminated or redefined. Choosing an agent or a strategy will be paramount in home buying and home selling success. I feel like the new mandatory rules remove transparency and make it harder for consumers to make informed decisions. Removing the fields from MLS will slow things down, but the professionals will rise to help you. Inexperienced agents and less than 100% committed agents will have a tough time, and so will their clients. major real estate changes like this require you to hire the best when buying and selling.

If you’re looking for an experienced team that can help you in the coming days, Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042 or visit www.LeeCountyOnline.com We’re here to help!

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Traditional sales dominate SW Florida real estate market, but that doesn’t stop buyers asking how they can buy foreclosures and short sales. Every week we get calls from buyers looking for off-market properties and distressed sales.

This tells us a few things. First, they’ve looked at everything available on MLS and have not found anything that meets their criteria. Secondly, these buyers have an expectation that our market is distressed, and they want a deal.

With one glance at the chart, you will see that foreclosures are practically nonexistent in the Lee County single family housing market. Less than .6% of our home sales were distressed in May. We had zero short sales and only 8 foreclosure sales in MLS.

There will always be a few distressed sales in almost any market. The 8 foreclosure sales are negligible statistically. I remember about 70% distressed sales back in 2008-2009. Our market is nothing like that time, for many reasons.

Speculators

Back in the 2005 market we had speculators purchasing properties as fast as they could and flipping to another speculator. There was never an end-user in sight, but that didn’t stop the speculating. I don’t call these people investors because they didn’t follow any of the typical investing strategies. These speculators operated on the “what a bigger fool will pay” theory until the music stopped. It worked for several years, until it didn’t. All they did was finance the overproduction of homes with cheap capital.

Fast forward to today. During the runup from 2020-2022 we had end users in every home. That was true for owners and renters. You could hardly find a home to move into no matter your financial wherewithal.

What hurt this market was the combination of things. Hurricane Ian did not help. Rising interest rates hurt the ability of homebuyers to afford homes at the current prices. Add to that the rising cost of homeowners and flood insurance, and we had a recipe for a strain on affordability. Lastly, some employers have been calling their people back to work at the office. This has led some that moved here because of Covid to move back.

Affordability Strain

Housing inventory is up 82.8% versus last year, but median home prices are only down 6.7%. There is no doubt housing affordability has put a strain on the real estate market, and most is the result of rising interest rates. As the economy slows down, rates may begin to drop. The official forecasts are rates should hold steady in 2024 and perhaps begin to drift lower. In 2025 rates should begin to drift lower. Forecasts range from about ½% to 2%.

Buyers may not want to wait for rates to fall a full 2% for two reasons. One, it may not happen. Secondly, all the other buyers will be jumping back in, and they will be competing with each other. Right now, the seller is on the defensive and wondering when this market is going to turn around. Once rates start declining, the buyer may not have the advantage over sellers like they do today.

MLS Search

The best website to search for properties is www.LeeCountyOnline.com Bookmark this site. Things are changing in the real estate industry, and when the changes hit in August, popular portals like Zillow and Realtor.com may not offer as many tools and properties listed as LeeCountyOnline.com does.

Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042 with your real estate questions. We are here to answer your questions on the upcoming changes in August as well.

Good luck, and Happy Home Shopping!

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

2752 Geary St, Matlacha FL

As Seen on TV Fox 4 Out and About South West Florida

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

14386 Reflection Lakes Dr, Fort Myers FL

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

26236 Colony Rd, Bonita Springs FL

The Ellis Team has been hard at work producing some fun real estate marketing videos people would like to watch. Sure, when you’re interested in a specific property you’re going to watch a video on that home, and maybe similar homes.

Many people enjoy market update videos as well, and we’ve got those. One thing we find is that people also want to be entertained. I know I’ve been stuck down the video rabbit-hole watching suggested videos for what seems like hours. The intrigue is you never know what you’re going to see next.

Fun Real Estate Marketing Videos

Our goal is to step up our video marketing game, and we’ve produced some fun videos we think you’ll enjoy. The first video this past week was a suspicious activity report we received in one of Fort Myers neighborhoods. We sent out a reporter to investigate, and I think they found out what the commotion was about.

Another video shows a charming waterfront home in Matlacha just minutes to big water and championship fishing.

The next video shows two Ellis Team agents previewing a new listing for an upcoming open house and what happens next is unbelievable. We won’t spoil the ending, so let’s just say everyone is surprised, even our two agents. They’d never seen or experienced anything like it, and you’ll get to see it for yourself.

Of course, we have some bloopers, but you’ll have to wait for those. We think this past week’s videos will be entertaining enough, and we can’t wait to bring you some bloopers soon enough.

Where to View

How can you view these videos? We have several ways.

YouTube www.youtube.com/TopAgent

Facebook www.facebook.com/ellisteam

Instagram ellis_team-fl

We don’t always post the same videos on each service, but this week we plan to. I used to think the best teachers were the ones that made class interesting. We feel the same way about video. Our team strives to make fun real estate marketing videos because we like to have fun, and it shows. We also love to inform.

If you’ve got questions, chances are we’ve got a video that may help. Of course, the videos are no substitute for speaking with Sande, Brett, or a member of our team. We enjoy dealing with people, and we know sometimes people want answers without having to speak to someone.

Between our real estate video, our online property valuation tool, our MLS property search www.LeeCountyOnline.com, and our Blog Blog.TopAgent.com where we have thousands of articles, we think you can find the answers you’re looking for. And if you’d like to speak with us, we’d be even happier.

When the time comes to buy or sell real estate in SW Florida, or anywhere in the country, we hope you’ll think of us. Simple call us at 239-310-6500 When you just want to search on your own for homes or advice, we’ve got you covered there too.

Big Changes Coming

We’ve got some big changes coming in the real estate industry. Many people don’t know that they will have to hire a real estate agent and enter into an agreement with an agent before seeing homes. These changes are coming in the next month, and they will not be optional. There are a few exceptions, and we plan to produce some videos explaining the new rules, the new forms that will be required, and the few exceptions. August 17^th is the absolute deadline, but some MLS changes will occur on August 1^st.

Knowledge and Experience will matter now more than ever before. Don’t settle for a real estate agent. Hire a real estate professional who knows how to work in the new environment. Some buyers and sellers are going to be very happy, and some will be frustrated. The agent you hire will make all the difference.

Good Luck, and Happy House Hunting!

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

10813 Dennington Rd Fort Myers, FL 33913

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

5407 Parker Dr Fort Myers, FL 33919

Lee County single family home seller price reductions averaged 3.31% in the past 9 weeks. The last 7 days in Lee County saw 797 price reductions which was the highest number since April 23^rd.

Home Seller Price Reductions

Last week’s home seller price reductions averaged 2.97%. This means that sellers on average are reducing the price of their home by around 3% in hopes of finding the correct price for their home. The Southwest Florida real estate market has been rebalancing itself since June 7^th, 2022. That’s the official date single family home inventory crossed over the line and surpassed home demand. Since that date, we knew the upward price pressure was over.

The Ellis Team has a chart that tracks the difference between weekly housing supply and demand. The gap narrowed slightly this past week, but that is because there were some expired listings that hit the market June 1^st.

Current Market Index

The real number we look at that accurately predicts home prices, and the future direction of the housing market is the Ellis Team Current Market Index. That number increased slightly this past week and stands at Feb 20^th levels. We’ll be looking at this number closely in the coming weeks as this should tell us what kind of summer we’re likely to have.

12.26% of listed homes reduced their price last week. This number is back to the numbers we saw in April as homeowners tried to unload their homes before the end of season. To put it in perspective, the week before number was 8.85%. More home sellers reduced their price last week than the week before, but the average reduction fell to 2.97% from 3.09%

This tells us sellers are pulling the trigger faster trying to figure out where the buyers are for their home. Back in 2022 sellers believed the market was still improving when it wasn’t. Today most sellers realize the market we are in, and the ones who act accordingly and reposition their home sooner are winning the game. Those that react later end up taking less for their home later. Some price correctly the first time and never need a price reduction.

Home Selling Chart

We have a chart that shows the cost of overpricing a home in a shifting market, and the cost of reacting slowly to market changes. We show this chart on listing presentations so our sellers can make the best decisions for their home and can quickly analyze new data as it becomes available after listing. In this way, clients have an inside track on where the market is going and can make decisions that help maximize their home sale price.

Goals

What are your real estate goals? Some people get fixated on how much they are making or losing on one single transaction and forget about what’s important about the move they wish to make. At the Ellis Team, we are not here to make decisions for you. We do not push you or sell you to do anything. We may ask some clarifying questions so we can match our intensity with yours. Some sellers need to sell and want to maximize the amount they receive at closing. Others do not need to sell and are testing the market. If the market pays them a premium, they might consider selling.

It’s best to talk about your situation and be honest with your Realtor. A good Realtor can only help you when they know what is most important to you, and you work together as a team. If you’d like to talk with a team that cares and won’t try to sell you on what you should do, give Sande Ellis or Brett Ellis a call at 239-310-6500. We’re here to help. Or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com to get a Free online estimate of your home’s value.

Good luck, and Happy Selling!

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

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

Reflection Lakes Fort Myers Open House — Open House Sat 12-3 PM

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

10813 Dennington Rd, Fort Myers FL

Bridgetown at the Plantation Open House — Bridgetown Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

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

Reflection Lakes community pool low HOA fee — Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

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

Ellis Team 5 Star Marketing Open House — Open House Saturday 12-4 PM

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

2206 NW 18th Pl, Cape Coral

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

412 Chiquita Blvd N, Cape Coral

Affordable Cape Coral Home — Cape Coral Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

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.

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