Open House Archives - Page 9 of 12 - Fort Myers Real Estate and Homes For Sale

How Does Financing Impact Cost of Ownership? We’ve found that three items have the largest impact on the cost of ownership due to financing.

The most talked about are the amount financed and the rate. For a moment, let’s talk about creating real equity while thinking like an investor. Payments are lower on 30 yr loans than 15 yr loans so most people choose the lowest payment.

What if you could afford the payment on a 15 year loan? Would it make much of a difference? If you look at the sample chart, a 30 year loan pays down about 25% of the original loan in 15 years compared to 100% on a 15 year loan.

How Does Financing Impact Cost of Ownership?

Let’s say you have a $250,000 loan at 4.125%. The P&I (principal & Interest) portion on a 30 yr loan is $1,211.62 That same loan on a 15 yr is $1,864.92. But wait, there’s more. 15 yr loans carry less interest rate. Currently 15 yr loans are at 3.5% which brings the payment down to $1,787,21 That’s a $575.59 difference per month but the law of compounding saves you much more than that.

Over 15 years you’ll pay $575.59 more per month which equals $103,606.20. However, Hawley Advisors noted that if you finance for 30 years you’ll still owe $162,423.19. That’s already a difference of $58,816.99. This assumes you have the money to payoff the mortgage in 15 years. If you don’t you’ll continue to finance it. If you do this for the full 30 years you will have paid back the $250,000 original loan plus an additional $186, 184.76 in interest for a grand total of $436,184.76

Had you financed this for 15 years you would have paid back the original $250,000 plus $71,697.14 for a grand total of $321,697.14 That’s a lot less than $436,184.76. In fact, it’s $114,487.62 less.

If you have the wherewithal to finance for less time you might wish to consider it. If you’re disciplined you might consider taking out 30 yr loan and paying like it’s a 15 yr loan. However, you will pay .625% more in the rate and it will require discipline.

The other two factors besides length of loan is the rate and the amount financed. A good agent can help you with both. Knowing which lender is best for you requires some knowledge. Each borrower has a unique set of circumstances. Some lenders offer better rates on FHA loans than others, while some lenders specialize in conventional loans.

We have lenders that offer bridge loans, construction loans, FHA, VA, USDA, bond programs, lot loans, portfolio loans, investor loans, and foreign national loans. If all this sounds confusing to you, you need to work with an agent that can point you in the right direction. Sometimes as agents we don’t know your full situation. This is why we work with lenders we can trust so we can point you to the right program for you.

Knowing the right people and who you can trust makes all the difference. An agent might negotiate a few thousand off the purchase price for you, but if you choose the wrong lender you can pay it all back and then some simply by choosing the wrong loan.

Most buyers focus on price of the home. We like to look at total cost of ownership. This includes price, rate, taxes, and other fees like HOA or condo fees, CDD’s, etc. This way you can make a fully informed decision and make that dream home become a reality. We hear stories where that dream home turned into a nightmare home because the buyer didn’t understand the full scope of the purchase. We want you fully informed.

You can search the MLS like a pro at www.LeeCountyOnline.com It’s the best property search website in SW Florida. However, please talk to an agent on the Ellis Team before you purchase. Not using us could cost you thousands. Our agents offer peace of mind. 239-489-4042.

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

13235 Whitehaven Ln

Brookshire $138,500

Huge Opportunity to Sell After Hurricane Irma

It’s a few weeks after hurricane Irma and already we see Lee County sellers enjoying inventory supply advantage the first week of October. Last week we told you that the hurricane could become a tremendous opportunity for SW Florida home sellers. Inventory was already low at 4,666 at end of August. We predicted a possible 10% decrease in inventory which would take us down to 4,200 listings. This week single family inventory stands at 4,248, so that assumption has come true.

In the last 24 hours 73 new listings have come on the market, while 76 went pending. This tells us that early in the week more people are buying than deciding to sell. If this continues, inventory will fall even further. Each year, many home sellers decide to sell in January. I guess they think somehow, it’s a better time to sell as more visitors are here beginning in January.

It is true, we will have more people here January through March. It’s also true that those visitors will have many more listings to choose from than they do now. So as a seller, is it better to sell in season, or now?

We believe it may be better to sell now. We have lots of buyers ready to purchase now. We have low inventory. Buyers just do not have the choices now that they will have in season. Sure, there are lots of buyers that do not have to buy now. They can wait for more choices. However, some do not have that luxury and need to buy now. Isn’t it always better to sell when people need to buy and there isn’t much to choose from?

Imagine the stores just before the hurricane. If you got there late and there were only a few cases of water, did you care what brand it was? Did you care if it was 50 cents more than the brand you usually buy? No, you needed water. You recognized scarcity and what it would mean if you didn’t buy it.

If you are thinking about selling, you are a store right now and the shelves are kind of empty. Maybe not completely empty, but definitely not full. In January, those shelves will have more on them.

If prices go up in the next 3 months, many of those potential buyers may become lookers. If you think there are lookers in this market now, wait until season. Just because the roads become clogged doesn’t mean everyone here wants to buy. Many look, and look for years. If they don’t see SW Florida as a bargain, they may not buy. If prices go up in the next 3 months, we may not look like a bargain. And who wins if that happens? The sellers who decided to sell when the shelves were bare and the buyers needed to purchase.

Nobody knows how the market will be next season. We do know the market today, and there are opportunities. The data agrees. Please call Brett or Sande at 239-489-4042 to see how much we can sell your home for and how much you would net at closing.

If you’re looking at buying, speed is key in this market. www.LeeCountyOnline.com is the fastest real estate search engine. It has all the listings and is updated every few minutes, which is key when you’re competing against other buyers to score that dream home. Always call and Ellis Team agent and we’ll help you locate and close on your dream home. Finding it is one thing. Actually buying it and closing it is another, and that’s where our agents shine.

We look forward to helping you buy or sell. Let us know how we can help you.

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Heritage Cove Open Saturday 1-3 PM

Kelly Greens Golf & Country Club Open House Saturday 1-3 PM

View All Reflection Lakes Fort Myers Homes For Sale

See Spotlight on Reflection Lakes

Now may be a good time to sell your Southwest Florida Home. We have buyers who need housing after Hurricane Irma.

Official SW Florida real estate statistics were just released for August and one thing that stands out to us is the drop in inventory. This leads us to believe now is an excellent opportunity to sell SW Florida real estate after Hurricane Irma.

Inventory was falling pre-hurricane Irma. We suspect some homes on the market were damaged. If 4,666 were on the market prior, and assuming 10% sustained damage, that would take us down to 4,200 homes.

Additionally, there are many displaced homeowners and renters in the Bonita, Buckingham, and San Carlos areas that need housing. Flooding was an issue in these areas and some homes are uninhabitable.

Excellent Opportunity to Sell SW Florida Real Estate After Hurricane Irma

After Hurricane Charley in 2004 we saw an increase in home sales. Buyers competed for properties because people needed housing. The same scenario could very well play out in 2017.

Our phone has been ringing from buyers and investors looking to purchase. We filter out the sharks that want to come in and buy up property for pennies on the dollar. They are unrealistic and they do not care about people. They seek opportunity. Perhaps there will be opportunity for them with the flooded out and heavily damaged homes.

We focus on homeowners and investors who acknowledge there is a need for housing and are seeking solutions to meet that need. If your home in uninhabitable, you need housing now. They need a home that meets their needs, and they can’t be choosy if it has everything they’d want.

Some homeowners may decide they’ve had enough. Owning a 2^nd home and preparing for storms can be tough, especially if they find they’re just not using and enjoying the home right now like they thought they would. Circumstances change. Other buyers are looking to purchase here because they’re at a point in their life where they will come down and enjoy the home. Enjoying a 2^nd home is a cycle, and depending where you are in that cycle makes all the difference whether it’s a good time to buy or sell.

Thinking of Selling?

If you own a home and you’re thinking of making a change, please call us at 239-489-4042. Ask for Sande or Brett. We’ll be glad to walk you through your options. We can tell you how much we can sell your home for, and how much you would net at the closing table after paying off all mortgages and expenses. Then you can decide if it makes sense to sell. Or, you can see how much your home is worth online for free!

Selling is more fun when there is less competition from other sellers. We have low inventory right now, and in about a month we’ll see if we lost more. Demand probably just picked up as well, so a hurricane can be a perfect opportunity for home sellers, if they’re marketed properly.

Thinking of Buying?

If you’re a buyer, scoring a home right now can be tough. There are several buyers looking for similar listings and not enough to go around. You can call the Ellis Team and speak with our buyer specialists who are experts at making offers look more attractive than other competing offers to the seller. This can be the difference between buying your 1^st choice or settling for your 5^th choice, if there even is a 5^th choice. Many times there are just a few homes that meet your needs on the market.

In a race against other buyers, speed wins. I’d recommend searching at www.LeeCountyOnline.com Our database has the entire MLS, and is updated every few minutes. Don’t waste time using sites that don’t have accurate or timely data. We get calls all the time from frustrated buyers who see something on a big website only to found out it was sold months ago.

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty Fort Myers & The Islands. 239-489-4042. We’re here to help.

Weekend Open Houses

Bell Tower Park Open House

Olde Hickory Open House

I recently read an article in USA Today about how the housing inventory shortage nationwide reached 20-year low and how it’s affecting the market. While every market is local and is influenced by its own factors we do not work in isolation of other markets. Therefore, national stats are also of interest to us.

For instance, if the economy is down nationwide chances are it’s affecting us here in SW Florida. Additionally, if snow birds have a hard time selling their properties up North, they may not all be able to purchase down here.

The article mentions there is a 4.3 month supply of homes on the market nationwide. Locally we calculate the supply to be 4.22 months, so we’re pretty similar to national statistics. One of the reasons mentioned in the article for the tight supply is that baby boomers aren’t likely to move in the next year. 78% of baby boomers are happy with where they live, and baby boomers own about 33 million homes.

While many baby boomers would love to move to Florida or Arizona, some are reluctant to leave family and friends behind. While this is mentioned in the article, it’s not a trend we’re seeing locally. It appears to us now more than ever baby boomers are eager to move and family isn’t holding them back. Of course, we tend to deal with those that are contemplating making the move versus those that never would.

Millennials have started purchasing recently which will add to tight supplies. We believe as baby boomers age they will begin to think about smaller homes, homes in warmer climates, or homes that meet their needs due to health reasons. Not every baby boomer will appreciate a 2 or 3 story home up North. Once they decide a 2-story home is no longer their best option, they may consider whether staying up North is too. It opens the whole gamut once a move is considered.

Thankfully builders are building again. Unfortunately, most buyers don’t know all the building developments available to them, nor which ones are offering incentives and discounts. Most buyers don’t realize they get a better deal through a realtor than they do walking in on their own.

If they walk in and ask that question the answer will be it’s the same price whether you’re represented by a Realtor or not. They may not tell you about incentives, and they certainly won’t tell you about competing builders in other neighborhoods.

We’re getting early word that the Fed will scale back it’s $4.5 Trillion in bonds beginning in September. This will raise interest rates. If rates go up we could see a buying frenzy followed by a reduction in the rate of growth in home prices. Nationwide the S&P Core Logic Case Shiller home price index was up 5.6% due to low inventory. Rising rates could curtail that growth.

Either way we need more homes. The economy is doing better and people are buying. If you’re thinking of selling, you might want to cash in before the stream of sellers enter the market. You can see from the chart inventory is lowest in the summer and picks back up again starting in September/October. Why compete with all the other sellers next season when you can have them all to yourself now?

If you’d like to talk about selling your home, please call Sande or Brett at 239-489-4042 Ext 4 Or you can go to www.SWFLhomevalues.com and find out your home’s value for free in minutes.

If you’d like to search for your next home check out www.LeeCountyOnline.com Our team can help you find your next home and sell the one you have, making it a smooth transaction.

Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty! We’re here to help.

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open Saturday 1-4 PM

1339 Longwood Dr

4 Bed, 3 Bath, Waterfront Pool Home Between McGregor and River

Open House Sunday 1-4 PM

4351 Pine Rd

4 Bed, 3 Bath Plenty of Room for RV or Boat on Property $325,000

Let’s start with what we know and work backwards. Homes priced $200,00 or less are flying off the shelves with multiple offers. Homes up to $250,000 are as well in some neighborhoods, but not all. This assumes the home is in good condition and priced correctly. So, you might wonder why we’re asking the question, are changes brewing in Southwest Florida real estate market?

Buyers are still buying; however, we’re noticing they’re price sensitive now. Prices have gone up so much perhaps it’s testing the limits of what buyers can or will pay. Sellers are counter-offering offers and buyers aren’t just accepting that. They are negotiating back and forth until both are happy. Some buyers are walking from counter-offers. We’ve seen this over the years and it appears it’s no longer a seller’s market across the board.

The numbers from June seem to bear that out as well. The median time to contract jumped 7 days in June from May’s numbers, and 9 days from last year. It’s taking longer to get contracts on houses. It’ll be interesting to see July’s numbers in a few weeks.

Median time to sale also jumped to 117 days. That’s a 11.4% increase from last year. New listings are up 5.8% and new pendings were down 1.6% from last year. Could these be leading indicators for sales in months to come?

So, what’s the takeaway here? Sellers need to take a good hard look at their price and make sure they’re competitive. If your home has been on the market awhile, it may be time to re-evaluate where you stand. New listings could have come on the market and become instantly more attractive than your home, or other sellers may have reduced their price. Both events can affect you. Sometimes as little as $2,000 in some sub-markets can be the difference between selling and sitting.

We are in a price sensitive market, primarily because prices have risen and stretched home buyers thin. They simply can’t purchase as much home as they could have a year ago. We warned buyers this would happen. And we’re warning sellers not to get too greedy now.

Prices are good. Buyers are buying. We don’t have a runaway market where the seller gets to dictate all the terms. Buyers and sellers are on even ground right now, and price matters. Sellers, you’re not in competition with the buyer. You’re in competition with all the other sellers out there competing for your buyer.

Buyers, same thing. You’re not in competition with the seller. You’re in competition with all the other buyers out there for the best properties. The best valued homes always sell fast. You don’t want to be late to the table and eating scraps when you could have had the best. Be prepared. Get your financing in order so you can jump when that property hits the market.

To take advantage of opportunities in this market we’d suggest sitting down with us and going over your objectives. As a buyer, we can show you the best homes and eliminate the rest. Wasting time on the junk takes away time looking at the good stuff. That can be the difference between success and failure. Let an Ellis Team professional work with you and save you time. We have some other tips for you as well that we’ll save for when we meet.

Sellers should have the same sit-down with us. We’ll educate you on the market, look at your competition, and show you how we market better than anybody. This can be the difference between selling and sitting on the market.

Feel free to search homes at www.LeeCountyOnline.com Our database comes directly from the MLS and is always up to date, unlike some of these other sites with bad or outdated data.

You can always call us at 239-489-4042 We’d love to help you buy or sell your next home in paradise!

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open Sat 1-3 PM

Reflection Lakes

13812 Lily Pad Cir

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1,474 SQ Ft 2 Car Garage-Gated Community

$250,000

Open Sat 2-4 PM

Fisherman’s Cove

10081 Lake Cove Dr Unit 101

3 Bed, 2 Bath 1,564 SQ Ft 2 Car Garage

$227,500

Open Sun 1-4 PM

Daniels Park

14011 Danpark Loop

3 Bed, 2 Bath 1,830 Sq Ft Gated Community

$275,000

Some agents say the number of home sales is up. Some say it’s down. The data show 2017 SW Florida home sales trending between 2015-2016 levels. As you can tell by the chart, home sales fell off the 2^nd half of the year the past two years. Home sellers wishing to sell now might get a little nervous reading this chart, but don’t be.

In fact, this can be good news for home sellers. We’ll let you in on a little secret. There were 2,001 fewer listings last August than there were this February. Some sellers make the decision to sell in season because an agent told them there were more home sales in season.

It’s true, there were more home sales in season. However, there were more homes to sell too. When inventory goes down home sales go down. Not because there isn’t demand, but rather because product isn’t there to sell.

If you’re a home seller contemplating selling, the end of summer and fall can be an excellent time because you’ll have less competition from other sellers.

The median sales price is up 7.6% in June over last year, and the average sales price was up 6.1%. Not too shabby. You can wait until season to sell your home, and there might be more lookers for your home. There will also be more competition from other sellers for those lookers.

We’re seeing new construction coming in and competing now too, which is good in a way for sellers because many local sellers don’t want to sell until they know where they’re going. Local sellers just couldn’t find an appropriate home to move into even though they’d like to make a move.

We can help with that. Our team knows about several new communities and builders the public doesn’t always know about. Why? Because builders don’t advertise like they used to, so buyers don’t know where to find them.

Even when buyers do stumble on a builder or new community they don’t know if it’s a good deal. That’s where a professional agent comes in. Builders advertise to agents because they know we can bring in repeat business. We find out about deals and incentives the public doesn’t hear about.

If you’re looking to make a move but you don’t know where, a free consultation with a friendly and informative Ellis Team agent might just do the trick. We can show you how much we can sell your home for and what you would net out after sale paying all expenses and mortgages. We can then calculate how much you’ll have to put down on the next home, and what you can buy for a similar payment.

Perhaps you’ve had a promotion, or perhaps a loss in income and you’d like to downsize. Either way, you want a great home for the value. We can help with that.

If you’d like to take your time and search on your own, try out www.LeeCountyOnline.com. You can search all the homes for free and even find out what your home is worth. If you’d like to sit down and talk to us, you can call us at 239-489-4042. Brett and Sande are easy to talk to and we like to answer questions and solve issues.

We know buying and selling isn’t always as simple as picking up the phone and going shopping. There are many factors to consider, and timing it all can be important. We’re patient and helpful. If you’d like to discuss your options, we’d love to talk. Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty! We’re here to help.

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

3835 Palm Tree Blvd, Cape Coral, FL 33904

$275,000

3 Bed, 2 Bath 1,771 SQ Ft Living Area

While pulling data for the latest monthly supply of inventory we noticed some increases in buying activity in certain price ranges. Today we thought we’d bring you the latest monthly supply numbers and answer what price ranges are hot in SW Florida real estate market.

The overall months’ supply of homes on the market today stands at 4.2 months. 5.5 months’ supply is considered a balanced market, so overall, we’re in a seller’s market. However, as we all know, there are segments in the market and supply changes by price range.

Obviously by looking at the chart, anything $250k or under is the sweet spot for this market. However, anything up to $400k isn’t too bad either. So where did we see a pickup in home sales since we last published this report?

What Price Ranges Are Hot in SW Florida Real Estate?

We saw a nice gain in sales in the $200-250 range. For the past 365 days there were 2,177 sales compared to a rolling 365 day count back in April of 2,059. That’s a pickup of 118 sales in a 3-month period. The overall market saw a pickup of just 6 homes. There were almost 19,000 home sales in the last 365 days, so 6 homes is almost dead-even.

The $300-$399k range saw a pickup of 87 homes, and the $400-$599k range saw a pickup of 86 homes. So, if the overall market only picked up 6 homes, there had to be some drops. The $100-$149k range saw the largest drop of 160 homes followed by the $100k or less of 108 homes. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It means these homes graduated to higher prices and there were fewer homes available in those ranges. The market didn’t suffer because as those homes graduated, we saw an increase in home sales into the prices ranges they graduated into.

What does all this tell us? It tells us the market is segmented and you have to know your numbers. Pricing is still important as to how aggressive you choose to be. When you’re stretching it, you must market the home well, and be prepared to adjust if the market doesn’t respond.

Nationally, homes sales slipped month over month. Interest rates are creeping up. Rents are high in Southwest Florida which motivates buyers to purchase, however rising rates crimp their ability to pay. We love a seller’s market that is close to balanced. There are winners and losers in every transaction.

Getting to Win-Win

Many times, there are two winners, the buyer and seller. The loser is the buyer who missed out because they weren’t ready. Getting pre-approved before you offer helps so much, especially in a multi-offer situation. Having an experienced agent who can help make your offer look the best to the seller helps too.

Remember this. The buyer and seller are not in competition with each other. Buyers are in competition with all the other buyers out there competing for the same supply of homes. The sellers are in competition with all the other sellers out there for the interested buyers. When you find a home you like, don’t screw it up. Go get it.

Sellers, when you find a buyer that works, don’t screw it up either. The best homes go fast, and the best buyers go fast. You must ask yourself, am I willing to lose this transaction, because the next may not be as appealing to me as this one?

It Takes a Pro

It takes a strong real estate professional who knows the market and knows the numbers to properly help you make that decision. If you’re thinking of buying, selling, or both, always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty. We’ve been doing this awhile, and we’ve seen a few things. We can help make the difference for you!

Feel free to search the MLS, or find out what your homes is worth online for free at www.LeeCountyOnline.com Or call us at 239-489-4042 We’re glad to help!

Ellis Team voted best real estate team in SW Florida News Press Readers Poll — Brett and Sande Ellis Voted Best Real Estate Team in SW Florida

Ellis Team Voted Best Real Estate Team in SW Florida by News Press Readers

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

4351 Pine Rd, Fort Myers

4 Bed, 3 Bath 2,372 Sq Ft $350,000

Oversized 2 car Garage

Perfect property for an RV

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

14154 Danpark Loop, Fort Myers

2 Bed, 2 Bath 1,209 Sq Ft $185,000

Gated Community-Daniel’s Park

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Did you know the average Realtor in Southwest Florida sells less than one home per year? When you combine that fact with the fact that some realtors sell 25, 50, or 100+ homes per year you begin to realize that a large percentage of Realtors sell no homes at all. When looking at recent data I discovered Southwest Florida Realtors outnumber home listings, by a lot.

I called the Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association which is the largest board. It services Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, the Islands, etc. They told me they have about 7,000 current members. This doesn’t include all the members from Bonita/Estero or Sanibel/Captiva. It does include some of them because some of them are secondary members.

So, we know there are 7,000+ Realtors in just one Realtor Board in Southwest Florida. Currently there are 5,364 single family home listings in Southwest Florida as of May 2017. That breaks down to each Realtor having .76 listings. When you factor in that many top agents who sell a lot of property have 10-20 or more listings, you realize a lot of Realtors have no listings.

You might be saying, what about condos and townhomes? Good point. There were 3,417 of those on the market in May. You’re still looking at a lot of Realtors with no listings.

To sum it up, the average Realtor sells less than 1 home per year and many sell none. The average Realtor doesn’t have a listing, or 1 at best. So how is a Realtor supposed to gain experience?

A Realtor might consider joining an established team with a mentor, leads, and listings. You can only gain experience by working on deals. You will make mistakes, and those mistakes will cost your customer a closing, time, or money, and sometimes all three. By having a team that guides you through the process you can avoid making costly mistakes due to inexperience.

You also will want to join a company with a fantastic training program. It is mandatory for success. Lastly, you must have that drive, that indomitable spirit. When people tell you that you can’t, you know you can. You must be driven. You are a leader, either today or in the making. It is in you.

If you’re a seller, you want an established agent with lots of experience. Sellers want agents who have seen everything, or enough to see problems coming before they arise and know how to avoid them or dig their way out of the problem to a successful resolution. If you’re hiring a newer agent to sell your home you definitely want to know they have taken extensive training and have a mentor helping them always. Your agent must have leads for your home. They must have a database of buyers ready, willing, and able to buy soon. Your agent must have marketing to sell your home. If they have no marketing, how did they acquire all these ready, willing, and able leads? Marketing and qualified leads go together.

Top Dollar

Experience matters! If you want Top Dollar, you need a Realtor with leads, marketing, systems, drive, determination, honesty – to tell you the truth, and experience to put your deal together and keep it together.

If you’re thinking of selling, we’d love to talk to you. Always call the Ellis team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042 The Ellis Team was Voted Best Real Estate Team by News Press Readers.

Search the MLS for Free You can also see what your home is worth and get neighborhood reports. Best thing is database is updated every 5 minutes, and has all the homes.

Good luck and Happy House Selling/Buying!

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

12871 Kelly Sands Way

$250,000

1,797 SQ Ft

Corner Lot

Open Sunday 1-3 PM

3284 Prince Edward Island Cir Unit 1

Affordable living with garage

That’s correct. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Southwest Florida home prices rose $100,000 since 2013. We could end the story right there, and it would be a beautiful story. As you know, there’s always more to the story.

We really like where this market is right now. We would say it is fully valued. By that we do not mean it’s headed down. Our market is balanced. It’s not all the way back for some homes and for others perhaps it is. We do not see signs of distress we saw back in late 2005 that caused us concern.

Inventory across the US is down. Inventory in Southwest Florida went down in May to 5,369 homes. This was down from 5,719 in April. The number of closed homes is slightly lagging 2015 and 2016. This is partly because of limited inventory and partly because home prices have risen so much. Inventory was down the last few years as well, so we can’t attribute it to that.

Lower prices means more people can afford to purchase. Let’s look back since 2013. As you can see by the graph, the median price of a home in January 2013 was $140,000. In May 2013, it was $176,333. Fast forward to 2017, in January, our median price was $227,000. That is a difference of $87,000. The May 2017 median price was $237,500. That is a difference of $61,167. Going back 4 years and 4 months the difference is $97,500. Pretty close to $100k in the headline.

Southwest Florida Home Prices Rose

When we look at average prices we see January 2013 came in at $215,873. May 2017 official numbers came in at $346,559. This is a difference of $130,686. Maybe this isn’t fair since it’s not the same months. May 2013 average prices were $288,547. May 2017 numbers were $58,012 higher.

Either way you look at it, our market has done very well since 2013. We’ve had a good run, and there’s no reason to believe we won’t have a good market a year from now. We may not see $100,000 price gains going forward, and that’s OK. Our market should move in lock-step with the general economy. As incomes rise, so should housing. If incomes were to fall or the economy falter, it could put pressure on the housing market.

So far 2017 has been off to a great start. The stock market has done well and housing has done well. Consumer confidence is higher and mortgage rates have remained low. People have money and equity they didn’t have 4 years ago, or even one year ago. More Southwest Florida homeowners have recently gained positive equity, such that they could now sell if they wanted to. This wasn’t always the case.

As people’s lives change so does their housing needs. When kids go off to college parents don’t always need that large home. Growing families can’t stay in that tiny first home they bought, and so begins the housing cycle. Southwest Florida also has baby boomers buying 2^nd homes for vacation enjoyment. We also get people retiring from Northern states. As America changes, so too can the Southwest Florida real estate market. We are affected by local, national, and even world events.

You can search the Southwest Florida real estate market like a pro at www.LeeCountyOnline.com Our database has all the homes for sale and is updated every 5 minutes. You won’t be bothered seeing homes that sold 8 years ago or missing new listings that just came to market. In a low inventory market, it pays to use the best search site and ours definitely is the Best!

You can always call us too at 239-489-4042. We’ll be happy to walk you through what it would take to buy or sell a home in SW Florida. Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty!

This past week I had the chance to visit properties on Fort Myers Beach. I’ve included a Fort Myers Beach Home Search for you here. Here is a Fort Myers Beach Condo Search as well.

We previewed Grandview at Bay Beach. We’ve created a special page for Grandview at Bay Beach for you here.

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

9800 Gladiolus Preserve Cir

$ Bedrooms 2 Baths 2 Car Garage

Gated Community

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

9950 Vanillaleaf St

2 Bedroom, 2 Bath, 2 Car Garage

Agents have been calling us asking if showings are down. The answer always is some listings seem to receive more showings than others and it depends on your inventory mix at the time. It is an interesting question though, so we did a little digging into the latest Southwest Florida showing activity in MLS.

CSS (Centralized Showing Service) is the predominant showing system used by Realtors across Southwest Florida. We have reports and statistics we can search on using their system to glean information about showing activity. This data can be useful to Realtors and sellers alike.

Here are two examples. We tracked showing activity in the Fort Myers area for May by price range. The average listing from $195,000-$400,000 saw 4.6 showings. That’s roughly one per week. Look at the $220,000 price range. Having a home listed at $220,000 rather than $225,000 saw a 57.29% increase in showings. This tells us that is a price sensitive segment, and over pricing by just a dollar can cost a seller some showings.

Our next example tracked the same zip codes in the $400,000-$600,00 range. We wanted to see if there was a significant change in showing activity. On average, there was about a 25% drop in showings from May to June.

So why is that? Has the market softened? Perhaps. However, it could just be that kids are out of school and people have concentrated on vacations, summer camps, working in the yard, etc. We’d expect showings to be down from season. Keep in mind, we selected the $400-600k price range. Other price ranges may tell a different story.

The point is, your Realtor has access to all this information. For a $300k home in Cape Coral zip code of 33914, it may help to search and compare in 33914 and nearby zip codes. If a trend emerges, this can be useful information to the seller.

If the MLS average is one showing per week in your price range, it can seem like an eternity waiting for showings. There are ways to increase showings.

Make home accessible. Turning down a showing because the home isn’t ready hurts your chances. We had a seller turn down a showing last week and it cost them. The buyer wasn’t available the next day, and who knows, they could have bought on that day.
Consider re-positioning your home in the marketplace. Are you in a stale price range? Is your home overpriced? If the answer to either question is yes, you may need to take action.
Freshen up your home. Consider changing the lighting to make rooms look brighter. Clear out furniture that’s too big for the room to make the room look larger. Perhaps new paint and carpet would make a difference.
Market your home. The more people who know about it the more chance you have a showing.
Look at your home through the eyes of a buyer. Sometimes an owner can’t see the dirt or smell the dog because they’re used to it. Tour open houses and see how other sellers show their homes, then compare to your own. It may open your eyes.
Listen to your Realtor. Arguing your position about how great your home is versus your neighbors won’t sell your home. The market either accepts your home or it doesn’t. If your home shows well, is priced properly, and marketed effectively it should receive offers. You picked your Realtor for a reason. Listen to them. If you’re not going to listen to them, find another Realtor. It’s like anything, doctor, lawyer, Realtor. If you don’t have confidence in them, you won’t take their advice. It pays to take a professional’s advice. It’s what you’re paying them for.

Feel free to search the MLS at www.LeeCountyOnline.com or call us at 239-489-4042 We’ll be happy to guide you through the home buying or selling process. Always call the Ellis Team!

Ellis Team Open House

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

11807 Bayport Ln #202

Avalon Preserve

$195,000

Gated Community

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Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

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