FEMA flood insurance discounts range from 5% to 45% and is determined by the participating
community’s level of participation. In other words, communities can lower their premiums by taking
action to mitigate future flood losses.

FEMA Flood Insurance Discounts by Community

FEMA issues a class rating to each community based on the activities they take. Essentially, the
community earns points towards a discount. A class 1 rating earns the 45% discount, and a class 10
rating earns no discount. Class 9 earns a 5% discount.

How to Earn Credits

What can a community do to earn credits? The first is having elevation certificates for new construction.
Have written procedures for managing floodplain-related certificates for new construction in the
floodplain. The second item is having a map information service for those that inquire. I count 19 items a
flood plain manager can do for the community that earns credits toward flood insurance. For more
information, check out https://www.fema.gov/floodplain-management/community-rating-system

SW Florida FEMA Flood Insurance Discounts by Community

So how do our local communities score on the discount scale? Most SW Florida communities scored as
a class 5 and earned FEMA flood insurance discounts of 25%. Estero earned a class 6 which earns a 20%
discount. Fort Myers didn’t do as well and only earned a 5% discount. So flood insurance policies in Fort
Myers would be more than Lee County, all else being equal.

This is why floodplain managers had to enforce the 50% rule for damaged properties after Hurricane Ian.
Had they not done so, they risked losing credits under the Community Rating System which would have
affected the discounts all insured policy holders pay. The better the community does earning points
towards a discount, the less everyone pays who hold a National Flood Insurance Policy (NFIP).

What Can You Do Individually?

You can contact your community or municipality and ask questions about how they are managing their
floodplain policy. Perhaps plans are in place to increase activities to obtain more credits. The credits are
divided into four main categories:

Public Information, Mapping and Regulations, Flood Damage Reduction, Warning and Response. FEMA
updates their certification on a regular basis. The above numbers are current as of October 2023.

FEMA Risk Rating 2.0

I met with FEMA last week. They told me they are evaluating properties on a continued basis. Not only
does FEMA evaluate the floodplain management plan of the community, but they also look at each
property. They use tools such as satellite imagery, topographical measurements, and proximity to
nearby waterways to determine risk levels. The published FEMA maps can change at any time. I happen
to live in flood zone x, so flood insurance is not required on my property. However, I get a policy anyway
because I never know when FEMA might change the map.

Grandfathered Rates

Current NFIP policy holders are grandfathered in even if FEMA changes the map. In these cases, rates
can only go up 18% per year. Let’s say you have a policy that costs $800/yr. FEMA changes the map, like
they did a few years ago, and now your flood insurance would be $3,000/yr. In this hypothetical
example, next year’s policy would cost you $944 ($800+18%) If you didn’t have flood insurance, and not
it is required by your lender, it would cost you $3,000.

Flood Policies Assumable

NFIP policies are assumable, so if you have a policy that is grandfathered in, it makes your property
more attractive than another nearby property with similar rating at a much higher rate. Private flood
policies are not typically assumable, so be careful not to give up your NFIP policy unless it makes sense
for you.

If you are considering selling your home, talk with an experienced agent who knows how to handle and
market assumable flood policies. It can make a difference in your sales prices. An experienced agent can
help you in so many ways, and flood insurance is just one example.

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042 and we’ll give you the information you
need to get Top Dollar for your home!

Good luck, and Happy Selling!

Check out some of our new listing videos

 

 

 

Many buyers we talk are waiting for lower interest rates before purchasing a home. Today we’re going to explore why this may be a dangerous game, and why we believe the next 6 months may be the best time to purchase your next home.

Waiting For Lower Interest Rates a Dangerous Game

Traditionally home prices appreciate about 4% per year over time. Some years yield more, and some years yield less. Even though we have a greater supply of current inventory on the market right now, we don’t have enough supply to satisfy all that will be able to buy when rates move lower and those moving here. Builders have not been keeping up with demand moving to Florida.

Waiting For Lower Interest Rates Home Price Appreciation

FNMA issued home price predictions moving forward. If you were to buy a home in 2024 using their price predictions your home would be worth $472,405 in 5 years, for a gain of $72,405.

Interest Rate Comparison

Let’s say you could finance a home today in the 6.5% range. The actual rate doesn’t really matter because the point I’m going to illustrate is a 1% interest rate decline from whatever rate you could get. If a buyer were to finance today at 6.5% mortgage rather than a 5.5% mortgage it would cost them $3,802.71 in extra interest for the 1st year. As you pay down the principal the interest declines slightly for each year. The total a buyer would pay over 5 years for a 1% differential in rates would be $19,027.04 in this hypothetical example.

Wait a Minute

A buyer who does nothing waiting for rates to decline would cost themselves $53,377 by waiting.  Now you might argue, “yes, but what if the buyer bought a year or two down the road? It wouldn’t cost them the whole 5 years.

Equity loss by waiting for interest rates to drop 1%

That’s right, it wouldn’t, but we have three other items to consider. First, the buyer who waits for rates to decline down to 5.5% may convince themselves to wait longer until they come down to 4.5%. Those that wait now are just as likely to wait longer later. Secondly, as rates come down, inventory may come down and there would be less homes available to bid on. Getting the home that meets your needs could get tougher. Lastly, when inventory gets low, prices can appreciate faster, especially when builders have not kept up with new demand. Existing homes just are not enough for all those moving to Florida.

If you were around a few years ago, you know that when things heat up, a 4% appreciation rate is conservative. Waiting for lower interest rates can be a dangerous game.  It’s kind of funny, because back in December of 2017 I wrote an article about the cost of waiting as interest rates were rising. It’s ironic that there is a cost of waiting as interest rates are falling as well. The result is the same, it’s just the variables in the equation have flipped. If you’d like to read that article it is available at https://blog.topagent.com Simply go to the archives in December 2017.

Best Time is Next 6 Months

We believe the Fed won’t begin to lower rates for about 4-6 months. The mortgage market may bounce up or down, but until the markets get a sense of bond market stability, rates will remain high. Buyers have a window as inventory is building. They are in their best negotiating position, but that window could close or shrink later this year.  Why not buy now and lock in those potential gains? Then, when rates do go down, refinance and capitalize. That way you can lock in appreciation and lower housing costs later if rates fall. The best of both worlds, and you’re on the equity train.

Don’t be that buyer that waits, and waits, and regrets it later. Some people wait to see evidence the market has turned, and it’s too late for them. All the people who should have bought in 2018 but waited are still kicking themselves.

Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042. We’ll get you pre-approved with a great lender and a ticket on the equity train to start building your wealth. Call us today! Search the SW Florida MLS like a pro.

2023 was the third best dollar volume year on record in Lee County. Dollar volume measures the total health of the market in a way few other statistics can. In a year where real estate agents are getting out of the business in droves, these statistics place a new way to look at the market.

Don’t Know How

The reason why agents are getting out of the business is because they don’t know how to sell in a shifting market. It feels like home sales fell off a cliff, especially in the 4th quarter of 2023 and into 2024. This is exactly why we don’t go by how the market feels, but rather what it is.

Third Best Dollar Volume

The dollar volume of the market measures both the number of home sales and prices. When you multiply the number of sales by the averages sales price you get the total dollar volume. You could just add up all the single-family home sales in Lee County and you’d get the same number.

Third Best Dollar Volume Year on Record

Prices could go up with home sales going down and you could get a higher or lower total dollar volume depending on how much in each category the numbers changed. Last year we saw prices falling and home sales dropping, so we knew the dollar volume was going to drop in 2023.

What seems like disaster to many real estate agents really isn’t. 2023 was the third best dollar volume year on record in Lee County, it just doesn’t feel that way because sales are slowing, and prices have fallen.

Feelings

Maybe agents don’t care about actual statistics. If feelings are all we’re going after, all we’d have to do is track the direction of the market. Are home sales going up or down each month? Did prices rise or fall last month? The problem with that line of thinking is we have seasonal months, and measuring one month against the last doesn’t tell the whole story. It also gives you no clue about where the market is or where it may be headed. When you get down to feelings, even that isn’t so accurate. One agent could have a good month compared to a similar agent who just had a bad month of sales. One would say the market is on fire while the next would say the market stinks.

This is why we track. We take the feelings out of it. The market is exactly what it is, and we don’t need to put a spin on it. If we want to change something, it might be how we market properties in a shifting market.

Seasoned agents know how to sell a home in shifting markets. It may not be easy, and it may take more time and counseling buyers and sellers, but it can be done, if the agent knows how to do it.

Listing a Home Today

If you’re listing a home today, it pays to hire an agent with experience. 85% of the agents in business today have not worked through a shift like this. I get a kick out of sellers interviewing 4 agents for the job of selling their home. It’s never a bad idea to interview more than one. What is important is that you interview those with experience. Your questions should be focused on what will the agent do that’s different to market my home? Questions today should not be focused on who will list it for the least commission, or at your preferred price. That’s not going to sell your home in today’s market. Those days are gone! You need a Realtor who knows how to sell in today’s market and will spend the extra marketing dollars to reach a broader audience.

Buyers are less motivated than they were two years ago, so you must spend more to reach enough motivated buyers.

If you have a home to sell, Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-310-6500 or 239-540-9070 at our Cape Coral office. Or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com to get an instant free online estimate of your home’s value.

Good luck and Happy Selling!

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Lee County year end 2023 median sales prices fell 2.3%. The year end sales price is the average of the entire year, so it doesn’t necessarily mean December 2023 sales price.

Lee County Year End 2023 Sales Prices

For instance, the median sales price in Lee County for December 2023 was $399,000. That was a 2.2% decrease from 2022 numbers of $407,950. The average sales price fell .9% in December and 1.4% for the year.

Prices Peaked

As you can see from the graph, Lee County year end home prices peaked in 2022. The median topped out in April 2022 while the average topped out in May. Since mid-2022 we have watched a steady decline in prices. The median sales price in April 2022 was $470,000 compared to $399,000 in December 2023. The average sales price in May 2022 was $658,886 compared to $539,765. Of course, some of that is seasonal.

Since the seasonal peak in 2022 we have seen a median price decline of $71,000 and an average decline of $119,121. Many sellers did not realize prices were declining, but News Press readers did because we report it each month.

Today we believe most homeowners realize prices have declined as inventory has risen. Selling a home today requires marketing muscle and experience in selling in a shifting market. Many agents are getting out of the business. Nationally 48% of agents did not do a deal in the 2nd half of 2022.

Locally, 85% of the agents have not been in the business for more than 6 years. This means most have never worked through a shift like we are seeing today, and they don’t know what to do. It is incumbent on agents with less than 10 years’ experience either join a team or join a brokerage with tremendous training.

Lead Flow

Most agents complain they do not have lead flow currently. Not only are buyers harder to close, they are fewer and farther between. Sure, there are many interested lookers, but many lack motivation to act with prices high and interest rates higher. With the total cost of ownership at high levels, buyers have been on the sidelines.

To be successful in real estate requires tremendous sales skills, and lead flow. Lead flow is expensive, and many newer agents do not have the budget to acquire leads. Because leads are converting at less rate due to less motivation, conversion becomes more critical.

Conversion

Where do agents learn how to convert? They can learn from mentors like us who have been in business through many cycles and shifts. Additionally, some brokerages focus on training, while others cater to more experienced agents. If you are an agent struggling to hold on, Give Sande or Brett a call at 239-489-4042 and we will be glad to offer some resources for you.

Sellers

If you have a home to sell, or previously tried to sell it and it expired, give us a call. 239-310-6500 Perhaps it failed to sell because of pricing. Maybe the price was fine and it wasn’t marketed heavily. Perhaps your Realtor had a side job and couldn’t devote 100% of their time to selling your home. Whatever the reason, we can take a fresh look at it and make some recommendations. Brett and Sande have sold over 5,000 homes in Lee County over the years. We’ve worked in the best of times and excelled in tough times when agents were getting out. The reason is, we never stop marketing, and nobody outworks us.

Call us to put our marketing muscles, know how, and hard work to work for you. You’ll wonder why you didn’t call us the first time. But that’s OK, we enjoy making a difference for people, even if you found us second.

Good luck. We’ll be watching 2024 like a hawk and reporting trends as they occur.

Happy Selling!

Pricing a home correctly is key to getting a home sold for top dollar. Time on the market is not your friend when selling your home. Our benchmark pricing analysis report helps clarify if a home is correctly priced by illustrating several key factors. We will focus on a few of those factors now.

Showing Activity

Benchmark Pricing Analysis Report

The Benchmark pricing analysis report shows the number of scheduled showings on subject property compared to other similar listings in the area. The report compares active and pending listings as well as closed listings. If the subject property is receiving a comparable number of showings, the price must be in the ballpark, or it wouldn’t receive showings.  If the home is receiving more showings than similar listings, all the better. The marketing is working.

Days on Market

Larger number of showings than pending or closed sales could lead to increased days on market. This tells us that while the home is in the ballpark, it is losing out to other listings when buyers decide to offer. A small price reduction could be warranted. The home just doesn’t measure up in value to competing listings. It is getting shown, which means it’s getting its opportunity. The home just isn’t the winner. Placing a home on the market is like entering a beauty contest. You must price it to be the winner. It is tiring to take home 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th place all the time. Eventually you need a win. Making a price adjustment can get your home on the winner’s stand.

Price Reductions

Benchmark Pricing Analysis Report Price Reductions

Another factor the report shows is the price reductions. The report not only shows how many comparable listings have had price reductions, but it also shows you the size of the reductions. Together with your agent you are deciding at what price to bring your home to the market for. That decision will either be spot on or off a bit. The seller determines the list price while the buyers determine the value. If the seller has miscalculated, a price reduction may be in order.

Chasing the Market

The sooner a seller realizes a price adjustment is in order, quick action can save the seller thousands. You never want to get caught chasing the market down. Adjust before the other sellers and get out. A lingering home on the market does the seller no favors. We have studies that show time on the market is detrimental to a seller’s net proceeds we can share with you when we meet.

The Ellis Team sends these reports out to our sellers on a regular basis. Our sellers always have the latest statistical data so they can make the most informed decisions. Setting a price and placing your head in the sand isn’t going to sell a home today, especially when so many sellers are making price adjustments as well.

Buyer or Seller Market

In a buyer’s market, home sellers are in competition with each other trying to find able buyers as there are more sellers than willing buyers. In a seller’s market, home buyers are in competition with each other over the best listings.

Winning Formula

The winning formula in today’s market is aggressive marketing, proper pricing, and communication. The Ellis Team has a system to communicate with our sellers. Nobody markets a home like the Ellis Team. Together as a team we help you price your home for success. Then we market it and communicate with you. If we are generating showings but no offers, together we’ll tackle the market and guide you through to the finish line. There is a reason the Ellis Team has helped over 5,000 families sell their homes. Sande and Brett have been through market shifts, and we never stop marketing and communicating.

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty to get your home sold fast, and for Top Dollar, 239-310-6500 You plus us makes a winning team! Search the MLS at LeeCountyOnline.com

The Ellis Team analyzes market activity showing reports to determine buyer sentiment. This market report is for all listings using this service, not just our listings.

Market Activity Showing Reports

Realtors, have you ever had a listing that wasn’t receiving many showings? Did you wonder if market activity had suddenly slowed down, or whether it was just your listing? Realtors have the ability to track other listings showing activity and see how it relates to your listing.

If your listing isn’t receiving any showings but other listings are, perhaps it is the price. When a listing is overpriced, the market rejects it and showings fall off. It could also be the photos, the language in the MLS, or the data that was entered. We’ve uncovered so many unchecked or unspecified fields in MLS that would prohibit other Realtors from searching for a property and returning a match. When showing activity is down, you do not want to miss any.

Market Activity Showing Reports

The market activity showing reports allows us to search by city, zip code, neighborhood, bedrooms, price range, and more. For instance, let’s say I have a 5-bedroom home listed and it’s getting 1 showing per week. I might want to know if that’s good or normal. It stands to reason the 5-bedroom homes might receive less showings than 3-bedroom homes, so lumping all the data together doesn’t draw a true comparison.

Pending Sales

Pending sales picked up in the last week. As we head into mid-January you would expect that they would. Pending sales are a barometer of potential future closings. This is why we track pending sales so strongly. What if there was a barometer for pending sales? We think there is. Obviously, you do not have pending sales without showings. Showings lead to pendings.

Pricing Benchmark Reports

The Ellis Team also has access to pricing benchmark reports. Perhaps we’ll do a future article on this. A pricing benchmark report compares the showings of our listings versus the competition. It also calculates the absorption rate to determine how long a property should take to sell versus the availability in the market. Additionally, our report shows your listing relative to your competition, so you can see if your home is priced correctly. The report will also give us price reduction data, so we know what other homeowners are doing and what percentage they are dropping their price.

Rear View Mirror

When you bring a home to market a Realtor typically looks at past sales. However, using past sales is like looking in the rear-view mirror. It tells you where the market has been, but it doesn’t always tell you where the market is going. The pricing benchmark reports and careful study of the showing patterns of competing listings, combined with up to the moment market data puts our sellers in a position to make better decisions.

When the market is on the move, you want to know about it before other sellers. Sellers whose home expired and failed to sell are astounded when they see the data. The reason most sellers overprice their home is because they lack data. The Realtor may be short on listings, so they don’t want to risk telling the seller what they need to hear in fear of losing the listing. When a seller shops for a Realtor, be careful not to select the Realtor who offers the highest price.

Highest Price

The Realtor doesn’t really offer anything. The buyer offers. If your price is too high, all you did was give your listing to a Realtor. Select the best Realtor based upon their track record, knowledge and experience. If you select the best Realtor, you’ll get the price right. And if the price isn’t right, the best Realtor will guide you on how to adjust. You want to sell your home for the most money. Partner with a great Realtor so your home doesn’t sit on the market and collect dust while your neighbors sell their home. Studies show, the longer your home sits on the market, the less price you will get in the end.

Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-310-6500 Or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com for an instant online price.

We thought you’d like to see the 2024 housing inventory supply numbers as we start off the new year. Everybody asks, are we in a buyer’s or seller’s market. This data gives us our answer.

2024 Housing Inventory Supply

Buyers Market?

A seller’s market is anything less than 5.5 months and a buyer’s market is anything over 5.5 months. Currently the Lee County single family 2024 housing inventory supply stands at 5.05 months supply, which keeps us in a seller’s market.

It might feel like a buyer’s market only because of the change we’ve seen in 2023. Back in October we reported a 4.19-month supply, and in July 2023 it was 3.81. In February 2023 it was 2.81. As you can see, the market moved steadily towards a balanced market in 2023 where neither the buyer nor seller had the upper hand.

A few points to remember. I pulled this data January 2nd. Typically, I wait 10-15 days for all the end of the month sales to come in. By MLS rules they are supposed to be entered within a few days, but I allow for more time. Secondly, there were 282 expired single family home listings in Lee County from Dec 31-Jan 2nd. Many of these homes will be relisted and added to the inventory totals, which will tilt closer to the balanced market or seller’s market should that occur.

Buyer Activity Increase

We have seen an uptick in showing activity the week after Christmas. This often happens, but it did not last year, for obvious reasons. The fact that mortgage rates have declined, and people are visiting SW Florida again, causes us to be optimistic. We expect interest rates to decline slightly in 2024 and more into 2025.

An uptick in pending sales may offset the expired listings that may re-enter the market in the coming days. Currently we are tracking about 902 closed sales in December compared to 955 in 2022. As we mentioned, all sales may not be entered yet. Either way, we are expecting a decline in year over year sales in December which was par for the course in 2023. We’ve been tracking 2018 closed sales levels closely since May, and in 2018 we closed 901 single family home sales. We feel pretty confident in these preliminary numbers.

December Sales Numbers

Preliminary sales numbers suggest a December median sales price of $400,000 which would be down from December 2022. All signs point to declining home sales and declining home prices for December 2023.

Just because home prices might be down in December doesn’t mean they will stay there. In 2023 interest rates were rising. Recently rates began declining, which could stabilize the market, or infuse fuel to the market in 2024. We do not expect large interest rate swings in 2024. What we do not know is how many sellers will decide to sell in 2024. We saw a steady rise in sellers in 2023, and we anticipate a rise in buyers in 2024. The answer to both ends of that equation will answer for us where this market goes.

In the coming month or so we will finalize where our market ended in 2023, and that is important to track. What it does not tell us is where the market will go in 2024. We believe this will become apparent in the next 8-10 weeks. As always, the Ellis Team will keep you updated.

Thinking of Selling?

If you’re thinking about selling, give us a call today. 239-310-6500. Brett and Sande Ellis would love to talk to you about the market, your neighborhood, and what options you have. The most common questions we get are what could we sell the house for now in its present condition and what could we get if we made some improvements? The other is when is the best time to sell? We can help answer those questions.

If you’re just curious about your home’s value, you can get an instant online value now at www.SWFLhomevalues.com.

Happy New Year! Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty with your real estate questions. 239-489-4042

See last week’s article “Property Best Buy List

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

8815 Oakshade Cir    $325,000

Ellis Team Open House January 6th
Open House Saturday 12-3 PM Whiskey Creek

Open House Saturday 12-3 PM

4431 Bay Beach Ln Unit 544     $525,000

Fort Myers Beach Ellis Team Open House
Open House Fort Myers Beach Saturday 12-3 PM

Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

14386 Reflection Lakes Dr    $400,000

Reflection Lakes Ellis Team Open House
Reflection Lakes Open House Sunday 12-3 PM

 

 

Welcome to the Ellis Team property best buy list for SW Florida real estate. The Ellis Team has been a leader in SW Florida real estate sales for over 35 years and knows a good deal when they see one. We’ve sold over 5,000 homes locally in SW Florida.

Property Best Buy List

 

Property Best Buy List Qualifications

 It wouldn’t be a property best buy list if any property could make the list. To qualify to be on the Ellis Team property best buy list a property must be deemed a best buy by one of our associates.  Several criteria are used to earn this designation. We look for outstanding value and features. A home may be the least expensive home in a neighborhood but doesn’t necessarily have to be. A home could offer an unbelievable number of features compared to nearby homes or be located on a lot that cannot be duplicated and therefore exemplifies value by its unique nature and price.

Best buy properties would be properties that either our team has showed or previewed for specific clients or properties that score well on paper. This does not mean that our team has inspected the property or warrants the value in any way. There could be many factors including condition, title, permitting, etc. that we wouldn’t be aware of unless a buyer completed the home investigation process. On paper, or at first glance, we’ve identified properties that appear to be of great value and warrant further investigation.

Who Gets the Best Buy Property List?

Nobody gets the entire list. This list is developed internally by Ellis Team members and is meant to assist buyers utilizing our services. We listen to a buyer’s needs and select homes from MLS and our internal list that meets those needs. There wouldn’t be a reason to give access to the entire list because it would not meet every buyer’s needs and would have properties in all price ranges.

What Types of Property Makes the Best Buy Property List?

We have vacant land, single family homes, condos, and residential income properties that qualify to make the list. If we have absences in a category, it simply means we haven’t identified a best buy for that category today. It’s possible we just took some off the list because they recently closed or went pending. New properties could enter the market tomorrow, or an existing property could make a significant price reduction that it now qualifies to go on our list.

When a property is overpriced, it is invisible to buyers most likely to buy that property. When a price reduction occurs, the property becomes visible to more buyers, and in some cases, could be deemed a best buy.

If your home is on the market with another Realtor, don’t call us to see if your home is on the list. Your home may be a best buy, but the list is for Ellis Team clients, and we will not share if your home made the list or not.

What the List Is Not

Our list is not comprehensive. We have not been to every property, and we have not studied every property in SW Florida. We are constantly scanning for new opportunities.  Our list are properties that meet our criteria and properties we have shown or noticed through searches. We may compare these properties to similar nearby properties and/or utilize computerized valuation models. Either way, our internal list is a model that suggests a property might be worth checking out.

Buyers

If you’re interested in purchasing a home for a good value, check out www.LeeCountyOnline.com. You can register and one of our buyer specialists can listen to your wants and help you find a best buy.  Or you can search on your own for Free.

Sellers

You can go to www.SWFLhomevalues.com and get your home’s online value for Free. We have additional valuation models for your home as well that we can email you. All you have to do is ask.

The Ellis Team is active in the market and shows or views homes practically every day. We know the market, and if you’re looking for a Best Buy, we can help you learn the market too.

Good luck, and Happy New Year!

Have you heard about these buy now refinance free later offers lenders are offering?  Do they make sense? Let’s explore what these are and if they make sense for you.

Buy Now Refinance Free Later

Is the refinance later part really free? It depends on how you look at it. If by free you mean no cost to the borrower and the rate and payment goes down, then yes, it is free. Could the borrower receive an even lower rate if they paid their fees, the answer is yes. So, in a sense, it did cost the borrower versus the rate they could have gotten.

Buy Now Refinance Free Later

Let’s break it down. There are closing costs associated with financing or refinancing a home. There is a possible appraisal, title insurance, doc stamps on the note, and intangible tax on the note. These fees must be paid somehow. The lender can pay them for you, but they typically roll them into the mortgage rate, or what they call the spread.

This cost could equal as much as half percent to three quarter percent in the rate from the lender I asked. Let’s say you have a 7.5% mortgage on your current property. Rates go down to 6.5%. If the cost for a no closing cost refinance is half percent, you could refinance your current rate of 7.5% down to 7% and it wouldn’t cost you anything. You’d be wise to take that deal, wouldn’t you?  And if rates went down to 6%, you could do it again and receive a new refinance of 6.5%, and it wouldn’t cost you anything.

You could keep doing this every time rates went down. Perhaps this is why refinance applications are up 7.6% this week over last week. Homeowners are refinancing their existing rates and saving money. For anyone that purchased in the last year or so, this could be an excellent strategy to save money.

Pro Tip Strategy

When rates begin dropping it will create more buyer demand. Right now, buyers have excellent choices in housing, and sellers are more willing to deal or pay concessions this year than last. Once buyers flood back into the market, sellers will be less accommodating.

Wouldn’t it make more sense buying a home today with excellent inventory options rather than fighting more buyers down the road for the best properties? Once you’ve secured your home, you’ve locked in your housing costs. The landlord cannot raise your rent and housing prices won’t go up for you because you’ve already purchased. If the rate goes down, you can refinance it at no cost to you. If rates go up, you’re locked in.

How to Finance

Should you take the offers I’ve heard on the radio that say buy today and we’ll refinance you for free down the road? The lender is either putting building costs into your rate now, in which case you’d be paying a higher rate today, or they’ll add it later.  I would not select the added cost now if I were purchasing. Personally, I would wait and just deal with it later. What if rates don’t go down enough, soon enough? You paid extra money upfront for something you may not use. The costs are the same, so why not pay it when you use it? And, as we discussed, are you really paying it if you receive a benefit later and it costs you nothing to lower your payment?

Always Call the Ellis Team

We have lenders we work with that can help you make the best decision. If you want, we can offer advice too. We are not loan officers, but when we hear your story, we can help guide you to the lenders that have good choices for you.

Why Wait?

Financially, we don’t see a reason to wait for rates to come down. While you wait for rates to move lower you face increased competition from other buyers.  We have a limited window to take advantage before other buyers figure this out. Give us a call at 239-489-4042 and get a jump on the competition, and lock in your housing costs. Once we do that, things can only get better. You won’t be at the mercy of your landlord, interest rates, or other buyers bidding against you.

Search the MLS like a pro.

The Ellis Team has Two Locations to Serve you. Call us first so we can make sure we have someone to help you.

Fort Myers

12840 University Dr

239-489-4042

Cape Coral

3208 Chiquita Blvd S

239-540-9070

 

The Ellis Team Current Market Index predicts future real estate pricing accurately by analyzing key data that influences the direction of the market. Back in 2003 we were able to predict the market would take off, and it did.

2005 Warning

In October 2005 we warned people the market was about to turn. I remember doing a lengthy article on NBC where we tell people the end of the bull market is near. We all know what happened after that.We will work to find that story and upload to our YouTube Channel.

Agents told us back then we were crazy. This was a runaway bull market, and it couldn’t be stopped. People were flipping houses and making $100,000+ per house. They couldn’t, nor did they want to see the data that was driving the market. Back then we advised Ellis Team clients to stop buying, even though it cost us commissions. We could see what was about to happen because of our index.

CMI Predicted Bottom in 2009

We knew the market was on its way to stabilization in 2008. In 2009 we called the statistical bottom of the market, even when prices were about 30% of what they were a few years ago. View the CMI Index back in 2009. Again, in 2009 people thought we were crazy calling the bottom of the market. We wrote several articles back in 2009 and went on WINK TV telling everyone the bottom was here, but people didn’t believe that either. People tend to follow the crowd and believe where the market has been rather than where it is going.

Current Market Index Predicts Future
Current Market Index in 2009

 

The point is market outcomes have more to do with data than they do with emotions. Buyers today want the market to fall. Sellers want the market to rise. The market does not care what anybody wants, it rises and falls because of the data. The trick is learning which data to use and how to interpret it.

Ellis Team Current Market Index Predicts Future Real Estate Pricing

The Ellis Team current market index currently sits over 4.3. We no longer publish this index publicly as we keep it for paying customers of the Ellis Team. Southwest Florida real estate prices rose from the 90’s through 2005. 2006 is when we saw prices begin to fall. The Ellis Team Current Market Index (CMI) predicted that would happen around July of 2005 when the market was absolutely red-hot. The market peaked in January of 2006.

Current Market Index Predicts Future Real Estate Pricing
Real Estate Prices 2009

The CMI has been rising. We focus on the direction of the CMI as the actual number. When the index reaches 4+, either on the upswing or the downswing it begins to move prices. There is typically a 2–6-month lag between the index and the actual price movements, so knowing where the index stands, and the direction is critical ahead of time.

Back in 2006 the Ellis Team was able to advise seller clients to get aggressive with pricing before the market forced them to take even less. All our clients listened, and they were glad they did as they watched the market plunge. These decisions were based off data, not emotions or I think this might happen.

Later when home sales became tough, we went on TV again and showed a different way to sell homes when others weren’t able to sell.

The Ellis Team Current Market Index will go up and it will go down, as will prices. It was designed to help interpret the forward direction of pricing. You cannot read more into it than that, as we have to look at the actual number, the direction, and the pace. Back in 2006 the pace was significant. While the current number is rising, it is nowhere near the pace of 2006, so we are not calling for a plunge in values.

Consultants Vs Salespeople

The cool thing is this index will tell us the forward direction of real estate prices before they happen. If you have questions about your home and the Future of Real Estate, call Brett Ellis or Sande Ellis 239-310-6500. We’ll be glad to evaluate your situation and give you the information to make good decisions for your family. We consult with you after listening to your needs.

Good luck and Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty!