SW Florida Real Estate Market Update Archives - Fort Myers Real Estate and Homes For Sale

Good news for home buyers and home sellers in Lee County. Conventional loan limits increase to $548,250 in Lee County. The previous loan limit was $510,400. Because sales prices have increased this past year the loan limit was increased.

If a buyer wished to finance over the $510,400 it made the loan a jumbo loan. The interest rate may have been higher and the underwriting guidelines in some cases could be stiffer because jumbo loans are not insured by FNMA or Freddie Mac.

Conventional Loan Limits Increase

The increase to $548,250 means a buyer can pay more for a home and still meet conventional loan guidelines. Interest rates are around 2.5% for people with good credit. This eases down payment pressure for many buyers who need a conventional loan.

Let’s say a buyer wanted to buy a home for $600,000. Under the old guidelines the buyer would have had to put $89,600 down to stay in a conventional loan. Today the buyer could put down $51,750 and still meet conventional guidelines. That would be 8.6% down payment which is acceptable.

With conventional loans the buyer can put down as little as 3%, but 5% is more realistic for most people. The PMI rate (Private Mortgage Insurance) declines the more a borrower places in down payment, and it disappears entirely if buyers put 20% down.

Buyers Can Afford More Home

The bottom line is buyers can absolutely afford more home today than they could last year. Down payment requirements are less and interest rates are less. This is good news because prices have been going up, so this alleviates that pressure.

This is one more reason we believe there is still fuel to power prices higher. Of course, low rates will not help if the economy crumbles or demand falls. We do not see any signs of demand falling. In fact, Florida is more attractive than ever to northern buyers in high tax states. Companies are leaving northern states and relocating to Florida, so it is not just remote workers making the switch.

Conventional loan limits increase benefits sellers as much as buyers because more buyers now qualify for the same property. We already have multiple offer situations on many properties, and the conventional loan limits increase may add to the demand for properties priced $535,000 and higher.

In the coming weeks we will report final 2020 real estate market numbers. To date we have official numbers through November, and we expect 2020 to end with a bang. Traffic on our roads is busy, and our team has been busy working with buyers from all over the country attempting to purchase a home.

By all accounts, 2021 should be another great year. The only thing that may hold it back is lack of inventory. Sales could decline simply because we do not have enough inventory.

Considering Selling?

If you are considering selling, please call Brett or Sande Ellis 239-489-4042 Ext 4. Now may be the best time. Our marketing is reaching local and out of town buyers, and they are making offers. Our team is working harder than ever for our clients. We are getting sellers who list with the Ellis Team top dollar. It is always more fun to sell when we attract multiple buyers for your home. Sellers can sit back and select the best offer, but that is only possible when you saturate the market. Advertising locally and nationally is the key.

Or you can check your home’s value instantly at www.SWFLhomevalues.com Prices are changing by the week so it pays to keep up. Is there a price you would sell your home at? If so, perhaps we should talk. Always ask for Sande or Brett Ellis. There is no substitute for experience.

January 2021 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

Lee County Florida saw new real estate listings entering the market rise 3.6% in October. This is a welcome sign because year to date new listings are down 4.8%. New listings do not include properties that were taken off the market and quickly re-listed, so it should be an actual representation of new listings entering the market.

Total inventory is down 9.2% from last October, so new real estate listings are a welcome sign. If we’re going to continue with sales gains, we’re going to need more listings. This is an excellent time for sellers; however, sellers should be careful.

Other sellers might have the same idea and decide now is the time to sell their home too. Prices have gone up slightly over this past year, and mortgages are paying down, which opens equity for more sellers. With interest rates near record lows, more sellers may get the same idea and put their home on the market.

New Real Estate Listings Rise Early This Year

We always see listings rise in January. This year we saw it in October. Closed sales were up 10.4%, so we’re not alarmed at all. In fact, as stated earlier, it’s a welcome sign. Median sales prices were up 3.6% year over year in October while average sales prices were up 2.3% It’s not uncommon to have more new listings enter the market as prices rise.

We’re beginning to see lots of misinformation again. This is a result of large data aggregators trying to be the center of the consumer experience. Unfortunately, when you can’t get the data right, the consumer experience is degraded. For this reason, we believe a good Realtor who studies the market should always be at the top of your list for information.

We’re going to concentrate in 2020 on providing more data and insights for Lee County homeowners. We’re starting up again our Customer Club. Ellis Team Customer Club members will receive timely updates about the neighborhood they live in or neighborhoods they’re interested in as well as videos we create about the market. It is Free and we intend to put the local and accurate back into the consumer experience.

We’ll have a new website you can register to become a Free member soon. In the meantime, simply send me an email at Brett@topagent.com and put Customer Club in the subject line.

We hope you enjoy reading this article every week. If you have questions or ideas you’d like covered, please feel free to email me. Your ideas could be great content for this article, or perhaps a video explaining an answer to your question.

If you have a home to sell and want a fast and free estimate of your home’s value, check out www.swflhomevalues.com People love the estimate, and many times they’re pretty darn accurate. Of course, if you’re thinking of selling, we’d love to sit down and discuss your options. We can provide a more accurate analysis of your home’s value as well as go over the challenges of selling your home in today’s market. Sometimes it’s price, other times it’s timing. Still others it’s where would you move to next? We can help, and together we can answer these questions based upon your needs.

We have lots of other stats we can share, both at the county level and neighborhood level. This is important data for both buyers and sellers. Having this data puts you at a distinct advantage over other buyers and sellers.

Feel free to call Sande or Brett Ellis 239-489-4042 Ext 4 We’ll be happy to answer your questions and see what makes sense for you.

See last week’s article “Total Dollar Sales Volume Rises Again in October”

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

National experts and economists are warning that the national real estate market may have peaked. This past week we attended the Keller Williams Mega Camp and spoke with top agents from all over the country to get their perspective as well. We’ll attempt to answer that question. “Has the National Real Estate Market Peaked?”

There are many forces that influence how well a market is doing, and in 2018 we’re seeing a new dynamic we’ve never seen before. Typically markets pull back due to economic factors like unemployment, interest rates, consumer confidence, etc. This year we’re seeing fewer sales nationwide due to lack of inventory.

Inventory is starting to rise again. So are interest rates which are affecting home affordability. Prices rose approximately 4-6% nationwide last year, while incomes rose 2-3%. In a fully indexed market, this isn’t sustainable. Keller Williams’ leadership mentioned we’re in a supply driven shift, which is unique because usually shifts in the market are determined by other factors we mentioned earlier.

So, the answer lies in what happens first? As we exit the supply driven stall, what wins out? Does consumer demand eat up the new inventory, or does interest rate hikes take its toll and dampen the ability of buyers to pay more?

Nobody knows the answer to this, but some experts are predicting lower sales due to a softening in some markets. Mortgage applications are down 3% last week nationwide and have been down for 4 straight weeks. Mortgage bankers are noticing a 17% decline in year over year mortgage applications.

The economy is on a roll. Unemployment is down to 3.9%, and demand for housing has been strong. We all know real estate is local. SW Florida can be influenced by other markets, but each market has its own strengths and weaknesses that can buck the national trend.

For instance, while the rest of Florida and the country were enjoying wild gains the past year, SW Florida did not. This might be good news for SW Florida because if it’s determined later that the national market got a little ahead of itself, we may be insulated from losses as we did not participate in all those gains. Lee County may have been a leading indicator.

Fundamentally it feels like a strong market nationally. If it is fully priced, the future depends on affordability and what happens with jobs, income, and interest rates. Price will move up or down depending on these other variables.

Locally, we’re subject to the same issues, and a few more. Throw in a possible hurricane, red tide, blue green algae, etc. and you see we have some wild cards. Personally, it feels like we too have a pretty good real estate market going right now. And the red tide and algae will soon pass. Because we didn’t participate in the big run-ups this past year, and because we have outside money that comes into SW Florida each season to invest in our market, we have potential for good times ahead.

The average Joe gets hurt the worst when the market shifts because outsiders price them out of the market. Locally incomes only rise so much, and yet local buyers must compete with snowbirds and investors to buy the area’s most affordable properties. It puts a strain on local buyers with limited income.

Regardless of what the national market does, Lee County has some really nice things going for it. And the negatives that are here today may be gone in a few months. We just need to see if sellers thinking of selling beat the interest rate hikes. Those that sell now may be in a favorable position, even if the market only stalls. It’s more fun to sell in a low inventory market than a neutral market.

Our website www.LeeCountyOnline.com has all the listings, and it’s updated instantly, so finding your SW Florida real estate bargain is a quick search away. One of our happy Ellis Team agents will be happy to answer your questions. To sell your home, call the Best Team in SW Florida. 239-489-4042. Ask for Brett or Sande Ellis Ext 4. And we’ll be happy to help you get Top Dollar and close in record time!

August 2018 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

Recently the Ellis Team has sold a few For Sale By Owners in addition to our normal sales and it got us to thinking. What if we could help more For Sale By Owners sell their home? We thought about it and we came up with the Ellis Team For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program.

We’re creating a special website of For Sale By Owner listings. Sellers can still market their property on their own and if they find a buyer, great. They also get some additional marketing by the Ellis Team and a chance to open their home to a larger audience.

Sometimes For Sale By Owners just want to try selling their home themselves. They want to save the commission, and they don’t personally know a great Realtor, so why not try selling themselves first?

If I had a house to sell and didn’t know the real estate business like I do, I’d probably try to sell my home on my own too. Who can blame an owner from trying to put the most money in their pocket from the sale of their own home?

We’ll put the For Sale By Owner in a special section of our website. This informs our database of buyers that we have other listings not in MLS that might suit the buyer. Many buyers are leery of working with a FSBO because they feel at a disadvantage. Buyers don’t have someone guiding them through the process, writing the contract, organizing inspections, financing, etc.

All of the listings in the For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program offer guidance to the buyer so they can feel more comfortable purchasing one of these homes. It also opens up the inventory to homes they might not have seen otherwise. Most For Sale By Owners are hard to find and not well advertised. They rely on for sale signs and inexpensive websites and social media to sell their home, so buyers could miss out on opportunities.

For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program

All listings in the For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program have agreed to work with an Ellis Team agent should we find a buyer. This is a win/win for the seller and buyer. The owner can still attempt to sell on their own and they receive benefit of working with us to an expanded group of buyers.

Statistics show over 90% of For Sale By Owners give up and hire a Realtor. All we ask is that if the owner gives up and later on decides to hire a Realtor, they agree to interview the Ellis Team for the job at that time. They don’t have to hire us, just give us a shot.

The Ellis Team has brought thousands of buyers and sellers together over the years and this program just expands on that. We can even work out a program if the seller finds the buyer we’ll help for a nominal fee.

Check out the Ellis Team For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program online. We’ll be adding For Sale By Owners and information to the website in the coming weeks. Buyers can check out these upcoming by owner listings too in case it meets their criteria.

We Find the Buyers

This new program is in addition to our full blown, cutting edge marketing system of our listings. The Ellis Team sells homes 19.7% faster than the average agent and we sell our homes for more money. Our marketing goes out and finds the buyer instead of waiting for the buyer to find your home. We put more money in our seller’s pockets, and isn’t that what it’s all about?

If you’re thinking of selling, give the Ellis Team a call. We’d love to sit down with you and interview for the job. And if you’d like to try it yourself first, give us a call anyway. We can be your backup plan if the home doesn’t sell. As long as you’re interviewing Realtors, you might as well interview the best!

Feel free to search the MLS, get neighborhood market reports, and find out what your home is worth at www.LeeCountyOnline.com Or call us at 239-489-4042. Ask for Sande or Brett.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

SW Florida Real Estate Market Update December 2016

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By Brett Ellis

RE/MAX Realty Group – Ellis Team

Fort Myers Real Estate Agent

7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr

Fort Myers, FL 33907

239-489-4042

Changes are coming to the way property is shown in SW Florida. Gone are the days where agents call the listing office to setup showing appointments. This was an inefficient system as agents had to make phone calls to listing office, who had to in turn call seller, then call showing agent back to confirm. If one seller wasn’t available it could throw the whole showing schedule into chaos and start the process all over.

The way properties will be shown is changing for the better as the MLS has now gone to a Centralized Showing Service. Technically offices can still setup showings the old fashioned way, but once they see how the new system works they’ll quickly learn their sellers will be at a big disadvantage so they’ll want to join in the new system.

When agents view properties online in the MLS there is a button they can click on that will automatically setup the showing for them. If the agent sees 7 homes that meet their buyer’s needs, they simply select those 7 homes and request showings at a set time interval, i.e., tomorrow from 2-4 pm. They system will contact each owner and notify the showing agents which appointments are set along with a showing map for the route.

Since this will be automated sellers need to understand the new rules of showing real estate. Actually they’re old rules but with the new system it’s even more important. The more accessible a property is, the more it will get shown if it’s priced correctly. If the sellers reject showings as inconvenient, the showing agent will simply just show the homes they have approvals on. The rejected showings will miss out unless the buyer doesn’t like one of the other 6 homes.

With limited inventory, buyers are hesitant to wait, so they offer on one they’ve seen that meets their needs and is priced correctly.

The new system will handle alarm codes, gates codes, special instructions like handling of pets, etc. There’s even an app for the agent’s phone that will remind them not to let cat out or why a bedroom door is closed.

Sellers will have the option of receiving a tele-call where they can hit 1 for accept the showing or 2 for reject. Or, they can receive texts where they can accept or reject, or an email, or all 3. Once the seller accepts the showing agent is instantly notified, so setting up showings can take just a few minutes versus chasing listing brokers and sellers down for hours. Weekends were especially hairy if the listing office didn’t have personnel to handle showings.

The system has some interesting features. It can tell an agent which price range is receiving the most showings. This can be helpful in setting the correct price for a home if the home is on the edge of a price bracket.

The system also contacts showing agents for feedback and generates a nice report for our sellers. Tracking agents down for feedback used to be difficult but now the system will do it automatically and makes it easy on the showing agent to respond.

We look forward to sharing with our sellers the new seller reports, showing reports, and market statistics we’ll generate on showings. We can compare this to sold and pending data and spot trends as they develop. If the market takes a turn, we’ll be able to see if other similarly priced homes are getting showings.

This new service is a win/win for sellers and agents. Knowing the new rules and how to work the system can mean the difference between selling or watching all the homes around you sell while your home sits. Take the time to learn the system and make your home accessible.

Good Luck and Happy Showing!

View our July 2014 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

To view our Listings in Hi Definition, visit www.HomesinHD.TV or click on our playlist below

Ellis Team

Fort Myers Real Estate Agent

7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr

Fort Myers, FL 33907

For Sale By Owners are at a big disadvantage and it’s not really the seller’s fault. There are several reasons why it’s hard to sell a home By Owner. The number one factor is Fear. Buyers have a fear about the process of buying a home and without an agent all those fears bubble up. They fear they don’t know the area as well as the seller. They don’t know the neighbors. Buyers may not know the schools, etc. They don’t usually know how to structure a contract, and they don’t know financing. Buyers have never lived in the home, but the seller has. Buyers feel at a big disadvantage, so their fear leads them to the second biggest issue, which is trust. Buyers become skeptical because they realize they’re not holding many of the knowledge cards; the seller is. The seller knows much more about the home and the neighbors than the buyer. There isn’t an agent as a go-between so there is a lack of trust. This lack of trust is born out of fear.

For Sale By Owner Fort Myers — Pitfalls of Selling By Owner

When you have fear and lack of trust, any potential transaction is shaky at best. The seller has fear and trust issues too. The seller also does not understand financing, insurance, etc. The seller is fearful that the buyer may not be able to qualify or is telling them the whole story. There is no agent to verify certain facts, so the seller must ask the tough questions themselves. Buyers don’t like to divulge confidential financial information to the seller as they would a seasoned professional like an agent. Buyers trust their agent; they don’t trust a seller they don’t know. The seller doesn’t trust a buyer they don’t know, and there begins the cycle of distrust, which elevates fear. Buyers and sellers don’t negotiate with other buyers and sellers everyday, all day long. The questions they do ask come across as personal, so they get evasive answers. Buyers and sellers treat each other at arms length because they know whatever they say could be used against them in the course of negotiation. Some buyers and sellers get cute and try to Buffalo their way with the other side. Even if they are better Buffalos, the other side typically reads they’re not getting the whole story. Complex issues arise in a transaction. Inspection issues can be sticky, not to mention insurance, survey, financing, HOA, and past permit issues, to name just a few.

For Sale By Owners Net Less Money at Closing

Recent studies have shown For Sale By Owners sell on average for 12% less than what a Realtor gets for a home. The only way a buyer would buy a For Sale By Owner is if they can save the commission and buy it under market. If they have to do all the work themselves and face that fear on their own without the help of an agent, they better get a bargain. However, the reason a seller wishes to sell By Owner is to also save the commission. Both the buyer and seller cannot save the same commission. If the seller is going to take the time to show it, advertise it, make signs, place ads, and pre-qualify each buyer they better get more than fair market value for their efforts. They must fight bank appraisers and they have nobody in their corner if they get a bad appraisal. They just lose another deal. So if sellers get on average 12% less for a home, why would they try on their own? A leading For Sale By Owner company CEO recently sold his home through a Realtor. If their company is so great, why did he resort to hiring a Realtor? Every seller wishes to maximize their bottom line but selling By Owner isn’t it. If it was easy everyone would do it. Not only is there a cost to taking less, there’s also a cost for losing deals and selling it over and over. And doing it all yourself can get discouraging. Buyers and sellers are also emotional. They don’t have a 3rd party intermediary keeping things real. Facts and logic get blurred and they can convince themselves of almost anything. If you’re thinking of buying or selling, do yourself a favor and hire a good agent. You can do it right the first time, or do it the hard way and try on your own. Hey, you might get lucky, but then again, it could turn out badly. It’s your choice. We don’t see a lot of FSBO’s today but they will always exist. We hope this article helps you analyze your options. Good luck and Happy House Hunting! View our July 2014 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update To view our Listings in Hi Definition, visit www.HomesinHD.TV or click on our playlist below Visit our Google+ Business Page Feel free to view our Virtual Tours . By Brett Ellis Fort Myers Real Estate Agent 7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr Fort Myers, FL 33907

Sometime today the Ellis Team YouTube channel will reach the 200,000 view mark. We thought it might be a good idea to recap some of our top videos over the past few years that has drawn our team so much attention.

Our latest video is our April 2014 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update where we update viewers on some current changes we’re seeing in the market. Prices have been rising however there may be some surprises on the way when new March 2013 official sales numbers are released later this month.

Ellis Team YouTube Channel

Our most popular video of all time is the Fort Myers Beach-Sanibel Island-SW Florida Video we posted in September of 2011. It is a fantastic video about the Fort Myers and Sanibel Island beaches and is a great overview of the Islands.

Our next most popular video would be NBC Nightly News 10-8-08 Flip Side of Foreclosures Brett did with Brian Williams on the NBC Tonight Show back in October of 2008

A fun video we did was when Hillary Clinton was running for President of the United States. She commented on a story we did for the Today Show about how Florida would vote and how real estate was affecting the vote back in the 2008 election.

Some people really like our client testimonial page Dex put together.

A lot of agents nationwide appreciated our Split Screen commercial where we showed all agents are not alike.

Still others really liked the Innovative Sales Techniques story NBC-2 did on our team and how we sell homes versus the competition.

Let us know your favorite video. There are over 150 to choose from. Most of all, thank you SW Florida for making us one of the most watched YouTube Channels in SW Florida.
If you’re considering buying or selling in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, Ft Myers Beach or anywhere in Lee County Florida, give us a call. 239-489-4042 or visit our website www.Topagent.com

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SW Florida Real Estate Market Updates & News

Tag Archives: SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

Conventional Loan Limits Increase to $548,250 in Lee County

Conventional Loan Limits Increase

Buyers Can Afford More Home

Considering Selling?

January 2021 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

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New Real Estate Listings Entering the Market Rises in October

New Real Estate Listings Rise Early This Year

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Has the National Real Estate Market Peaked?

August 2018 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

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Ellis Team Introduces the For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program

For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program

We Find the Buyers

SW Florida Real Estate Market Update December 2016

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Ellis Team Buyer Advantage Program

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Changes Coming to the Way Property is Shown in SW Florida

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For Sale By Owner Pitfalls

For Sale By Owners Net Less Money at Closing

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Ellis Team YouTube Channel Set to Go Over 200,000 Video Views Today

Ellis Team YouTube Channel

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Conventional Loan Limits Increase

Buyers Can Afford More Home

Considering Selling?

January 2021 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

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New Real Estate Listings Rise Early This Year

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August 2018 SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

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For Sale By Owner Assisted Listing Program

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SW Florida Real Estate Market Update December 2016

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Other Resources

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For Sale By Owners Net Less Money at Closing

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