A Little Optimism

I, along with several others in the industry, have noticed a significant uptick in showings over the past few weeks. This is good news for home sellers as we head into "season." There is also good news for buyers as there are some great deals to be had by those who have the forsight and the willingness to act now.

For the past year we have been bombarded by the message that the bubble has burst and the sky is falling. Media feeds a lot of potential buyers thoughts and the bottom line is that by the time the media reports market conditions they have already changed. Experienced investors know that the time to get into the market is when it is at the bottom, once a market shift is obvious to everyone it's only then that its obvious to the media as well.

The real estate market goes up and goes down. Developers are still developing and homebuilders are still building. They've done a lot of research on growth expectations for Sarasota and Manatee Counties and while the market is slow now, these builders and developers ultimately have confidence in our future.

Buy Down Incentives

An increasing number of sellers are slashing their asking prices to generate interest, pushing down the median price. In Sarasota-Bradenton, for example, the median price went to $277,900 from $340,700 during the year-over-year period ended in October. Economist Stan Geberer of Fishkind and Associates notes that most homeowners who sell this year after making purchases last year at the market's peak will be "upside down" in their mortgages, though Geberer believes these homeowners would be in the same situation even if median prices were rising at the typical 4- to 8-percent rate. Rather than lower asking prices, C.J. Hahn of Transcontinental Lending Group says sellers would be wise to offer to buy down the buyer's mortgage rate. This would reduce their losses and give them a competitive edge while enabling buyers to save more money than they would with a traditional price reduction.

Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) (11/30/06) Pollick, Michael

Taking a Short Break

You may have noticed that I have taken a little hiatus from blogging in order to attend to my new vocation of motherhood. On May 25th my husband and I celebrated the birth of our daughter. I had a very good pregnancy and this whole experience allowed me to take advantage of all the healthcare services and programs offered for new parents in the Lakewood Ranch area. I can tell you firsthand that I can't think of a single thing that would have made this experience better. The treatment and care I received from Lakewood Ranch Medical Center was incredible. My new little girl and I have been active participants in the new Mom and Baby classes offered through the hospital and we have also been enjoying all of the amenities offered throughout the family friendly East County.

If you have children or are planning to have children and have questions about life in the Lakewood Ranch/East County area, please don't hesitate to ask me!

Zillow

Recently I've had several clients ask me about Zillow.com. As a Realtor, I don't feel that Zillow is a threat to the industry or a replacement to real estate agents in general. I personally think it is a very interesting concept, although I think it is very important for consumers to realize and understand its limitations. Zillow is a useful tool, but it is a new technology and has a long ways to go. Using several different properties, I tested Zillow's analysis and found the numbers to be a good bit off. Valuing real estate is somewhat subjective and there are certain characteristics that Zillow, as a computer program, isn't taking into account. For instance, Zillow does not factor in whether or not your lot has a great view, or if you have granite countertops in your kitchen. Zillow also does not take into account the type of condition a home is in. I also noticed in some situations that Zillow was not using the most recent sales comparisons which also will affect value.

Overall, I believe Zillow.com is a useful tool, but it's best to consult a real estate appraiser or a real estate agent in order to determine an accurate value for your home.

Please feel free to call 800-421-9118 or email Shelley if you would like some information on the market value of your property!

More New Construction Opportunities

I spent some time this morning out at Silver Lake, a new home community in the Sarasota/Bradenton area featuring Morrison Homes and Windward Homes. Silver Lake has a few great homesites left and is offering some great buyer incentives on these homes. Additionally, Morrison Homes has some great incentives on homes in some of their new construction communities in the Parrish, FL area. Prices for all of these communities range from the low $300s to the mid $400s.

If you're looking for new construction in this area, give me a call (941) 730-8577 or email me!

New Home Construction Incentives

New construction homebuyer incentives are being offered at several communities in the Sarasota/Bradenton area! These incentives can mean a great purchase price for you!

For more information call 941-730-8577 or email me!

Why not overprice?

The Sarasota and Bradenton market is in the midst of a change. The past few years here have given way to unprecedented selling prices, inventory shortages, and therefore rapid price increases. In short, you could say it has been a seller's market.

However, the area is beginning to see a shift towards a more "traditional" real estate market... one where there is more "balance." As we head towards this shift, I am encountering many sellers who are unaware of the importance of proper pricing when trying to sell their home. Obviously, the goal is to net the highest price for your home, but the best way to go about doing that is surprising to some.

The theory or pricing your home high to begin with and reducing the price if it doesn't sell after X amount of days is not necessarily the best strategy for selling your home. The greatest activity occurs when a home initially hits the market. By pricing your home too high during this initial phase you can miss out on this activity as the longer a home sits on the market the less activity there will be. Declining interest can result in declining offers and thereby a lower net price when the home does sell.

When pricing your home, keep the following points in mind:
1) The home that offers the most for the least expense will get the most offers.
2) It is best to be "right on the money and hard on the price". Negotiating space can be a burden!
3) It is better to say "no" to low offers than to not have any offers to consider. Multiple offers gives the Seller control.

The best strategy is to price the home correctly in order to get multiple offers driving the price of the home higher. The bottom line is that correctly priced homes net the highest sales price.