Real Estate Recovery in Florida

What is it going to take to accelerate a Recovery in Florida? Well the answer is hard work! We now have record setting low interest rates &reduced pricing working for us however we have diminished Inventory and much tighter lending criteria working against us. As Realtor's we have the power to effect change in both those negative areas. 1. DIMINISHED INVENTORY: Get out there and contact your previous clients that had given up on selling and bring them up to speed as to the markets status. Prepare a new CMA for that client and maybe consider a new pricing strategy giving careful consideration to a possible price increase from past numbers. To get prices to improve you first have to get these sales numbers up and at the same time effect an actual sale. You also will need to get out of the office and work the FSBO market. There arn't as many out there as in past years but they are still out there. 2. TIGHTER LENDING CRITERIA: Sit down with you buyers and review their credit situation. Get them oriented with one of your favorite lenders picking one that fits for their personal credit situation and move them forward on becoming pre-qualified. Spending the time up front and maybe waiting a few months to actually find them a property can avoid the embarrassment of a busted deal. In the last 10 years of selling Real Estate in Lakeland Florida I have customized a system of working with buyers and sellers with great success. Very rarely do I have a deal fall apart if my clients actually adhere to my advice. It is up to the Real Estate Professionals to make this Recovery a Reality. To quote a famous Pitchman "I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT" (Trivia Pursuit: Who is that Pitchman?) TODAY: AVERAGE 30 YEAR FIXED RATE MORTGAGE 3.79% AVERAGE 15 YEAR FIXED RATE 3.04%!

Weekly Update 05-11-12

A lot of positive news this week for the Real Estate Industry. According to Core Logic the average property prices in Florida have appreciated 4.5% for recorded sales in the Month of March. I look for April's figures to be good as well. Record low interest rates continue to be available. 30 year fixed rate average published today was 3.87%. The bank's are starting to loosen up their lending practices (not to loose) as they start to get their delinquent property portfolio's more manageable. All these thing combined should all work to accomplish a slow recovery to better times. Our phones are ringing and we are signing up new listing clients on a daily basis. We are also working with several qualified buyers. We really need to have the people who were hanging back on selling their homes to take a leap of faith and get it out there for sale. We really need to increase the inventory of quality homes for sale. I personally put a Commercial property that I have been trying to sell for sometime under contract yesterday. The Commercial market is showing very positive signs of recovery. Business owners & Corporations are once again feeling confident and are looking to expand. When business expands jobs are created and more jobs means more people can qualify and purchase area homes. We are still looking to increase our Associate base in the Lakeland Area as well as throughout Central Florida. The phones are ringing and there are plenty of referals to go around. We distribute leads fairly among our people on an equitable rotation with no favoritism given to higher performing players. As long as you provide exceptional customer service you will do just fine. Well it's Friday so it's time to start wrapping up this weeks paperwork. Wish you all a good weekend!

Weekly Update 05-04-12

I probably should apologize for not writing one of these last week, not sure if anyone noticed or actually reads these but here goes. I had some relatives in from up in Ohio last week (My sister and her hubby). One of the topics of conversation was their upcoming retirement. This really got me thinking, am I ever going to retire? The answer is probably not. Real Estate is a great career and is actually my second after kind of retiring from the automotive business. It is one of the few careers that you can do that you can be as busy as you want to be (or not). I amy wind it down a bit someday but probably will keep my hand in it as long as I can. Actually one of my more successful Realtors (Joe Baker) who is a retired engineer really enjoys the flexilbilty that we afford him with our Virtual Office concept. Work at your own pace and never have to come to an office. Pretty loose dress code too, except maybe when you are with clients :). Oh and did I forget NO FEES! This week too has been a busy one. Much news in the industry but probably the biggest is the fact that the homes available for sale are dwindling, more buyers than we have quality homes to sell. Hopefully the people who have been holding back on the sale of their home for fear that they can't get a fair price for it will catch hold of this and get it back on the market. I know my agents are standing by and all of them could use more quality homes in their listing base. Buyer activity levels are up and the good properties are once again fielding multiple offers. Well I am going to keep this short and wish you all a good weekend. If you get a chance and you actually read these an occassional like comment if you see this on facebook would be appreciated and maybe even join the blog (does anyone do that anymore???) would be great too. Maybe I should include recipes?? Those that require alcohol????