Top Brevard Realtor Offers Real Life Advice
By Bobby Freeman, Florida Realtors® // February 19, 2013
REAL ESTATE REPORT
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – According to the latest housing data by Florida Realtors®, the 2012 Florida real estate market ended with more closed sales, higher pending sales, higher median prices and a reduction of available homes for sale compared to 2011.
“Last year (2012) was a very busy year for real estate sales in Brevard County” said Jennifer McCoy with RE/MAX Elite’s McCoy-Freeman Group.
“Buyers are now calling me and saying that they believe the market has hit bottom.”
Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of townhouse-condos, a total of 101,876 units sold statewide in 2012, up 2 percent from 2011. Pending sales for townhouse-condos for the year increased 6.2 percent compared to 2011. The statewide median for townhouse-condo properties in 2012 was $106,000, up 17.8 percent over the previous year.
Many buyers that were sitting on the fence waiting for prices to drop are now entering the market. However there are still some buyers that are looking for a deal on top of a deal.
REAL LIFE EXAMPLES
Here is a good recent example. A two bedroom, two bath, bank-owned condo directly on the ocean hit the market with an asking price of $209,900. This listing was immediately sent to my database of qualified buyers. One of those buyers wanted to offer less than the asking price.
I sent my buyer a list of recent comparable sales and discussed that this particular property is valued above the bank’s asking price. Some sellers will purposely list a property under market value to generate higher and quick sales.
The bank’s representative informed me that there are currently nine ‘good’ offers on the table and that I need to submit my highest and best offer by 5 p.m.
I suggested to my buyer that he would probably need to offer over the asking price being that there are many multiple offers. He actually told me that he has never paid over the asking price for any real estate and he even questioned if I was looking out for his best interest.
So think about this, there were 10 qualified buyers going after the same condo at the same time. One buyer purchased it at a fair market value leaving the 9 other buyers waiting for another property to become available. This isn’t the first time where multiple buyers competed on the same property.
He did finally offer $1,000 over the asking price and said he wouldn’t pay a penny more. Unfortunately the bank accepted another offer and the condo closed for $233,000 which is $23,1000 over the asking price.
So think about this, there were 10 qualified buyers going after the same condo at the same time. One buyer purchased it at a fair market value leaving the 9 other buyers waiting for another property to become available. This isn’t the first time where multiple buyers competed on the same property.
So what happens next? When I am on a listing appointment I share all available data with the home owners. We talk about the market conditions in their particular area. When there is a demand and inventory is low, real estate prices go up.
Those still sitting on the fence and waiting for the deal of the century may be waiting for a long time. Yes, there are deals out there but there is also a lot of competition among the buyers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bobby Freeman, a life-time resident of Brevard County, has been a top Realtor in the area for two decades. In his first year as an agent, Freeman received a Rising Star award from his Brokers. Since then he has achieved numerous sales awards and has recently been presented with the prestigious RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award.
Freeman, Jennifer McCoy and Nikki McCoy Freeman are family partners for RE/MAX Elite’s McCoy-Freeman Group. Together they have more than 30 years of extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate industry and have sold over $180 million. Among McCoy-Freeman Group’s achievement are RE/MAX Hall of Fame, RE/MAX Platinum Club, RE/MAX 100% Club, Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE), Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) and voted Best Realtor in Brevard County. The group has been featured in many news publications including CNN Money Magazine, CNNMoney.com, WFTV 9 ABC News, Coastal Condo Living, & Hot Retirement Towns Magazine and SpaceCoastDaily.com.
For more information log on to BrevardRealtyConnection.
