Pensacola Real Estate

Offering Incentives to Haste a Sale…What Works?

Sometimes cash incentives are as effective as lowering the price especially in the lower price rang where buyers may be “cash poor.” You may offer to pay some or all of the buyer’s closing costs and discount points. A rule of thumb is 3% of closing costs. You may also want to consider allowances for improvements should the property need work. Carpet, paint and landscaping allowances are common perks to motivate buyers. If you haven’t had much traffic through your house and you are in a hurry to sell, you may want to offer a bonus to the selling broker, in addition to their commission.

Santa Rosa County Growth Ranked 129th!

In 2000, there wasn't a Target, Home Depot, Lowes or Publix in Santa Rosa County. In 2008 all of that has changed. By 2007, there was at least one of each and many more on the way. Construction of a Publix, Barnes and Nobles and a Panera Bread is underway in Gulf Breeze Proper. Growth has been a blessing to Santa Rosa County. It has increased the county's tax base and created demand to improve public services such as schools and law enforcement. If there is a negative it is the increase of traffic on Hwy. 90 and 98, which are both major thoroughfares in the north and south ends of the county. Steps are being taken to improve both. Of the nation's 3,141 counties and county equivalents, Santa Rosa was the 129th fastest growing county between 2000 and 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bereau. It's growth rate jumped 24.9 percent during the period, resulting in a population of 147,044 people.

Scenic Hills Club House on par for May Opening!

Scenic Hills Country Club in Northeast Pensacola is planning the grand opening of their new clubhouse for May. The course, a Pensacola favorite, has been without a clubhouse since Hurrican Ivan. Scenic Hills, along with Pensacola Country Club and Tiger Point Country Club were all victims of Ivan's wind and water damage. The new Scenic Hills clubhouse will feature a banquet room with seating capacity for 180, a 2400 square feet coverd pavilion for weddings and special events, and will staff 14 employees. The completed renovations of the course, as well as the clubhouse will add to the solid value that the Scenic Hills golf community adds to the Northeast Pensacola.

Market Conditions - Is it a Buyer's Market or a Seller's Market?

There is little doubt that we are in a Buyer's market. Just read the headlines. Sale of residential properties were up for the month of January...prices were down an average of 11%. Simply put, that means many homes have lost value over the last year. We are definately in a Buyer's market and need to realize that if we are to sell properties, as realtors and sellers, we must price our properties accordingly. In other words, we must price our properties at or below the selling value of the neighborhood that the property is located in. Don't look outside the borders of the neighborhood for a comparison. Compare like product to like product. Think of it like you think of prescription medication. If you can pay $4 for a generic brand or $100 for a name brand which would you buy? Of course the name brand may have ingredients that the generic brand does not. Compare and adjust accordingly. If the comp is better than your property subtract from the comp. If the comp is not as good as your property add to the comp so that the comparisons are somewhat equal. Then you have your comparison. Most of all remember that when you place your home to sell you have to be willing to sell it. If you really don't need to sell, or if you are not willing to sell at or below market value you may want to consider holding your property until the market improves.

Pricing your house to Sell...CMA or Appraisal

Price against Comparable Sales in Your Neighborhood! No Matter how attractive and polished your house, buyers will be comparing its price with everything else on the market. Your best guide is a record of what the buying public has been willing to pay in the past few months, (the past 30 days in our market) in your neighborhood. Your Realtor can furnish data on sales figures for those comparable sales and analyze them to help you come up with a suggested listing price. The decision about how much to ask, though is always yours. A CMA, Comparative Market Analysis is a list of comparable sales your ATR Realtor brings to you, along with data about other houses in your neighborhood that are presently on the market. The other option to a CMA is an appraisal. An appraisal differs from a CMA in several ways. One major difference is that an appraisal will be based on past sales. Also, an appraisal is done for a fee while a CMA is provided by your Realtor and may include properties currenly listed for sale and those currently pending sale. For the average home sale a CMA will probably give enough information to help you set the proper price. In addition the CMA can be run frequently to help determine changes in the market. The market we are currently in is changing daily. Having your Realtor run a CMA often will help you know exactly where you are in comparison to other homes on the market. Be prepared to adjust your price as the market changes.                                                                                                                                                                                              

Steps to Pricing your Home to Sell in a Buyer's Market

Selling your home in a Buyer's Market.

Pricing your home to sell is the key to getting the best price and the most proceeds from the sale!

Getting Started!

Setting the list price for your home involves evaluating various market conditions and financial factors. During this phase of the home selling process, your REALTOR will help you set your list price based on the following:

·        Pricing Considerations

·        Comparable Sales

·        Market Conditions

·        Incentives

·        Estimated Net Proceeds

Pricing Considerations – Find a Balance Between Too High and Too Low

When setting a list price for you home you should be aware of the market demand for your type of home, as well as the potential buyer's mindset frame of mind. Consider the following pricing factors: If you set the price too high, your house won’t be picked for viewing, even though it may be much nicer than other homes on the street.

You may have told your REALTOR to " Bring me any offer. Frankly, I’d take less."

But compared to other houses for sale, your home simply looks too expensive to be considered. In our current market and the market we face for the next 9 to 12 months you can count on not selling your home if it is over priced! If you price too low, you'll short-change yourself. Your house will sell promptly, yes, but you may make less on the sale than if you had set a higher price and waited for a buyer who was willing to pay it.

TIP: Never say "asking" price, which implies you don't expect to get it.

Vacation Rentals Pensacola Beach

I am excited to announce that America's Top Realty, Inc now has a branch office located at Emerald Dolphin Condominiums on Pensacola Beach. In addition we have started a new company that specializes in Vacation Rentals on Pensacola Beach. We anticipate we will have several Emerald Dolphin properties to rent to vacationers headed to the World's Whitest Beaches for summer fun and relaxation. Our Vacation Rentals Manager is Carla Mordecai. Carla is a dedicated and fun hearted person who loves the outdoors, people and life in general. She is the sunshine on a cloudy day and is there to help owners and renters with thier needs. Emerald Dolpin is located at 850 Ft. Pickens Road, just next to Peg Leg Pete's on Pensacola Beach. Once you have stayed at Emerald Dolphin you will find it hard not to come back again, again and again. Emerald Dolphin is nestled just a few hundred feet between the Gulf and the sound. You can literally walk to either in just a few minutes. Most Emerald Dolphin units also have panaramic views. Watch the surfers, the seagulls, the sand crabs, the sea oats, the people or just close your eyes and sleep in paradise!       

Foreclosures, Short Sales and Long Sales TOO!

So what is a Short Sale anyway? By definition a short sale is when the bank agrees to take 80% or less of the selling value of the home for payment. This is a long and arduous undertaking for the realtor, buyer and seller. My most recent experience with a short sale turned into a long sale and then a foreclosure. Assured by the seller that the home was not going to be sold back to the bank I continued to work to sell the property. I recieved a call about a month ago from an investor whom told me the property was going to be sold at auction. She even offered to pay me a referral fee and pay the bank 50 cents on the dollar. I searched around, spoke with the seller and could not determine if the caller was actually correct or just fishing. After working with a seller and his property for over 18 months I recieved a call on the 15th telling me to come and pick up my sign, take down my lockbox and withdraw the listing from the MLS. The property had indeed been sold to the bank. Sigh of relief...AAAAAAHHHHHH! Hopefully having my sign in front of the property for 18 months has at least made me a household name in the neighborhood. I am marking this one up to a marketing expense!       

So what is up with the Real Estate Market anyway!

Now is a great time to buy real estate. Despite what any of the analyst say, everyone needs to let go of their fears and start buying real estate. Prices are in many cases back to pre-Ivan levels. Even the rehab houses on the West side of Pensacola that were selling for over $100 per foot after Ivan have now settled in the $40 to $60 per foot range. Not only are they affordable...they are at thier just value. Now investors can purchase rental properties that will cash flow and 1st time homebuyers can purchase homes they can afford! This doesn't mean hat all values have dropped or should drop at this rate. I know of many properties that have sold, are on the market or soon will on the market that will sell below what there selling value should be. At some point the sellers need to hold to thier pricing so that the market doesn't become so devalued that there is a flight risk. Yes, I am a realtor and my job is to sell homes and to help buyers find the home of thier dreams. Let me know your thoughts...          

It has been a year and then some!

It has been over a year since my last entry. Guess I finally awoke from my period of hybernation. Not that I haven't had alot going on or anything but I have learned that if you focus on fewer things you will achive more in the process. Once you have reached your level of achievement you can then move on to the next item of preference. If you have been anywhere at just about any time over the last year you know that our economy is falling apart. A shame for sure that our Presidential candidates fail to talk about the economy or propose anything that will provide a solution. Maybe if we eliminated the greed factor and just focused on helping one another we could fix just about everything that is wrong in our world. Check our LivetoWin.com and you will find some steps to help just about anyone do that.