Treasure Coast
Real Estate News & Market Trends

Here’s how we market homes differently to benefit our sellers.

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Homeowners often ask how we’re going to market their properties. If you’re thinking about selling your home, marketing should be a huge concern for you; after all, you want your property to reach the most potential buyers. 

It's estimated that 70% of all agents spend $0 on marketing each month. That's crazy! If you happen to list your house with a broker who isn't spending money on marketing, you may not be getting the proper exposure. Additionally, it's estimated that about 30% of all brokers spend less than $500 a month on marketing. That's not enough for one listing, much less multiple homes.

"It's one of our core values to make sure our sellers get the most money for their homes. "

So what do we do differently? We cracked the code on Zillow, Realtor.com, and other forms of online marketing. We even bought marketing packages in bulk. Each month, we spend between $35,000 and $45,000 to market all of our properties. That gives us a big discount on our marketing plan, and it gives you the exposure you need in any price range. 

Whether yours is a manufactured home down in Hobe Sound or a luxury waterfront listing in Sewell’s Point, you can be sure that your house will get the exposure it needs on all the major online platforms that buyers flock to. That way, you’re more likely to get top dollar when you sell.

You see, it’s one of our core values to make sure our sellers get the most money for their homes, and to do that, we have to generate buyers. We tend to concentrate on internet buyers coming from New York and the Upper Midwest; they are ready and willing to pay the highest price for your house.

If you have any questions about selling your home or how we utilize marketing to increase your bottom line, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Five things you should check if you’re looking to buy a waterfront home.

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Today I want to talk about buying waterfront property and homes that have access to the water. There’s a lot to think about if you’re looking to purchase one of these houses, so I want to share the top five things you need to consider:

1. The water depth. If you have a boat, you need to consider the water depth behind the property. This is especially important during low tide because the water depth can drop significantly with the tide. You need to see how much water your boat would draw, and keep that in mind.

2. The condition of the seawall. If enough water gets behind that seawall, it can become unstable, and fixing it can be expensive. You want to check out the seawall and make sure it’s structurally sound.

"Deciding whether to buy a waterfront home is not an easy decision. "

3. The dock space. Look for rotten boards, see if the dock has been redone recently, and check if there’s a lift. The dock also needs to be able to accommodate your boat.

4. The flood zones. Learn whether the property is in a flood zone or not. If it is, you could have thousands of dollars in damages every year. Find out if the seller has an elevation survey or certificate, and check their current flood insurance.

5. A home inspection. You need to get a general home inspection that looks at the whole property, not just the seawall and dock. You need to know about the plumbing, roof, HVAC system, and everything else that could be an issue before you finalize the contract.

There's a lot going on when you purchase a waterfront property. It’s not an easy decision, so you should work with someone who knows waterfront properties and the current market. I fit the bill and am ready to help. Give me a call at (772) 370-8631 if you’re looking for waterfront property along the coast.

Is now the right time to jump into the real estate market as a seller?

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Should I sell my home right now? I’ve received that question multiple times lately, so today I’ll respond to it for everyone. First of all, it’s almost impossible to answer that question off the cuff because everyone’s situation is different. However, I can discuss the current state of the real estate market with you.

These days, we’re in a very strong seller’s market, which means sellers have the advantage. Should you decide to sell, you can expect multiple offers; I commonly see between three and 10 offers, and I’ve recently even seen homes receive 20 offers. Those offers will be at or above asking price in many cases, and many are all cash with no contingencies. Some buyers are even waiving their inspection and appraisal contingencies.

If you combine the strength of this seller’s market with your specific motivation, this is likely the best time to sell your home. If you want more information about selling your home or would like a no-cost home price evaluation (what your home could sell for in the present market), give me a call or send an email. I’m always happy to help. 

Whether you should buy a home right now depends on your situation.

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Recently, I’ve been hearing this question a lot: “Should I buy a home, or should I wait?” The answer largely depends on your situation.

If you’re considering buying, the first thing to figure out is how much you can afford. Based on that, determine how much you can put down and what your monthly payments will be. Next, begin looking at homes that are currently on the market within your budget. Then compare how much you’ll pay in rent to what you’ll pay monthly to own a home in your desired area. With all that information, you can make an educated decision about if now is the time for you to buy a home.

"If you can afford it, you shouldn’t wait to buy a home."

In my opinion, now is an excellent time to buy, but just about any time is a great time to purchase and own a home. That’s because you’ll have tax write-offs, you'll consistently build equity, and your property will likely increase in value while you live there. Ultimately, I would say that you shouldn't wait to buy a house. With interest rates this low, you should get pre-approved, go out there, and see what's on the market.

If you have questions about this or any other real estate matter, please drop them in the comments below or send me an email. If you have a question you’d like answered in a future video, send those to me as well. I’d love to be your real estate resource.

Three ways you can make your financed offer stand out from the crowd.

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So you have a financed offer, but you’re having trouble getting it accepted with all the cash flying around right now. Not to mention, there are a bunch of other financed offers you need to compete with as well. Here’s how you can get your financed offer accepted in a multiple-offer situation:

1. Get a full pre-approval. We need to compete with cash offers, so you should meet with your lender and get fully pre-approved. That means you need to give the lender all the paperwork they require: your bank statements, tax returns, etc. After that, they’ll let us know how much you can afford, how much money down you’ll need, and what your monthly payments will be. 

Most importantly, you need to ask for a 12-day loan approval period. That way, when we submit an offer, we can let the listing agent know that we’ll only need 12 days to get a final approval letter on your loan. This will give you the ammo you need to get your offer accepted.

2. Make a hefty deposit. I like to have 3% of the sales price as a down payment. That’s usually between $10,000 to $30,000. This will help your offer stand out to the seller.

3. Present the offer in person. That’s right; I’m going to present your offer in writing to the seller and listing agent in person, so the seller can hear the details of your offer from me firsthand.

If you have a topic that you’d like me to cover in a video, call, text, or email me, and I’d be happy to talk about it. Of course, if you have any pressing questions, feel free to reach out as well. Make it a great day!

Here are a few tips to help you accurately price your home in this market.

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How can we really determine the value of your home when the market is rising so fast? Today we’ll share three tips to help you come up with the most accurate assessment of your property’s value:

1. Talk to an experienced real estate agent. Your agent should be familiar not only with what has recently sold in your area, but also with what the current inventory is and how many buyers are looking for homes in the neighborhood.

2. Look at the data in your area. Looking back at the sales data over several months will help you spot trends in the market, like how quickly home prices are appreciating. That, in turn, will help you come up with an accurate price for your home.

3. Look at where the market is headed. Keep an eye on what interest rates and the economy at large are doing, both locally and nationally. This is important because if you overprice your home according to the market, you could lose out big time if something causes price increases to slow down or pushes buyers out of the market.

If you’re thinking about selling your home on the Treasure Coast or you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone or email. We’d love to help you.

Buyers’ opportunities and affordability may be declining, so don’t wait.

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Buyers, your window of opportunity and affordability may be closing. Last week, interest rates increased past 4%, meaning you have less borrowing power for a new mortgage. Home prices are also expected to continue climbing. Even if prices only jump up 3% to 5% this year, it’ll cost you significantly more to buy a home. 

If you’re serious about buying a house, here are the two things you should do:

1. Contact your lender. Get pre-approved, or if you were already pre-qualified or pre-approved in the last 30 to 60 days, get it updated with current rates. You can’t lock in a rate on a house until you’re under contract, and the time between getting pre-approved and going under contract on a house could be three to six weeks. If interest rates rise during that time, it can cost you thousands of dollars on your purchase.

2. Contact a real estate agent. Start aggressively looking for homes with your agent so that the rates stay current and prices don’t skyrocket before you find the right one.

Armed with a pre-approval and a great agent, you’re certain to find the house of your dreams. If you have any real estate questions or a topic you’d like me to cover in a future blog, just send me an email or leave a comment. I’d be glad to help you.

These are my best tips for handling multiple-offer situations as a seller.

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If you’re selling your home in this market, you’re likely to receive multiple offers from interested buyers. Here are some of my top tips for handling them:

1. Review each offer in detail with your agent. Have them explain both the price and terms.

2. Make sure the buyer has a pre-approval or proof-of-funds letter. 

3. Contact the buyer’s lender. Double-check that they ran your credit and verified your finances.

4. Rank the offers. Rank them based on their price and terms, and separate any cash offers. Cash offers should take priority in this market. Let’s face it, cash is king, and cash offers typically have few to no contingencies. A financed offer could take 30 to 45 days just to close.

Negotiating a purchase agreement is a delicate process. You need an experienced real estate professional in your corner who can guide you through the process to have success. 

If you have any real estate-related questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here are three mistakes that today’s home sellers should not be making.

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Most home sellers understand that they’re in a seller’s market right now. However, this can lead to false confidence and costly mistakes. Here are three mistakes that I see sellers making in this market that you need to avoid at all costs:

1. Not knowing how to market their property. Homeowners not understanding how to present offers and market their properties can be a huge problem, especially when cash offers are involved. If a seller doesn't fully understand the delicacy of negotiating finances and cash offers, it could end up costing them all of the offers.

2. Not getting their home show-ready. When I work with home sellers, I like to get their homes sales-cleaned and have their lawns prepped for showings. This is different from your typical cleaning. A sales cleaning is a deep clean and declutter that gets your home in tip-top shape. I highly recommend putting fresh mulch in and getting rid of dead plants to dramatically increase your curb appeal.

3. Hiring an inexperienced agent. New agents simply don’t have the necessary skills to get you the best deal in this market. This could be a very costly mistake of tens of thousands of dollars. If you're selling your property and want top dollar, you should really hire a person with a lot of experience in marketing and listing homes in your area.

If you have any questions for me about selling your home, other mistakes to avoid, or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here’s why you shouldn’t simply transfer your house to your kids.

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I work with a lot of retirees, and one of the questions that I often get is: “Should I transfer my home to my kids’ names?”

The short answer is probably not. Let's say you purchased a property for $300,000, and it appreciates to $500,000. If you put the house in your kids’ names, they then become responsible for the taxes on the $200,000 of profit. Instead, the best thing you can do is put the house in a living trust, so when you pass away, they will inherit the property with no probate. They will also receive a step-up in cost basis, which allows them to receive the property tax-free.

If you have any questions about the Treasure Coast real estate market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.