Category: Fort Myers

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Ellis Team Hiring Inside Sales Agents

The Ellis Team at Keller Williams Fort Myers & The Islands is hiring inside sales agents as well as listing and buyer specialists.  An inside sales agent is different than a listing specialist or buyer specialist in that inside sales agents don’t have to leave the office.

Ellis Team Hiring Inside Sales Agents
Ellis Team Hiring Inside Sales Agents and Buyer Specialists

Read more about Ellis Team Shaking up the SW Florida Real Estate Industry  We have buyer and seller leads from several sources.  One way we obtain seller leads is when sellers fill out our online property valuation form to find out what their home is worth online.  Sellers love this service as they get an online valuation instantly, and the system will email them monthly changes in the market and if their property has increased or decreased in value.

Another way we receive seller leads is our Neighborhood Market Reports.  Sellers love this page because they can see what homes are selling for in their neighborhood with quick statistics like Average Days on Market, List Price Per Sq Ft, Sold Price Per Sq Ft, and more.  Complete photo galleries are available for each home along with maps and data so a seller can objectively see how their home compares in the marketplace.

Buyers love our MLS Property Search Site as well.  They receive access to all the homes listed in MLS and the database is updated every 5 minutes, so they will receive information faster than most Realtors will.

Our SW Florida Seller’s Club is attracting sellers too.  We send out a private email to current and potential sellers in the club and they receive access to monthly expert analysis to data the top Realtors in Lee County look at.  This data helps them evaluate pricing trends in the market and allows them to make quicker, better decisions.  We posted our July 2016 Seller’s Club video here so you can see what seller’s receive each month in the private email.

We’d love to hire a few great inside sales agents in the next week or two and add some listing and buyer specialists as well.  If you know someone willing to work hard and has what it takes to be successful in the real estate industry, please give us a call at 239-489-4042  Ask for Brett Ellis or Sande Ellis.

The Ellis Team works the Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers Beach, North Ft Myers, Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island, and Lehigh Acres real estate market

Ellis Team – Keller Williams Fort Myers & the Islands
12840 University Dr
Fort Myers, FL 33907

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Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group in Fort Myers Moves to Keller Williams

The Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group in Fort Myers moves to Keller Williams after 30 years.  Our websites and phone numbers all stay the same, only the name on the door and the location changes.

Ellis Team Keller Williams Fort Myers SW Florida real estate

Our new address is:

Ellis Team Keller Williams Fort Myers & The Islands
12480 University Dr
Fort Myers, FL  33907

239-489-4042

Our SW Florida Real Estate MLS search site remains the same.

Sande and Brett Ellis continue to serve the SW Florida real estate market and look forward to helping you with your real estate needs.  Our team remains the same.  We have buyer specialists on the team to help you find your property in paradise and Brett and Sande list, sell, and negotiate contracts.  The Ellis team are leads in the SW Florida real estate market and employ dynamic and unique ways to get your home sold.

If you’re thinking about selling Always Call the Ellis Team!  We have developed a marketing system so unique you have to see it to believe.  Our listings are selling 19.7% faster than the average agent and for 3.02% more than the average agent.   That’s real money in your pocket at closing.

We can coordinate the sale of your home and help you find a new home if you’re staying in the Lee or Collier County area.  We also have a moving truck you can use for free.

If you’re thinking of making a move you might be interested in our Market Reports section on our website.  There you will find a list of active properties, pending sales, and sold properties in the last 6 months in your neighborhood.  If you don’t see your neighborhood listed you can always do a custom search and save it.  The site calculates time on market, average price per square foot, and lets you look at each listing along with a photo gallery of each comparable.  Sellers find this tool an invaluable asset.

You can also get a Free online computerized home evaluation of your home.  Of course, if you’re serious about selling your home, Sande or Brett will be happy to visit your home and give you a more detailed analysis.

We look forward to serving all your SW Florida real estate needs.

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SW Florida Home Prices up 8.1% in June 2014

SW Florida Home Prices Rise

Local numbers were just released and June 2014 single family home sales were up 8.1% over last year with a median sales price of $200,000.  That’s up from $185,000 last year and up from $195,000 last month.

SW Florida Home Prices Fort Myers Real Estate Market Update July 2014
SW Florida Real Estate Single Family Home Sales

Average SW Florida home prices have been holding steady all year around $300,000, bouncing between $299,000 and $319,000.  Median prices are definitely up for the year while average sale prices are level.

Listing inventory is falling as it usually does this time of year, however it is up from last year about 5%.  This is a positive sign and indicative of a healthy market. There will always be a level of homes that never sell because they are priced too high for what they offer.  Having more inventory creates visible competition for sellers.  When prices outpace the market, buyers shut off like a hose spicket. We have not seen that, but there is invisible competition coming to the market some sellers may not be aware of.

SW Florida Home Prices and Listing Inventory
SW Florida Real Estate Market Listing Inventory July 2014

We’ve been warning sellers for months that new home inventory is arriving.  Builders have been ramping up and we know of many new homes coming to the market and available starting in September.  These new homes will add to the inventory, but they won’t show up in the numbers.  Sellers won’t necessarily know about them, but buyers will.

Nationally inventories are at their highest levels in over a year which is tempering price gains.  We could see the same here in SW Florida heading into next year.  What’s different in SW Florida versus the rest of the country is the economy.  Locally we have positive driving forces.  Companies are hiring and relocating here.  Bringing higher paying jobs to SW Florida helps our median income.  Nationwide, wages are stagnant which keeps a lid on rising prices.

Traditionally SW Florida fares well against the national real estate market, although it does affect us to some extent. Some people need to sell up North before buying here.  In the past 7 years or so SW Florida trailed the national market, so it’s kind of refreshing to lead again.

Rising inventory is leading to increased sales.  We always said if we had more inventory we could surely sell it, assuming it’s fairly priced inventory.  If a home is priced over the market then it’s not really on the market.  We wish there was an index of inventory levels of correctly priced homes.

Several years ago we invented the Current Market Index which accurately predicts home sales going forward.  We’re working on a new index that measures inventory levels by price so we can determine how much of the current available inventory is actually on the market and how much is over the market and not truly available.

Next season buyers will have choices between existing homes and new homes built and ready for delivery.  We’ll be watching to see if builders can keep up the pace with delivery homes versus building on contract for a buyer.  The bottom line is this will cause sellers who wish to sell an existing home to be competitive.

Builders can offer a new never lived in home with new features, but they can’t always offer the same location.  There will always be a premium for location, i.e. west of 41 and closer to the beaches.  Many new communities are inland so the land costs will be less.

As always, if you want to sell you’ve got to price it correctly.  Many sellers are choosing to sell and purchase something else that fits their needs better today.  Interest rates are still low so it makes sense to do it now.  When rates change, some sellers may not want to make the move because the new home will cost more to finance.

The bottom line is the SW Florida real estate market is healthy and more balanced and our economy is good.  We’ll keep an eye on shifting forces and see which way it directs SW Florida home prices and by how much.

Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

View our July 2014  SW Florida Real Estate Market Update

To view our Listings in Hi Definition, visit www.HomesinHD.TV or click on our playlist below

Visit our Google+ Business Page

Feel free to view our Virtual Tours .

By Brett Ellis

Fort Myers Real Estate Agent

7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr

Fort Myers, FL 33907

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For Sale By Owner Pitfalls

For Sale By Owners are at a big disadvantage and it’s not really the seller’s fault. There are several reasons why it’s hard to sell a home By Owner. The number one factor is Fear. Buyers have a fear about the process of buying a home and without an agent all those fears bubble up. They fear they don’t know the area as well as the seller. They don’t know the neighbors. Buyers may not know the schools, etc. They don’t usually know how to structure a contract, and they don’t know financing. Buyers have never lived in the home, but the seller has. Buyers feel at a big disadvantage, so their fear leads them to the second biggest issue, which is trust. Buyers become skeptical because they realize they’re not holding many of the knowledge cards; the seller is. The seller knows much more about the home and the neighbors than the buyer. There isn’t an agent as a go-between so there is a lack of trust. This lack of trust is born out of fear.

For Sale By Owner Fort Myers
Pitfalls of Selling By Owner

When you have fear and lack of trust, any potential transaction is shaky at best. The seller has fear and trust issues too. The seller also does not understand financing, insurance, etc. The seller is fearful that the buyer may not be able to qualify or is telling them the whole story. There is no agent to verify certain facts, so the seller must ask the tough questions themselves. Buyers don’t like to divulge confidential financial information to the seller as they would a seasoned professional like an agent. Buyers trust their agent; they don’t trust a seller they don’t know. The seller doesn’t trust a buyer they don’t know, and there begins the cycle of distrust, which elevates fear. Buyers and sellers don’t negotiate with other buyers and sellers everyday, all day long. The questions they do ask come across as personal, so they get evasive answers. Buyers and sellers treat each other at arms length because they know whatever they say could be used against them in the course of negotiation. Some buyers and sellers get cute and try to Buffalo their way with the other side. Even if they are better Buffalos, the other side typically reads they’re not getting the whole story. Complex issues arise in a transaction. Inspection issues can be sticky, not to mention insurance, survey, financing, HOA, and past permit issues, to name just a few.

For Sale By Owners Net Less Money at Closing

Recent studies have shown For Sale By Owners sell on average for 12% less than what a Realtor gets for a home. The only way a buyer would buy a For Sale By Owner is if they can save the commission and buy it under market. If they have to do all the work themselves and face that fear on their own without the help of an agent, they better get a bargain. However, the reason a seller wishes to sell By Owner is to also save the commission. Both the buyer and seller cannot save the same commission. If the seller is going to take the time to show it, advertise it, make signs, place ads, and pre-qualify each buyer they better get more than fair market value for their efforts. They must fight bank appraisers and they have nobody in their corner if they get a bad appraisal. They just lose another deal. So if sellers get on average 12% less for a home, why would they try on their own? A leading For Sale By Owner company CEO recently sold his home through a Realtor. If their company is so great, why did he resort to hiring a Realtor? Every seller wishes to maximize their bottom line but selling By Owner isn’t it. If it was easy everyone would do it. Not only is there a cost to taking less, there’s also a cost for losing deals and selling it over and over. And doing it all yourself can get discouraging. Buyers and sellers are also emotional. They don’t have a 3rd party intermediary keeping things real. Facts and logic get blurred and they can convince themselves of almost anything. If you’re thinking of buying or selling, do yourself a favor and hire a good agent. You can do it right the first time, or do it the hard way and try on your own. Hey, you might get lucky, but then again, it could turn out badly. It’s your choice. We don’t see a lot of FSBO’s today but they will always exist. We hope this article helps you analyze your options. Good luck and Happy House Hunting! View our July 2014  SW Florida Real Estate Market Update To view our Listings in Hi Definition, visit www.HomesinHD.TV or click on our playlist below Visit our Google+ Business Page Feel free to view our Virtual Tours . By Brett Ellis Fort Myers Real Estate Agent 7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr Fort Myers, FL 33907