BayWatch News │ February, 2016 Issue
As you read this BayWatch issue our season is in full swing. Regarding real estate, it is well documented that inventory is more limited than in years past. 2015 proved to be very fast and furious with sales accelerating, homes being on the market for far fewer days before selling, and according to the local Multiple Listing System’s statistics more properties selling for more than the asking price than in any year since 2005. But would you believe that the inventory of 2016 mirrors that of 2015?
When many of you left town this past spring, inventory was seemingly down to nothing, as there were only 60 resale properties for sale in the first week of May 2015 – a far cry from the days of 200 to 250 properties being for sale in 2010 and 2011. Fast forward to the first week of January 2016 where inventory ticked up only slightly to 77 resale properties for sale. But sure enough, back in the first week of January 2015 there were only 76 resale properties for sale.
So are we on the verge of repeating the frenzied buying season that was 2015? We regularly hear how 202,000 people per year are moving Florida from other states, and how 10,000 baby boomers retire each day. This can only further fuel our real estate market.
If you’re a buyer, it might be wise to make your move. It is hard to find a better real estate investment than to be in Bonita Bay. There is not a more amenity rich community with such close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, almost no distance the way the egret flies.
And if you’re a seller, benefit from this strong market with your pricing yet at the same time know that the Bonita Bay buyer is savvy. Understand that if your property is greatly overpriced it is likely you will not sell. But with this limited inventory and high demand, insist that your broker use all the tools in helping you gain the maximum selling price – hire professional photographers to help make the proper first impression then make the property known to all via the Multiple Listing Service, on web portals such as Zillow.com and through a strong marketing campaign. And definitely make the property available to the buying public immediately. With your beautiful home do as Estee Lauder when she said, “when I believe in something I sell it and I sell it hard.”
After all, as you read this BayWatch issue on or around February 1, know that Easter Sunday is only 55 days away. Season comes and goes quickly.
Gary L. Jaarda, Jeff & Becky Jaarda, Broker Associates, John R. Wood Properties