It’s October. What’s exciting about October? The weather starts to change, and Octoberfests of all types are taking place. Cheers! The Pumpkins are at the grocery store, which is just festive and happy (or maybe I just feel that way because orange is one of my favorite colors). Halloween is coming, and that’s important to adults because it is the official “candy calories don’t count” Day!, and for the pumpkin spice aficionados, you can enjoy it everywhere and in all kinds of ways. Those are all fun October activities, but it is also the month when so many different sports are happening at the same time. Football is fully underway, we have college, pro, and high school. Baseball’s world series is coming. Unfortunately the Tampa Bay Rays will not continue the Champa Bay streak. Oh and we have preseason hockey and basketball too. And NASCAR is still revving it's engines driving in circles. So, there is a lot of tailgating and cheering going on! Competition is in the air. The real estate market is competitive—maybe we need to start tailgating parties at new listings and hand out those foam hands that say #1. It seems like Ray and I take on the role of coach as we work with our customers and the game plan is drafted –whether the game plan is the pricing and marketing of a new listing or the game plan for writing the offer that will win. It takes research and knowing the competition. Rather than game film to watch we have the MLS (the Multiple Listing Service where all real estate information originates) data to study. Once we have the purchase agreement we work as personal trainers and cheerleaders as we go for the big win—the closing!
The market inventory is slowly building up. We still have yards to go for a first down, but we are getting closer to field goal range (it might resemble the kicking game of the Packers and the Bengals the other night) Having more homes on the market is good for everyone. It brings the real estate market closer to being a balanced market. Balanced is good. Everyone involved with real estate wants that; from Brokers, to real estate agents, to buyers and sellers. You know, it’s much more fun to watch a game with evenly qualified opponents. The game is much more exciting for all.
Here are two stories where we coached and cheered to the score. Click on the links to read our newest editions of"Said YES to the Address" blogs:
They Wanted to Live where they vacation...
October Real Estate Market News
In the past few market newsletters we have shared stats for single family homes. Let’s look at the condo market this time. Now, please remember there are so many variables for condos. Do you have pets, if so what size? Are you ok with a second floor unit or higher? What types of amenities are you looking for in the community? What are the rental restrictions? What I have selected are the basics: two or more bedrooms , 2 bathrooms, all between 800 and 1500 square feet which allow PETS.
Sarasota County: Active on the Market:57 Price Range:$138k to over $1M Sold in last 30 days:77 Average Days on the Market: 8
Manatee County: Active on the Market: 44 Price Range: $109k to over $1M Sold in last 30 days: 69 Average Days on the Market: 14
Charlotte County: Active on the Market:22 Price Range:$125k to one on Boca Grande for over $1M Sold in last 30 days:27 Average Days on the Market:61
The graphic below shows data for ALL properties in our MLS. Our Stellar MLS covers the majority of the state of Florida.
As a PSA: (When Ray shared this pic I laughed.)
When you hire out work make sure everyone is on the same page.
Hope everyone has a wonderful October!
#maryraywestbrook
#sunshinestate