Sellers often ask me, “How is the market right now for sellers?” Today, the market is extremely timely. Florida is currently “in season”. During this time of year, people from colder parts of the country shop for homes all over the state. We have beautiful weather all year long, even during the winter, which means our real estate market is always active. Yes, this is a great time to sell if you're a Vero Beach homeowner, but there are a few factors that have been trending in recent months that you should keep in mind. In the past five months, we’ve experienced rising asking prices because the market has made a strong comeback since the recession. This doesn't necessarily mean that homes are selling for more; rather, sellers have been overly aggressive with the pricing of their homes. The result has been a sharp increase in the average days on market.
As an experienced professional of over twenty years, I advise now is an excellent time to sell if it's feasible for you and your family. However, you have to be careful about how you price your home in this market. You don't want to be one of those sellers who overprice their home and have to take price reduction after price reduction while your home sits on the market for a long period of time. If you have questions about making the most of the current market, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, we’d be happy to answer your questions. Give us a call today!
Veterans Day is a very special occasion. Unfortunately, for many people it's become just a day off from work. However, Veterans Day is more than that. I like to honor our country's veterans by visiting one of my favorite places in Vero Beach: the Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary and Memorial Walk. In November of 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. He said, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."
Originally, Veterans Day was observed with parades, public meetings, and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00. Wilson also said, "Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations." On May 12, 1938, Veterans Day was declared a legal holiday dedicated to world peace. Here in Vero Beach, we have an amazing monument to our nation's veterans, the people who have preserved our freedom. We really want to thank all of our servicemen and women overseas and domestically. They are the people who work so diligently to make sure we Americans stay safe. I encourage you to visit Memorial Island. It is a beautiful place to reflect on the people who have served our country or fought in international wars to provide peace. I hope you enjoy Veterans Day with your friends and family. Happy Veterans Day! And remember, if we can help you with your real estate needs, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Today, I want to address a common question I'm asked. Specifically, they want to know if it's better to buy or rent a home based on current market conditions. Which is better: buying or renting? Most people don't know this, but the United States Federal Reserve does a study every three years of the wealth of the American people based on homeownership habits. The next study comes out in 2016, which will reveal the gap between renters and homeowners. This next report will be particularly interesting due to the recent price gains in the real estate market. These price gains mean that the gap in wealth between a homeowner and a renter could be wider than it has been in a long time!
The last report found that the average homeowner's net worth is 45 times higher than the average renter's net worth. That's a lot of money! The average homeowner's net worth is $195,400, and a typical renter is worth $5,400. Simply deciding to buy your home means you could dramatically increase your net worth! We can help you get started when it comes to buying a home. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!
Today I want to talk to you about something that is important whether you are buying or selling in Vero Beach. We are here today at one of our newest listings, and I wanted to use this great space to tie in with our topic today, home staging. Prior to us listing the home seen in the video above, it was a vacant home that was listed by another broker. The home sat on the market with this broker for a long time, and on the inside everything was pretty vanilla. The home was basically naked, as it didn’t have one piece of furniture or decoration that would elicit an emotional response. So, I started doing some research as far as what we could do to help the seller better showcase their home so it would sell for a higher price. I pulled out a report I want to share with you, the 2015 profile of home staging. A lot of the things in here are very intuitive for me after being in the business for over 20 years, but I found this one statistic very interesting. The National Association of Realtors polled their members in the last few months to determine their views and their buyers’ views on staging homes. What they found was that 49% of agents believed home staging was an important component for buyers to have desire to look at a property.
Another very telling statistic we came across was that 81% of agents said their buyers were more likely to buy a home that was staged over a home that wasn’t, which is even more impressive. If 81% of buyers will look at this one factor as a major point of interest in a home, it’s definitely something you should consider. Vacant homes aren’t the only ones that need to be staged, however. We all live in our homes and will inevitably miss a few things when it comes to preparing the home to sell. It’s nice to have a third party in there to lend an eye and help you put your best foot forward. The average seller spends between $600 and $800 on home staging, but the return is definitely worth the price, as you can see in the video above. If the look of the home doesn’t convince you, maybe this will. Home staging, on average, can get you 5-10% more money on your property than you would get if it wasn’t staged. It’s really a no-brainer! If you have any questions for us, or are thinking of selling your Vero Beach home, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!
