Daytona Beach Area Real Estate Blog

Daytona Beach real estate sellers: I believe you'll appreciate this compilation of real estate data, which can help you see the big picture when it comes to selling your Daytona Beach house, condo, townhouse, vacant land, or any type of investment property. It's not just about how much your neighbors are asking for their house. It's not even about the last 6 months of comparable real estate sales. In recent months, many lenders have wanted to see only 3 months of recent sales data. And while sales have been improving, the improvement has been in small increments, and many of the sales have been foreclosures.

In case you're wondering, your buyer's appraiser WILL include the foreclosures when they appraise your home. Unfortunately, the lender (who decides who will handle the appraisal) will dictate how the appraisal must be done. And if they feel there's even the slightest chance that the local real estate market has not finished correcting itself, the lender will personally adjust the appraised value downward. So yes, those foreclosed (IE: Real Estate Owned, or REO) sales DO count!

So when your REALTOR® (or real estate agent) brings you the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for your Daytona Beach real estate listing; in order to determine your asking and eventual sales price, you will find REO sales included. And unless there is positive  proof that local real estate values are improving, then you'll need to do your best to take a step back, and view your listing through the eyes of a buyer...

Depending on what type of real estate you're selling, IE: a house, townhouse, condo, vacant land, or any type of investment property; how does it compare to whatever other properties are on the market, that your potential buyer will be viewing? This is why having a REALTOR® is so important. REALTORS® are not emotionally attached to your home, therefore we can give you an objective analysis. So please don't shoot the messenger! =)

Daytona Beach real estate buyers: You've probably just read the paragraphs above, and are mulling it over in your mind, thinking about how that information can benefit you. Well obviously, like the lenders, you don't want to pay a price that seems fair right now, only to find out the local real estate values are still in decline. But while you can certainly accept a deal, it's unreasonable to expect many sellers (banks included) to give you a "steal". This is why both sellers and buyers of real estate need an honest, knowledgeable, BOLD, REALTOR® who will provide the cold hard facts, no matter what.

Real estate buyers, you can use this information to help you determine the value of your next potential home, and how much to offer and/or invest, whether it's a house, manufactured home, townhouse, duplex or condo. The following chart contains data from the Daytona Beach Area Association of REALTORS®, and shows the total sales-to-date for the city of Daytona Beach.

The following bar graph shows the real estate sales data for the city of Daytona Beach or the last decade. As I've shown in previous posts about our local real estate market statistics, there was a steep drop in real estate sales in 2006, while at the same time, there was a drastic increase in the number of listings that went on the market. At that point, the supply exceeded the demand by so much that if no other properties came on the market, it would have taken 2.5 years to sell the amount of inventory in the Daytona Beach Area Multiple Listing Association (MLS). Then, as properties began going into foreclosure, there was a slight drop in the number of properties being listed, but the number of sales also decreased even more. 2008 then showed another slight increase, and 2009 also showed some better statistcs. However, the values ARE still declining! And many recent sales were bank-owned listings. We'll be addressing those numbers in upcoming posts.

Here are some other posts about Volusia County real estate sales in the last couple of years. These links are all about our real estate market since the decline began.

Daytona Beach Real Estate Sales History, 2000-2009 (Year-to-Date)

2009 Year-End Reports Daytona Beach Area -Volusia County- Real Estate Market. Good News!

Daytona Beach Real Estate: 2007 year in review

YES! I Will Hold Open Houses for My Real Estate Sellers!

For information on buying or selling real estate anywhere in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Florida Property Experts.

Daytona Beach Shores real estate sellers: I believe you'll appreciate this compilation of real estate data, which can help you see the big picture when it comes to selling your Daytona Beach house, condo, townhouse, vacant land, or any type of investment property. It's not just about how much your neighbors are asking for their house. It's not even about the last 6 months of comparable real estate sales. In recent months, many lenders have wanted to see only 3 months of recent sales data. And while sales have been improving, the improvement has been in small increments, and many of the sales have been foreclosures.

In case you're wondering, your buyer's appraiser WILL include the foreclosures when they appraise your home. Unfortunately, the lender (who decides who will handle the appraisal) will dictate how the appraisal must be done. And if they feel there's even the slightest chance that the local real estate market has not finished correcting itself, the lender will personally adjust the appraised value downward. So yes, those foreclosed (IE: Real Estate Owned, or REO) sales DO count!

So when your REALTOR® brings you the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for your Daytona Beach real estate listing; in order to determine your asking and eventual sales price, you will find REO sales included. And unless there is positive  proof that local real estate values are improving, then you'll need to do your best to take a step back, and view your listing through the eyes of a buyer...

Depending on what type of real estate you're selling, IE: a house, townhouse, condo, vacant land, or any type of investment property; how does it compare to whatever other properties are on the market, that your potential buyer will be viewing? This is why having a REALTOR® is so important. REALTORS® are not emotionally attached to your home, therefore we can give you an objective analysis. So please don't shoot the messenger! =)

Daytona Beach real estate buyers: You've probably just read the paragraphs above, and are mulling it over in your mind, thinking about how that information can benefit you. Well obviously, like the lenders, you don't want to pay a price that seems fair right now, only to find out the local real estate values are still in decline. But while you can certainly accept a deal, it's unreasonable to expect many sellers (banks included) to give you a "steal". This is why both sellers and buyers of real estate need an honest, knowledgeable, BOLD, REALTOR® who will provide the cold hard facts, no matter what.

I believe you'll appreciate this information, which will help you determine the value of your next potential home, and how much to offer and/or invest, whether it's a house, manufactured home, townhouse, duplex or condo. The following chart contains data from the Daytona Beach Area Association of REALTORS®, and shows the total sales-to-date for the city of Daytona Beach.

The following bar graph shows the real estate sales data for the city of Daytona Beach or the last decade. As I've shown in previous posts about our local real estate market statistics, there was a steep drop in real estate sales in 2006, while at the same time, there was a drastic increase in the number of listings that went on the market. At that point, the supply exceeded the demand by so much that if no other properties came on the market, it would have taken 2.5 years to sell the amount of inventory in the Daytona Beach Area Multiple Listing Association (MLS). Then, as properties began going into foreclosure, there was a slight drop in the number of properties being listed, but the number of sales also decreased even more. 2008 sales remained about the same, then 2009 also showed some better statistcs. However, the values ARE still declining! And many recent sales were bank-owned listings. We'll be addressing those numbers in upcoming posts.

Here are some other posts about Volusia County real estate sales in the last couple of years. These links are all about our real estate market since the decline began.

Daytona Beach Real Estate Sales History, 2000-2009 (Year-to-Date)

2009 Year-End Reports Daytona Beach Area -Volusia County- Real Estate Market. Good News!

Daytona Beach Real Estate: 2007 year in review

YES! I Will Hold Open Houses for My Real Estate Sellers!

For information on buying or selling real estate anywhere in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Florida Property Experts.

Holding Open Houses for Real Estate Sellers

Holding Open Houses for Real Estate Buyers and Sellers. Lisa Hill's Real Estate Blog

I recently read a blog post from a REALTOR® (yes, it was a REALTOR®... IE: Member of their local Association of REALTORS® and subscriber of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics... not only a real estate agent) who absolutely refuses to do open houses, no matter what. Now this particular agent was very well educated on the statistics of how buyers find the real estate properties they buy. And many good reasons were given as to why open houses were not productive.

Statistics given, which were obtained from the National Association of REALTORS® were...

• Approximately 90% of all real estate buyers now begin their real estate search online.

• 36% of those buyers actually find the house they eventually buy, from their online data.

• 36% find their home from their REALTOR® (Click here for differences between REALTORS® and real estate agents) most likely through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and their own knowledge of current market listings.

• 12% will find their home from a yard sign.

• 6% will find the house they purchase from a friend, neighbor or relative.

• 5% will purchase new construction from the builder and/or builder's agents

• 5% is unreported.

Now I don't begrudge this particular agent for refusing to hold open houses. Based on the data he received, there seems to be no apparent reason to do so. But what about the 5% that was not accounted for?   And what about the houses that I personally have sold, directly from an open house?  And what about the fact that our Code of Ethics requires us to work FOR our clients. It's not about what we want. It's about what the client wants.

Of course, we should present this data from the NAR to the seller, and let them decide. But as any real estate professional knows, real estate statistics are "hyper-local" IE: even from city-to-city, the data may not be accurate It needs to be examined from neighborhood-to-neighborhood, and sometimes even from street-to-street! Therefore, a nationwide, general report is not completely accurate. It's a display of wide-scale averages.

So in summary, as a REALTOR®, I will educate my clients; we will discuss their options; and together, we will decide what is best for them. As I read another post that spawned from the one stating the absolute refusal to hold any open houses, Laurie Mindnich, who sells real estate in Long Island, made some good points as well.

Perhaps this is another example of hyper-local real estate. In our area, open houses are not common, but they CAN be effective. And until the level of effectiveness is at zero, I'll do open houses for my sellers.... not to mention the leads I get from a couple of hours spent catching up on paperwork, writing a blog, or whatever productive way I can find to spend my time while sitting at an open house."

And my comment on Laurie's post: "....we should do whatever our clients want us to do. THEY are who WE work for! And sometimes that means pointing out all the reasons why something they don't want, may actually be in their best interests!"

Are you a real estate buyer or a real estate seller in the Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Ponce Inlet or anywhere in the East Volusia County area? Make a Smart Choice today, and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs!

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com