Florida's inventory of homes listed for sale by owner, flat fee MLS listings and traditional 6% listings have been dropping steadily since 2008
Florida's inventory of homes listed for sale by owner, flat fee MLS listings and traditional 6% listings have been dropping steadily since 2008. This trend coupled with the new loan modification initiatives imposed on lenders by the Obama Administration is helping stabilize Florida's real estate market.
But, there has been no appreciable gain in price for homeowners trying to sell.
I am Keith Gordon, broker and co-owner of ADDvantage® (GetMoreOffers.com), a Florida flat fee MLS listing company based in Tampa Bay. I belong to most Florida MLS Realtors Associations from the Florida Keys, Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando, Ocala, Panhandle, Naples, Ft. Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, and of many more. I have firsthand experience on sales throughout Florida and find short-sales and bank owned properties pressuring values. Until we see more straight-sales and fewer distressed sales the outlook remains challenged.
Most sales we make at ADDvantage® are challenged by the buyer's agent CMA (comparable market analysis) and the appraisal once a contract is consummated. Before an offer is made, the buyer's agent typically researches all comparable sales and uses that information to persuade the seller to drop price and accept their offer. When I negotiate for our sellers through our contract-to-close plan Professional ADDvantage™, I counter their CMA attack by using my market knowledge and the buyer's motivation to get past CMA value and focus more on what the buyer feels the property is worth, not their agent.
What buyer's agents often fail to communicate is that they, just like me, are messengers for buyers and sellers. We facilitate sales with knowledge. There is nothing that says buyer's agent must drive offers lower and scrape every penny off the deal to impress their buyer client. This actually works to the detriment of them and their buyer client because Realtors paint an unrealistic picture of value. Just last week I received an offer on an Professional ADDvantage™ listing for $710,000. I immediately asked the Realtor (buyer's agent) what she thought the BPO (Brokers Price Opinion-fast sale value) was for that listing. She said $740,000. The highest I was able to negotiate that deal was under $730,000. This buyer, through the advice (CMA) of the buyer's agent, wouldn't even offer the BPO price of $740,000 which is where a short sale might sell. This doesn't help the buyer.
I also represent buyers in short sales, bank-owned, and straight-sales. I know my responsibility is to facilitate, motivate, and inform. Value is not necessarily dictated by a CMA. There are other factors such as timing to move, stress, and not playing the role of deal-breaker.
Our business model at ADDvantage® (GetMoreOffers.com) is working well for the sellers and buyers. We save our Florida sellers at least 3% over a traditional 6% listing which allows the seller to list 3% lower.
We are the messengers for our flat fee MLS clients from Mon-Thu 9AM-7PM, Fri 9AM-5:30PM, Sat 9AM-5PM, Sun 9AM-4PM. We are responsible for phone support, showings, feedback, Internet marketing, accurate and timely MLS edits, and contract-to-close negotiations for our Professional ADDvantage™ clients.
Our sellers control most aspects of their flat fee MLS listing at ADDvantage®. Through an easy-to-use seller control panel, each seller can change price, commission, edit their listing, change pictures, view their website hits, change between programs, send a message, view their MLS listing, print a property brochure, upload documents such as survey, seller's disclosure, HOA disclosure and much more.
Because we have been developing our flat fee listing MLS software for 6 years, we have advanced our systems to the point where everyone is on the same page seamlessly 24/7. Our systems are 100% electronic. For example, Realtor feedback is gathered the day after each showing by email. For our Professional ADDvantage™ clients, we call each showing Realtor for feedback which is then emailed and stored in each seller's account. Every call that comes into ADDvantage® is record into the appropriate account and an email is sent to the seller. Any time a client drops price an email is sent to any past showing Realtors or un-represented buyer informing them of the new price drop which generates more sales and offers. When we represent sellers, every detail of the closing process is recorded in their account. This is just a small sample of the details that we pay attention to every day at ADDvantage®. We do this work as messengers. We are paid to advertise, service, negotiate, and be efficient.
ADDvantage® is the most advanced discount real estate brokerage in Florida.
Call us anytime and we would be glad to answer any questions for you about our flat fee MLS listing plans. 727-942-2929 or 1-877-232-9695.
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