“Holiday Season is upon us”… I’m here reflecting on this year’s business and blessings as many of you might be doing, but what follows is something I try my best to forewarn all potential clients of mistakes made in real estate while going un-represented. As Realtors, we know we can’t capture 100% of our previous clients’ new transactions, but it’s really disturbing to find one that went un-represented that should have had much better results.
I ran across such a transaction where a previous client made several mistakes and left close to $90,000 on the table. Now this client, while college-educated, accomplished leader in his own chosen profession, thought he had the whereabouts to conduct his own real estate transaction un-represented.
His primary mistake was the determination of property value. Somehow, he or the buyer determined the property value which was calculated at 40-50% less than the average value per sq ft for a home at the time. Secondly, he sold the property to a private individual without public marketing, which would have gauged if the value was in line with the market. Lastly, the buyer happened to be a licensed real estate agent, which the agent, if acting in good ethical standards, should have known the value was misrepresented and should have advised the seller to get an agent. Who knows how the closing statement was calculated since many of the fees are common to each party but can be manipulated to favor different parties of the transaction.
In the end, the seller agreed to the sales price and the transaction process while not paying a real estate commission and may have thought it was an equitable deal. The buyer then, a licensed agent, repositioned the property a few months later and sold it without any further improvements for close to $90,000 more than they purchased it for.
Lesson here today… had the original seller secured a real estate professional to market his property, and paid a commission for the services, his payout would have been 40-50% more than he received initially. He saved a dollar in commission for a loss of $10 in the sales contract price. I will state it again, if you are contemplating a real estate transaction, buying or selling, please secure professional representation from a licensed Realtor®. Your benefits received more than outweigh any
savings you may think you get from doing it without representation and commission expense.
As we look at the Plant City housing data, November 2023, our market area had 75 homes sell ranging from $135,000 to $1,025,000. The units sold for the month were slightly below our YTD monthly average. In addition, there were 162 homes pending contract and 211 homes active seeking buyers. There are many more buyers seeking and on the fence waiting for some downward price and mortgage rate relief.
The 75 units sold number comprised of 33 new construction homes, which will continue to be a substantial part of the data due to the new housing developments. Our town has several new communities starting to build out. Our housing inventory remains under pressure and last month increased slightly to around 2.33 months’ supply, which is still considerably less than what inventory supply should be for a normal market period. Sellers still have a slight upper hand in the transaction process, but we are seeing more buyers requesting and receiving concessions like repair or closing costs assistance. The inventory outlook will continue to be stressed and tighten up. Our ADOM, average days on the market last month was 38.4 days, a small decline in time from the previous month.
In November our average sold price was $375,404 or an average price per SF of $201.71. The average sold price for the month versus last month was stable, about the same valuation. Year-over-year values have increased about 10%. But looking at the YTD values for this year vs. last year, we show about a 5.3% improvement. Our community’s housing sold inventory consists of a fairly balanced valuation of homes, YTD over 64% of these homes sold were valued between $250,000 to $450,000. These positioned homes are the most sought-after and will sell quickly even with today’s mortgage rates. The 30-year average mortgage rates came in for the month of November at 7.44% but on a downward trend for the last 7 weeks. The first week of December the 30-year average came in at 7.03%.
The FED continues to receive some good data on the CPI, inflation and employment but is hesitant to cut rates just yet. Many economists view several rate cuts coming next year which will place downward pressure on the mortgage rates. The stock market has already changed their rate cut predictions from 3 cuts by the end of 2024 to possibly 5 rate cuts before the summer of 2024. Hopefully this trend and prediction continues to move favorably in their (Federal Reserve’s) view. Those who believe in Scrooge, I’m sorry … the real estate market did not crash, but we have a very stable and valuable market that will continue to appreciate in the coming years.
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home, please seek an experienced professional Realtor® to assist you in this transaction process. There are too many consequences, going it alone without proper experienced representation. Get the real scoop on our market. If you have any questions, want a market value analysis of your home, or see what’s available to purchase, please reach out.
M Crawford
Crawford Group
Sales Snapshot
The following residential properties were a sample listed as sold on the Greater Tampa Realtors Association MLS in Nov 2023 for the Plant City Market Area.
The home at 1004 E Tomlin St sold Nov 6 for $135,000. Built in 1945, it has 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1428 square feet of living area.
The home at 1105 E Ohio St sold Nov 8 for $200,000. Built in 1985 it has 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and 874 square feet of living area.
The home at 407 E Calhoun St sold Nov 3 for $240,000. Built in 1984 it has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath and 1675 square feet of living area.
The home at 307 W Cherry St sold Nov 21 for $287,000. Built in 1949, it has 3 bedrooms, 1bath and 1260 square feet of living area.
The home at 3520 Maple Grove Way sold Nov 13 for $320,125. Built in 2023, it has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath and 1560 square feet of living area.
The home at 530 Lindsay Anne Ct sold Nov 9 for $325,000. Built in 2004, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1315 square feet of living area.
The home at 3603 Natural Trace St sold Nov 16 for $345,000. Built in 2023, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1936 square feet of living area.
The home at 3425 Thonotosassa Rd sold Nov 13 for $350,000. Built in 1974, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1152 square feet of living area.
The home 2835 Holly Bluff Ct sold Nov 3 for $365,000. Built in 2014, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1864 square feet of living area.
The home at 1305 McGee Rd sold Nov 17 for $390,000. Built in 1959, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1672 square feet of living area.
The home at 3007 Via Parma St sold Nov 28 for $415,000. Built in 2012, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 2268 square feet of living area.
The home at 3307 Kilmer Pl sold Nov 14 for $450,000. Built in 1995, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 bath and 2169 square feet of living area.
The home at 1003 W Mahoney St sold Nov 22 for $498,000. Built in 1925, it has 5 bedrooms, 3 bath and 2513 square feet of living area.
The home at 1825 Leo Clemons Ln sold Nov 29 for $550,000. Built in 1991, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 17334 square feet of living area.
The home at 3009 Jim Johnson Rd sold Nov 16 for $685,000. Built in 1981, it has 3 bedrooms, 3 bath and 2400 square feet of living area.
The home at 1516 W Trapnell Rd sold Nov 29 for $1,025,000. Built in 2016, it has 5 bedrooms, 5 bath and 5148 square feet of living area.