Pricing is Key

I can not believe March will be here in a couple of days--as much as I hate to admit it, time does fly when you get older!!! Our weather this week has been beautiful, reaching the mid 70's!!

We have seen a definite increase in the real estate market since January! I do believe there are a lot of people looking to purchase and who are making plans to visit the area in March and April during their spring break.

I just wanted to talk to sellers a minute about something that has become so apparent here lately. Pricing has always been key----My mother-in-law, a Realtor in Georgia has always told me there are 3 factors that will sell a property---CONDITION, LOCATION, AND PRICE!!!
Lets start briefly with CONDITION:
In a buyer's market with a high inventory of properties---if you want to sell yours, yours has to be different from the other zillion on the market---condition is one way of making yours stand out. Fix everything that's broken, definitely add some curb appeal--flowers, plants, tropical plants work great! Fresh paint, clean carpets, ZERO CLUTTER, these are small investments to bring you a much higher price!

LOCATION: If your property is anywhere in my immediate selling area--Mexico Beach, St. Joe Beach, Port St. Joe, Overstreet, Wewahitchka You've already got great location built in!

PRICING: Here is the key! You need to account for the condition and location of course, when pricing----If you don't want to do any repairs or landscaping, then your price should reflect that---if you don't do it then the buyer has to---somebody has to spend the money! No one wants to pay top dollar for a property and then sink more money in it to use it! As for location--distance from the beach should reflect in the pricing -- you can't get gulf front prices if you are 2-3 blocks back! The most important point however is.....you must stay current with the market! The market has drastically changed since last year--if you still have last years prices on your property you are probably way over priced in today's market! Alot of seller's make the mistake of saying "We are negotiable. Its easier to negotiate down. Buyer's can always make lower offers". However, this type of thinking may result in your property being on the market for a very long time. A couple of cases to illustrate this: A home originally listed in 2005 for $350,000. It was reduced a couple of times. It finally sold in just 23 days since the listing price was reduced to $249,000, only $25,000 less than the last list price!!! Most people think $25,000 is negotiating room----for this property it made the difference between a sale and sitting on the market several more months. Another home was on the market for 435 days, reduced 7 times in that time frame and when reduced to a reasonable price was under contract in less than 2 weeks selling for that final full price! A property was under contract in 7 days selling for only $5,000 less than full price--this property was listed at $15,000 less than the other comparable properties---Did we ask too little???? Could we have gotten more???? The seller made a very fine profit and only had it on the market a very short time! Pricing is the key to a fast and profitable sale. Listen to your realtor when you ask the question "what will my property sell for?" Some questions to think about when contemplating a price----How much profit do you really need? How long can you afford to have it sit on the market? Do you really want to sell now??? Remember, it is a buyer's market just about everywhere right now---if you are going to buy another property when you sell yours---you might want to consider taking a little less now so that you can buy your new home at an equally good price. There are buyers out there---however, they are no longer willing to overpay! If you are not willing to list at a price that will sell in today's market, perhaps this is not the time for you!. So PRICING IS KEY! Be realistic, listen to your realtor and your property will sell!!!! We are at the beach for goodness sake!!!!!

Don't hesitate to post a response or give me a call or email!
Thanks and have a great week!!!!

A Cold Weekend!

I woke up this morning to ICE IN MY DOG'S WATERBOWL!! Don't you worry all you dog lover's out there-------the dog was nice and warm cuddled up in the covers IN MY BED! I could only wish that all dogs were treated like mine! Actually if all people were treated as good as my dog..........................

Anyway, mighty cold out there this morning but the sun was shining all day so it didn't seem too bad.

The Annual Mexico Beach Gumbo Cook Off was today----A huge turnout--gets bigger and bigger every year! Congratulations to Billy Bowlegs (restaurant in Port St Joe) who took first place for the professionals division. I haven't heard who won in the amateur division yet.

Don't forget to click on MB Newsletter on my website to keep up with the other local events in Mexico Beach!

Good news for the avid boater/fisherman! The City of Mexico Beach is purchasing a new dredge for the canal---one specifically built to meet our needs! The canal is one of the City's priorities this year----looks like its going to be a great year for fishing and boating!!! Also, a new boat ramp is going to be built in that area that is designated as trailer parking --west of the new bridge---its going to be a couple of years until completed but will be a huge improvement!!

As for real estate--I anticipate a pretty active spring---we have already had a good January/February for sales!! It's still a buyer's market out there but I'm not sure how long that will last if things keep going at the rate they are now. Of course, the prices are drastically reduced from last year----between the prices going down, the interest rates still low, and the high inventory---it is a great time to buy if you want a place at the beach!!

Please feel free to post a response!!
Thanks and stay warm!!!!!

MBARA fishing Video

I just received the new MBARA fishing tournament video----much better than last years! The link is below plus I will put it on my links page. Check it out---I finally figured out you can fast forward it by clicking and dragging the little button on the bottom---you'll want to know that because they have a couple different 2 minute pauses for local commercials. For those of you who don't know about the MBARA tournament---it's a king mackeral fishing tournament every August---I think for our first one we probably had 25 boats. We are now over 200 boats!! The year before last we had well over 100 and Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on us------these are some dedicated (I don't want to say crazy) fishermen!!!!!! We have a great Captains party on Friday night with beer and tons of sausage, door prizes......it really is a good time!!! Then of course the fishing begins Saturday morning ending at 5:00. We have the awards party Saturday night with a free fish dinner!!! http://homepage.mac.com/raycombs/mbara/iMovieTheater32.html

Now for more important issues: Real estate seems to have picked up! We have been having lots of phone calls, internet leads, walk-ins with people looking to buy. There are now about 10 single family homes in Mexico Beach and St. Joe Beach under contract! We have already closed on several this year! Of course the prices are quite a bit down from last year, so no wonder people are buying----we've got some great deals!!!!! Interest rates are still low too!!!! Those who are riding the preverbial fence waiting for the bottom--------------the bottom is only derived after it starts going up so don't wait too long!!!!!!!

We've had a few days of brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr weather----however, when you watch the weather channel with cities with 30 degrees BELOW ZERO--I guess we can't complain about our 38 degrees for a few nights!!!!!! I called my family in Erie, Pennsylvania---it was ZERO degrees. We are liable to get an influx of northern residents in March when they thaw out!!!!
Just to rub it in a little---expected to reach 70 degrees today in MEXICO BEACH FLORIDA!

Well, that's all I have for now. Feel free to post your response!
Have a great week and weekend!
Mary