Sales are Still Climbing in Tampa Bay

Published by julia | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Market Trends, Real Estate

Despite tough financial times for everyone here

It goes to show you that if you market it properly, it will sell. Even as the prices are still falling, the ability of people to get financing is a sure sign that something good is happening. Whether it be conventional or owner financing, it is happening.

A lot of short sales and foreclosure sales make up some of the numbers, but these same houses are being brokered to someone, who then has to sell them to someone else. And they need a real estate professional to list it for them. Being resilient and creative right now will pay dividends.

If you can hook up with a trusted wholesaler of houses, you can still make a decent living and feel good about it. There are a lot of people that really need a break right now. Having the ability to help someone by selling them a smaller, more affordable home will give you the ability to sell homes and make someone’s dream come true.

Hard times have fallen on hundreds of thousands of people in this market. Many have been forced from their homes and are living on the street or in shelters. There are good, honest and hardworking people that need a home to live in. Finding them a home is a prospect that should be welcomed by any real estate professional, especially right now.

While statistics show that many of the home sales are from short sales and foreclosures, there are more and more conventional sales happening every day as well. Being a successful real estate professional right now means to be flexible and able to be diverse in what you will sell. Now more so than ever if you want to survive in this market.

Finding that niche that appeals to everyone is tough. You can’t please everyone all at the same time, but you can make an effort to please most of them most of the time. Listing properties that others won’t even consider can keep you very busy, and amongst the sellers. A dollar is still a dollar.

I am not saying become a slum lord or the like just to make a dollar. I am not saying to lower your standards in any way, or sacrifice your ethics and morals either. This entire article suggests is to maybe be a little more creative when thinking about how to be more successful. Creativity is very vital right now. Every real estate professional can list a property, but can they sell it?

To be in the numbers that comprise the ‘SOLD’ list requires deeper thinking now more than ever. This doesn’t mean that the house has to given away either. Whatever the market will bear, you can get. If the house is worth it and if the seller can hold out a little longer, then be firm on the price. Maybe even get the seller to be creative with some partial financing. It just may get it ‘SOLD’.

The market has been allowing the prices to drop long enough. We all understand that in 2005 these prices were way over inflated. Now we are in the real world. Prices have fallen to historic lows after rising to unprecedented highs. But the time is now to stop the bleeding. Let’s get the prices to level off and begin to rise. Just as the sales numbers are rising, so to should be the prices. Not to levels seen in the last decade, but reasonable and affordable levels.

The bottom line is this. As more and more houses are sold, and more and more people are getting financing, the market is gaining strength. It isn’t going to happen overnight. But it will happen sooner than later if the price of each home sold from this day forward goes up instead of down. People are strapped right now, and need a hand. But what they don’t need is a handout.