Seller’s market: tough competition for SWFL real estate

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- It’s your money, and your home may be worth tens of thousands of dollars more than you think.

A local realtor tells WINK News this is one of the hottest housing markets we’ve seen in a while for sellers.

It’s because there are a lot of buyers but not as many sellers, which means there’s hot competition for the homes and condos that are available.

“I’m hopeful that we won’t have too hard of time when we do put it up on the market.” Glee Stinnett plans to sell her Lee County condo any day now.

“Hopefully when we do put the place for sale, it won’t take us months and months to sell it!” Stinnett said.

According to realtor Marc Joseph, that shouldn’t happen.

“The last four transactions the last week I was involved with? They all had contracts within 48 hours of putting their house on the market. They are picking their offers right now,” Joseph said.
He tells WINK News, homes last an average of just 38 days on the market right now, and many people are paying in cold hard cash.

“You can go to the market right now with your home, and say ‘I want to sell as is. And I only want cash offers.’ And I have seen this,” he said.

Here’s his advice for getting the most bang for your buck: spruce up the curb appeal and landscaping. Add fresh mulch, even a new coat of paint, and keep spaces inside your home open and free of clutter.

He also suggests you clean the carpets, and paint the walls.

As for expensive remodels, he says, you can skip those. “I think a lot of people think I need to redo my kitchens and I need to redo my bathrooms. You do not need to do this,” he said.

“Last year was a really bad winter in the North and I think that has brought a lot more people down. A lot more people are looking! And I think that’s really helped the resales,” said Stinnett.

Another piece of advice, you may not think about? Joseph says if you’re selling your home, you should take down family portraits, so potential buyers wont feel like they’re taking over someone else’s space.