The following MLS statistics compare 2016 to 2015 - Marco Island properties only.
Total Value of All Property Sold on Marco Island DOWN 14% ($662 Million vs. $766 Million)
Total Number of Sales on Marco Island (All Property Types) DOWN 17% (978 vs. 1,179)
Number of Sold Single Family Homes DOWN 8% (364 vs. 392)
Number of Sold Condominiums DOWN 19% (480 vs 590)
Number of Sold Single Family Vacant Lots DOWN 37% (179 vs.148)
Average Sale Price of a Single Family Homes Sold was $944,000 UP 4% from $914,000
Average Sale Price of a Condominium Sold was $522,000 DOWN 5% from $551,000
Average Sale Price of a Single Family Vacant Lot was $533,000 UP 28% from $418,000
The List to sell Ratio DECREASED 1.36% from 93.97% to 92.69%. This means that on average properties sold within 7.31% of their asking price. Put another way, the average sale price was negotiated down 7.31% from the asking price.
Average days a sold property was on the market DECREASED 9% from 187 days to 172 days.
This means properties are selling quicker. (In this case the RED is good)
Current Inventory of Single Family Homes is UP 1% (375 vs.371)
Current Inventory of Condominiums is UP 13% (392 vs. 348)
Current Inventory of Vacant Single Family Lots is DOWN 11% (286 vs. 322)
State Of The Real Estate Market Address
2016 turned out to be a super biggly year with $622 Million dollars of Real Estate changing hands, but way off the $766 Million we had sell last year. There is so much red ink above you ask "What's up with that Doc?" (remember I am the self proclaimed Dr. of Real Estate) As always, I'll tell you what; the debates then the election caused 80% of the slowdown when compared to last year. Everybody was in a tizzy and took their eye off the ball. This isn't something the Doc hadn't talked about before, so none of the 7.6 people reading this are any more enlightened than before we all became big winners. So now you ask, if the election caused 80% of the slowdown, what caused the other 20%? Great question. My gut reaction is to say "greed", but I'm to couth to say that. Ultimately, I think we need to keep our good eye on the average sale price and the number of properties that sell. If you look at the lots above, the average sale price is up 28%, but the number of lots sold is down 37%. The average sales price of a single family home is up 4%, but the number of homes sold is down 8%. This makes me feel itchy because it appears that higher end properties are selling, causing the average sale price to go up, but overall fewer properties are selling because the middle and lower end buyers are throwing in the towel as the prices in those segments have previously risen. However, the average sales price for condos went down 5%, but the number of condos sold also went down 19% which goes against my so called logic. Why? I'll tell you why, it's called an anomaly. That's the fancy word I'm told you use when something isn't what it's supposed to be. Or, condo buyers just haven't figured out that the average price is going down and they're supposed to be buying now. You know, condo dwellers are just a whole different breed and it takes them a bit longer to catch on sometimes. But, oh Nelly, when they figure it out they're gonna be on it like the the Pats D was on Roethlisberger last week. Or, the reality is there were a ton of high end condo sales in 2015 and not so many in 2016, so the average sale price simply went down. All kidding aside, I think the average price is pushing up a bit and Buyer's may need to re-acclimate themselves to the higher market, if they don't, then the Seller's better start re-acclimating themselves to bring the market down to the Buyer's comfort level. To give you a hint as to which way this is heading, in the last two months or so, there have been 271 price reductions in the MLS and 18 price increases. Do the math. And another little tip: keep an eye on the list to sell ratio at the top of the newsletter, as it gets bigger that means sellers are taking lower offers. Here is a real life example. I have a condo listed at $1M and the last comparable unit sold for $950,000. An offer comes in at $920k, seller counters at $980k. Buyer comes up to $940k. Seller counters at $975k. Buyer comes up to $950 and sez "Final". Seller comes back at $975k and sez"Final". Commissions get a haircut which puts us $20K apart. In this case the deal died because the Buyer was only willing to pay what the last comp sold for and the Seller wanted more than that. We couldn't bridge the gap so the Buyer moved on to another comparable unit that was on the market longer and actually had a higher asking price, but that Seller capitulated (gave in) and the deal was closed at $950K. That was a good deal for all, and do you know what the definition of a good deal is?....when both sides think they won. All in all, I predict 2017 will be a banner year because the 7.6 faithful will share this newsletter with the biggest crowd ever and word will spread throughout the Greatest Country. As I write this the DOW just closed over 20,000 for the first time. Therefore, I encourage you to sell all your stocks and get yourself some of this.
Now, because I am psychic I know you're calculating $622M x an average commission of 5% equals $31M. Then you divided that by the 600 or so Realtors on Marco Island and you come to find out that on average I am making $52,000 in commissions. I figure 7.5 of the 7.6 people reading this make much more than $52,000 and right about this time you should feel sorry for me only bringing home $52 large. Now listen, I got bills to pay and nuts to crack. Barbs dang scar makeup alone is now costing me thousands. (I have included her most recent photo below mine in this email so you can see how well she's progressing) Anyway, I have a plan to make more money and here's how it works. I'm going to build a wall, a big wall, the biggest wall ever across Collier Blvd. at the foot of the bridge. This wall is going to keep out any new Realtors. The new Realtors will simply see the wall, turn around and go sell somewhere else, because most Realtors have very short attention spans and they don't want to wait for that next commission. Now, the Seller's are stuck on this side of the wall with me, so they're a captive audience. The Buyer's that want to come to Marco need to call me, email me, text me or Tweet me and I will give you the secret password. You whisper this password to the guard on the other side of the wall and things will happen. Great things. Big things. I'm so excited about these things I can't wait. Now, if I can just figure out how to pay for the wall.....
Now for the high and low awards of 2016: A single family home at 1331 6th street sold for $254,800 and 188 South Beach Drive in Hideaway sold for $5,350,000. A condo inSeabreeze South sold for $78,225 and the Penthouse in the Veracruz (which was owned by a local starving Realtor) sold for $7,250,000. And for lots we have 211 Second Ave selling for $72,000 and 1539 Heights Court closed for a paltry $5,300,000. Congratulations to all the 2016 high and low winners!
As always, I apologize to the Rattlers for my freestyle punctuation and/or spelling.
I recently had a customer in my office that made a great sacrifice for our country. So, to Dan and all of you that served, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
And for those of you that don't know, we lost our Mitzi girl on Christmas morning after 16 and a half years. We love her and miss her.
Lastly, I will never be out thought or out fought, just ask Chuckie, Snowflake or Donald Jr.
Gerry Rosenblum
Broker Associate
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty
Realtors
2008 Realtor of The Year - Marco Island
239-450-4770 (cell)
1-888-239-5131 (toll-free e-fax)
1-800-237-8817 (toll-free)
To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com
1-888-239-5131 (toll-free e-fax)
1-800-237-8817 (toll-free)
To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com
