Marco Island Real Estate Statistics and Comments - First 6 months of 2017 vs 2016

The following statistics compare the first 2 quarters of 2017 to 2016

Sold Single Family Homes UP 21% (229 vs. 190)

Sold Condominiums UP 8%  (303 vs 280)

Sold Single Family Vacant Lots UP 43% (80 vs 56)

Average Sale Price Single Family Home UP .23% ($972k vs $969k)

Average Sale Price Condominium UP 9% (($544k vs $497k)

Average Sale Price Single Family Vacant Lot UP 4% ($589k vs $566k)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Homes Sold UP 21% ($222M vs $184M)

Total Dollar Value of all Condominiums Sold UP 18% ($165M vs $139M)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Lots Sold UP 49% ($47M vs $32M)

Current Inventory:

325 Single Family Homes (DOWN 6% from 2016) 

362 Condominiums (UP 8% from 2016)

302 Single Family Lots (DOWN 12% from 2016)

Summary:

$437 MILLION  dollars worth of Real Estate closed in the first 6 months on Marco Island which is almost half way to $ 1 B-I-L-L-I-O-N  Dollars (think Dr. Evil from Austin Powers, photo below) That's a 22% INCREASE when comparing this year to last; folks talk about making it rain commissions. For the faithful 7.6 readers that can't wait to read this each month, I have to tell you that the streak of $80 Million Dollar sales months ended at 3 because in June we only sold $75 Million worth of properties here on little ol' Marco. When I find the Realtors that were slacking in June I'm gonna throw them a beating. Just to be a sport, I was going to buy a $5 Million property on the last day of the month to keep the streak alive, but Barbara reminded me that we are saving up for her verticle transition surgery. (The doctors swear they can get her to 5'2") She does need some bone grafts so I have graciously agreed to donate some of my nose. 

Looking at all the green numbers upstairs proves just how great Marco is and why all the smart, tall, good looking people want to live here. And, if you are not smart, tall or good looking and you buy a property on Marco, your self-esteem will soar and you will actually begin to think you are getting smarter, taller and much better looking. Your friends up north will notice the difference and ask you if you're working out, or if you're taking some sort of supplement. This will make you feel good about yourself and you will begin to work smarter, not harder, and make more money. With more money, you will buy a better property on Marco and you will feel EVEN smarter, taller and better looking.  Ah, you ask for the science behind this phenomenon. This all goes back to when Ponce de Leon was looking for the fountain of youth in Florida. Old Ponce made one mistake in his calculations, it takes TWO fountains to create youth, along with smartness, tallness and good lookedness (a Gerry word). After a few hundred years some already smart, tall, good looking Marcoites built those two fountains, one over in Veterans Park and one at Residents Beach, then lo and behold all the Marcotonians started their transformation. Once we build the third fountain bald men will start to grow hair and the ladies will get whatever they want (within reason).

I have two public service announcements. First, our Lily (a.k.a. Willy) will be getting her driver's license August 1. Second, our Annie (a.k.a. Andy) will become 21 in August and will be getting her drinking license. 

They both did very well in the permit stages of these milestones and hopefully, they do well while fully licensed, bonded and insured. Happy birthdays to you both and if the faithful 7.6 want to send them cards, please address them to me and I will be sure that some of the cash in the envelopes gets to them. 

For all you American League and National League fans, I know you all want to know the monthly high and low sales just like you wanted to know who won the home run derby, yes it was Aaron Judge, so here goes. A home at 1771 Ludlow Road sold for $3,900,000, while a home at 1200 Fruitland closed for $260,000. A condo in Southwinds sold for $124,900, while Veracruz 1203 closed for $2,275,000. A vacant lot at 299 Sandhill sold for $163,000, while 1751 Ludlow Road closed for $3,000,000. Look closely and you see the high home and lot sale are both on Ludlow Road. Well, I have a tear down listed at 1645 Ludlow Road for just $1,299,000 and I highly reccomend it for you investors. Something for everyone... 

If you would like to be put on my daily update list of what is coming on the market, just send me an email and I'll plug you in. 

If you want to take Barb and me out to dinner, don't be shy, just ask!

And remember, I won't be out thought or out fought. 

Gerry Rosenblum

Broker Associate

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 

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

Marco Island Real Estate Stats and Commentary for May 2017

The following statistics compare May of 2017 to 2016

Sold Single Family Home Sales UP 9% (47 vs. 43)

Sold Condominium Sales UP 5% (60 vs 57)

Sold Single Family Vacant Lots UP 267% (11 vs 3)

Average Sale Price Single Family Home UP 9% ($991k vs $967k)

Average Sale Price Condominium UP 20% (($593k vs $495k)

Average Sale Price Single Family Vacant Lot UP 74% ($421k vs $242k)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Homes Sold UP 12% ($36M vs $28M)

Total Dollar Value of all Condominiums Sold UP 26% ($75M vs $55M)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Lots Sold UP 539% ($4.6M vs $726k)

Current Inventory:

340 Single Family Homes (DOWN 6% from 2016

371 Condominiums (Up 3% from 2016)

304 Single Family Lots (DOWN 14% from 2016)

A total of $87 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in May of 2017 compared to $71 Million dollars worth in May 2016. This makes an $80 Million dollar 3-Peat for March, April, and May. This translates into lots of happy Buyers, Sellers, Realtors, Lawyers, Home Watchers, Landscapers, Pool Cleaners, Tax Collectors and the Liquor Stores aren't complaining either. Things are clicking, the stock market is up, interest rates are still down, gas is cheap and Barbs scars are healing up nicely. I don't know if Obama put the wheels in motion, or if Trump is causing all this really, really great stuff to happen, but I hope we can all agree that it beats having crappy markets. Next year we will shoot for a $90 Million Trifecta. 

So, if you look at the numbers above you will see lot sales are up 539% dollar volume wise, 267% units sold wise and 74% average price wise. What the heck is going on with the lots! Well, if you looked back a few months ago at my newsletter you would see that I predicted that lots were heating up and the place to be. A couple of my faithful 7.6 readers heeded the Oracle of Marco's advice and made their moves. Brilliant is all I can say and I still think vacant land is a great investment. I have a few listed and one particular listing in Hideaway is a catch. DISCLAIMER: As I don't have a license to sell securities, technically I don't think I can talk about investments. Therefore, I am adjusting the sentence to read "My friend Vinny Boombats, has a friend, who has a cousin, who knows a guy on Marco, and he said you gotta buy a lot on Marco from Gerry because he said the time is right, and try the pasta over at Ciao Bella, Bada Bing." Now, when Vinny tells you to do something you do it, or bad things could happen. Just saying....

So, we hop in Sue-B (The name of Lily's car for the 7.6 that may have missed it last month) and we head out to visit some colleges up and down the eastern part of this great country. UF, USF, FSU and an FU to the guy that cut us off on route 75. We finally get out of Florida and hit some of the Southern schools in Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina. All beautiful and all great Schools. We end up as far north as New York and then we start to head back. (I went to Penn State but with what's been going on there the last few years, we crossed it off the list) On the way back I did something stupid and thought we should check out Princeton. We walked around and the architecture was highlighted by the setting sun and we all agreed it was the most beautiful campus we had seen. I guess if I donate a few million she might have a chance at getting in. Which brings up the next point, can someone lend me a few million? Or, maybe one of the 7.6 readers went there and is willing to adopt Lily so she can get in as a legacy. And like every month, you start asking yourself what does this have to do with real estate? Here is this months point.  A house sold this year in Naples for $17,700,000 (the taxes are about $130,000 per year). Is it beautiful? Yes. Is the lady of the house tall? Probably. Can you get a beautiful house on Marco for $16 Million less than $17,700,00? Yes. Will it be beautiful? Yes. Will Barb ever live there? No, she doesn't meet the height requirement. (nor can she go on the big rides at the amusement park) As always, I digress. The moral is there are great schools in great towns with great campuses. There are also great schools in great towns that cost a lot less to attend, but in the end, you will get the same thing out of them and that is the key. Marco is a great place, we have homes to fit all shapes and sizes (referring to your budget of course) and when you live here you will be a part of the Marco Island Fraternity. Would it be nice for Lily to go to Princeton, sure.  Is it feasible and/or realistic? Probably not. Can she find a beautiful campus somewhere and get a great education and become a huge success then buy a $20 Million dollar house in Naples? I hope! (I'll even give her a break on the commission)  Annie, her sister, will graduate from the New College of Florida next year and will probably tell me she wants to go to Princeton for grad school... Come on people, help me!

          ------Ultimately, I just want my family to be healthy and happy and I wish the same for all of you!-----

The sold $$ leaders for the month are... a Single Family Home for $4.4 Million at 1711 South Ludlow (asking was $5.5 million). For Condos, Veracruz 1903 closed for $2,520,000 (it was beautiful) and for Vacant lots, 741 Austin Court closed for $2,300,000

For you bargain hunters out there, a Single Family Home at 159 Cyrus Ave. closed for $375,000.  A condo in the age of Aquarius, Unit O3, closed for short money at $108,000 and a Vacant lot at 464 Worthington closed for $78,000! Again, there really is something for everyone here on Marco Island.

As always, please reach out and contact me if you have any real estate questions or want to take Barb and me out to dinner. We are busy saving up for college....

And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought. 

Gerry Rosenblum

Broker Associate

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 

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

Renoir of Annie

Marco Island Real Estate Statistics for April 2017 and Commentary

The following stats compare April 2017 to April 2016 Sold Single Family Homes UP 29% (44 vs 34) Sold Condominiums UP 12% (57 vs 51) Sold Single Family Vacant Lots UP 44% (13 vs 9) Pending Single Family Homes UP 16% (59 vs 51) Pending Condominiums DOWN 32% (48 vs 71) Pending Single Family Vacant Lots UP 113% (17 vs 8) (Pending means it went under contract but has not closed yet) Inventory: 358 Single Family Homes (DOWN 8% from 2016) 410 Condominiums (UP 16% from 2016) 315 Single Family Vacant Lots (DOWN 14% from 2016) Summary: A total of $80 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in the Month of April 2017 - $80 Million dollars worth in March 2017 and $66 Million in April 2016, last year. Back to back $80 million dollar sales months is pretty impressive for lil'ol Marco Island. I wonder what it is that we have here that so many people want? Perfect weather? nah. Great fishing? nah. Golf and Tennis? nah. The best Real Estate newsletter? a strong maybe. More tall women per capita than any other Island? (besides Amazon Island)? could be. Great Happy Hours? Tito's on the rocks please. Our sugar sand beach? possibly. Well, I could go on and on, but the answer is There is Something Great Here For Everyone. And as more and more people find out, they want to be a part of it. Remember, I view Marco as a big fraternity and we all share a common bond. Now, if my faithful 7.6 readers tell two friends, and they each buy here, then those 15.2 people tell their two friends, then those 30.4 people tell their two friends....well you get the idea. It all simply means mo' money for me and my .37 Realtor friends and longer waits at the restaurants because eventually, the whole country will be living here. But I digress, back to the numbers. The $80 million in closed sales represents properties that were put under contract about 30,60, or 90 days ago when we were in the peak season. I'm sure May will have substantial closings as well, but when you look at the pending condo sales above and see the drop from 71 to 48 in April compared to last year, I can see a bit of an easing in the condo market. Also upstairs you can see the inventory of condos for sale is on the rise which further solidifies a bit of a slowdown condo-wise. Why? I think the higher end of the condo market is fine. I think the lower end of the condo market crept up price wise to where folks may not be seeing the attractiveness of the lower priced condos. As time marches on some of these units are getting a bit tired, and when you go into some of them, see the condition, look at the asking price, it's sometimes hard to make the commitment. No, I'm not talking about Barbara. But, at the right price, everything sells and there were over 200 price reductions again in April and hope springs eternal. The third oldest woman in my condo, Lily, will be driving soon and we have been looking at cars for her. Tops on my list is a Subaru Impreza with Eyesight. This car has little cameras that "look ahead" on the road and can stop the car in an emergency and keep you in your lane if you "drift off". It also has a camera and sensors in the rear that "look behind" and will stop the car if you are going to back into something. Lastly, it has sensors that "look sideways" and will alert you if a snowbird is about to ram you. Fortunately, Bentley and Porsche don't have these safety features so I chalked them off our list. As always, about now you are wondering where this is heading and what it has to do with Real Estate. Right?  Well, stick with me. The objective is safety, whether you are buying a car, choosing a wife or buying Real Estate. If you want a safe car, buy a Subaru. If you want a safe wife, I say choose a tall one. If you want a safe Realtor, choose one that can "look behind" in the market and tell you what happened, "look to the side" and tell you what is going on, then "look ahead" and make an educated guess as to what will happen. The object is to avoid having an accident and I'm your Subaru when it comes to that. UPDATE: I was able to strong arm a Subaru dealer and we have leased Lily her first car. She named it Susanne Birdsong, thus giving the car the nickname Sue B. or Subie which Mr. Hall tells me is the Subaru street cred name. And, the second oldest woman in our house finishes her third year of college today, which makes this the BEST DAY OF THE YEAR for Annie. Next year she gets to do her thesis..... For the faithful 7.6 readers who need to know: The sold $$ leaders for the month are a Single Family Home for $3,450,000 at 233 Polynesia Court. For Condos, Royal Marco Point, Beach Cottage 20 closed for $1,500,000 and for Vacant lots, 741 Austin Court closed for $900,000. For you bargain hunters out there, a Single Family Home at 1221 Samoa closed for $343,000.  A condo in Seabreeze South, Unit P8 closed for $104,000 and a Vacant lot at 1903 Sheffield Drive closed for only $77,000. As always, please reach out and contact me if you have any real estatequestions or need advice on your Fantasy Baseball team. And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought. Gerry Rosenblum Broker Associate Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty 2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 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

Copyright © 2017 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, All rights reserved. For those that want to be informed about The Marco Island Real Estate Market Our mailing address is: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty 900 North Collier Boulevard, Marco Island, FL Marco Island, FL 34145

Marco Island Real Estate Statistics and Commentary for First Quarter 2017

The following statistics compare the first quarter of 2017 to 2016

Sold Single Family Home Sales UP 29% (94 vs. 73)

Sold Condominium Sales UP 24% (140 vs 113)

Sold Single Family Vacant Lots UP 57% (44 vs 28)

Average Sale Price Single Family Home UP 10% ($1.0M vs $917k)

Average Sale Price Condominium UP 10% (($537k vs $488k)

Average Sale Price Single Family Vacant Lot DOWN 5% ($576k vs $606k)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Homes Sold UP 41% ($95M vs $67M)

Total Dollar Value of all Condominiums Sold UP 36% ($75M vs $55M)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Lots Sold UP 49% ($25M vs $17M)

Current Inventory:

397 Single Family Homes (DOWN 4% from 2016

404 Condominiums (Up 8% from 2016)

320 Single Family Lots (DOWN 14% from 2016)

A total of $196 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in the First Quarter of 2017 compared to $142 Million dollars worth in 2016. Thats-a-nice (said with an Italian accent) rebound from where we were. Thank you for the applause as this is what I predicted. But that was then and this is now, so where are we headed? First, let me mention interest rates, the average 30 year fixed is below 4% again, so for those of you that missed that boat, you can hop back in. Don't miss it again because it may pull away from the dock for good next time. Next, the inventory is backing down a bit and there are still a lot of properties out there that are a bit overpriced, others need some TLC and are priced like they are the Taj Mahal, and to be frank, the pickin's are a bit slim in some markets. Again in March, we saw OVER 300 price reductions across the board and about 15 price increases and we are heading out of the peak busy season. So, when it's all said and done, I'm seeing an easing in the market and I think the sales figures will start to let up. Nothing dramatic, I'm just not seeing increases in my crystal ball. Jane and John Q. Buyer are still out there ready to pounce, they just need a bit more cat-nip to get motivated, or a nice price reduction.

So, I'm driving my imaginary Ferrari with my imaginary Super Model wife over to my imaginary Mansion. When I really get to Pier 81, I get out of my Cadillac with my lovely wife Barbara and we go up to our unit. There I open my imaginary bottle of Louis XIII Cognac which sits next to my real jug of Tito's Vodka. My imaginary sons Andy and Willy ask if I want to go out and toss around the ball, but then Annie and Lily snap me out of my imaginary world and ask if they can take my credit card to the mall for some exercise and then out for Sushi.

I assure you I have a very vivid imagination, and in my mind, I can hear that Ferrari, I can taste that Cognac and I know that Super Model is a biotch. (At least that's what Tom Brady tells me). Anyway, I digress, and you are wondering what the point is and how it relates to Real Estate? Here is the deal, when buying Real Estate sometimes you need to use your imagination. The house or condo you look at may be decorated in the Tommy Bahama goes Mediterranean theme but you can fix that. The walls might be painted a beautiful shade of Caribbean Blue that you hate, but you can paint over that. You can re-model, you can re-paint, you can re-tile, re-build, gut, raze it, or renovate however you please, and create the home of your dreams. One of my famous lines in my soon to be released best-selling book is, "You can fix a house or condo, but you can't fix a view". So people, what I am telling you is, find the right property, look past the warts and dermatological surgery scars and USE YOUR IMAGINATION to create value. The second part of my imagination monolog today is to point out what an opportunity vacant land is as an investment. As it sits there all you do is pay a little bit of tax and get the weeds cut once a month, no hurricane/flood insurance, utility bills or crazy renters to worry about. The Mackle Brothers (talk about guys with imagination) stopped building vacant land on Marco a long time ago and they ain't making any more. In Real Estate there is a slogan that "It all begins with the land" and I agree with that. Contemplate buying a vacant lot, use your imagination and see a new home built on that lot and then start counting your imaginary money after you sell that lot down the road, or build on it and enjoy it....until you die, then the kids sell the house and they get to enjoy the real money. It's a win/win for the whole family. One of my faithful 7.6 readers listened to this advice recently and just signed a contract to buy a vacant lot. He plans to build an imaginary fish camp on it in the future. 

Now, for those of you that have mediocre imaginations here is a way for you to get in the game....Psst, come get a little closer to the screen and listen carefully. If you want in on the ground floor of something, have I got a deal for you. The developer of Pier 81 owns the Hibiscus Golf Course up in Naples. He's decided to build Shadow Creek at Hibiscus which will consist of 9 buildings with 54 units at the entrance to his Golf Course. (He's going to build a pretty high wall around the property to make it a private gated community) He made a wise choice and hired me to sell the condos and if you're interested I can pull some strings and get you a unit starting around $300,000. In this case, you piggyback on his imagination and get the same result. Now, talk about a guy with imagination, developers have huge imaginations, the biggest you've ever seen. In his imaginary world, he probably has his own Jet, is also married to a Super Model and is President of the United States.  

For the faithful 7.6 readers who demand to know: The sold $$ leaders for the month are... a Single Family Home for $2,350,000 at 1285 Martinique Court. For Condos, Riviera 4-629 in Hideaway Beach closed for $1,200,000 and for Vacant lots, 490 (shades of) Gray Court closed for $2,150,000

For you bargain hunters out there, a Single Family Home at 363 Columbus Ave. closed for $280,000.  A condo in Seabreeze, unit A8, closed for short money at $98,000 and a vacant lot at 1873 Dogwood closed for $95,000! As you see, there really is something for everyone here on Marco Island.

As always, please reach out and contact me if you have any real estate questions or want to take Barb and I out to dinner.  Last week JM/LM took us and we had a great evening at La Tavola! Thank you!

And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought. 

Gerry Rosenblum

Broker Associate

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 

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

Marco Island Real Estate Statistics and Commentary for February 2017

The following stats compare February 2017 to February 2016

Sold Single Family Homes DOWN 12% (29 vs 33)

Sold Condominiums UP 19% (43 vs 36)

Sold Single Family Vacant Lots UP 40% (14 vs 10)

Pending Single Family Homes UP 24% (51 vs 41)

Pending Condominiums UP 16% (64 vs 55)

Pending Single Family Vacant Lots UP 200% (12 vs 4)

(Pending means it went under contract but has not closed yet)

Inventory:

401 Single Family Homes (UP 2% from 2016)

412 Condominiums (UP 10% from 2016)

331 Single Family Vacant Lots (DOWN 8% from 2016)

Summary:

A total of $59 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in the Month of February, 2016 (and this was NOT a Leap Year like last year) - $57 Million dollars worth in January 2017 and $53 Million in February 2016, last year. 

Being an avid Rock Climber I understand more than most how important your footing is, you just can't have a slip. Similarly, the Real Estate Market has been slipping a bit and I believe it is now finding it's footing again. (Ok, the only rock I ever climbed was when I stood atop an empty case of Rolling Rock Beer in college at my frat - What a guy, he's from Lambda Chi) If you look above at the Pending numbers all you see is green. In Rock Climbing the green ropes are used to go up, and up is good. The pending sales you see mean those properties will pretty much all end up as closed sales in the coming months and we will have more and more green sales numbers. (Rolling Rock comes in green bottles, so it must be good for you too) As you all know, I correctly predicted that once the Presidential election was won and done, the market would find it's footing. And guess what? That's exactly what is happening. I need to point out that there were 270 price decreases in the month of February which is about the pace we have been seeing each month. But, at the same time the list to sell ratio increased to 92%. This means that, ON AVERAGE, seller's accepted 8% less than what they were asking. All this mumbo jumbo means that the Buyers are willing to buy when the Sellers are willing to sell and they have a meeting of the minds. I had this customer of mine that had about $100 million dollars in the bank. We were trying to sell a condo he owned and he wouldn't negotiate at all when we had an offer. I asked him why and he said that when he died he was going to take all his money with him, but he couldn't take the condo, so he wanted all he could get for it. Guess what? he died and his widow wrote a check for $100 million and put it in the coffin so he could "take it with him". She then sold the condo with me and last I heard she moved to Spain with her chihuahua Esteban. I keep telling you folks, if you want it and can afford it, buy it, if you don't want it, sell it, cause you ain't taking it with you. This logic can also be applied to boats, cars and airplanes or the toy of your choice.

So, I have this loser friend that has been President of a nice condo for years. (What's another name for Condo President? Sucker/Wannabe are the two correct and acceptable answers). Anyway, in spite of him being a total loser, he has this tall, smart, hot wife with porcelain skin and two boys named Andy and Willy (all he ever wanted was a girl baby). To make matters worse, he's a Realtor and only has about 7.6  friends.  Yesterday we were discussing our political affiliations over a glass of nice Chianti, liverwurst sandwiches and fava beans and he said "I read your stupid email once in awhile and I can't tell what you are, Democrat or Republican? I said "it's simple, there’s no such thing as a Republican Realtor or a Democratic Realtor, we just have Realtors on Marco Island.” At that exact moment I looked up at the TV in The Crazy Flamingo, and during his confirmation hearing Judge Neil Gorsuch  pauses, and I swear he looked right through the TV at  me and smiled. 

As far as my customers go, I  love the Republicans, I love the Democrats, and I  kinda like the one  Independent I dealt with once, but he didn't buy anything because he could never make up his mind.

For the faithful 7.6 readers who need to know: The sold $$ leaders for the month are a Single Family Home for $2,635,000 at 997 Aster Court. For Condos, Prince 301 closed for $1,512,500 and for Vacant lots, 1381 Caxambas Court closed for $2,500,000. (asking price was $3,474,000, see what I mean about a meeting of the minds...)

For you bargain hunters out there, a Single Family Home at 385 Tahiti Road closed for $370,000.  A condo in Anglers Cove, Unit B405 closed for $153,300 and a Vacant lot at 1754 Dogwood Drive closed for $65,000. 

When looking at the odd sales prices above I am often asked "why did a property close for such an odd number like the $1,512,500 above?" There is no one answer, but sometimes a seller will say "I want to net X $'s after the commission and estimated closing costs, When you back into their $X you end up with some goofy numbers sometimes. Also, sometimes you play the "Splitzy Game". The Buyer starts at some number, the Seller counters and then you start splitting the difference during an extended negotiation, next thing you know you are at $1,512,500 or some other odd/even number. 

As always, please reach out and contact me if you have any real estate questions or need advice on how to raise successful sons cause I got nothing when it comes to raising the female species. 

And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought. 

Gerry Rosenblum

Broker Associate

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 

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

Marco Island Real Estate Statistics and Commentary - January 2017

The following stats compare January 2017 to January 2016.

Sold Single Family Homes UP 44% (23 vs 16)

Sold Condominiums UP 12% (38 vs 34)

Sold Single Family Vacant Lots UP 20% (12 vs 10)

Pending Single Family Homes UP 64% (56 vs 42)

Pending Condominiums UP 31% (64 vs 49)

Pending Single Family Vacant Lots UP 14% (14 vs 10)

(Pending means it went under contract but has not closed yet)

Inventory:

387 Single Family Homes (UP 4% from 2016)

400 Condominiums (UP 15% from 2016)

313 Single Family Vacant Lots (DOWN 3% from 2016)

Summary:

A total of $57 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in the Month of January 2017. $62 Million dollars last month and $46 Million in January 2016 (last year). For the trailing 3 months, we are at $163 Million compared to $125 Million last year. Do you know why there is so much green above? No Earle, it's not because St. Patrick's Day is coming, it's because there were 211 Price Reductions alone in the month of January (and 11 price increases). Price reductions are the Viagra of the real estate market in that they stimulate things. And if your property does not sell within 4 months after one, you should seek the help of another Realtor. Combine the reductions with the fact that the list to sell ratio moved to 92% from 94% last year. To refresh your memories, the list to sell ratio is the percentage of what a property sold for relative to it's asking price. To simplify that for you math-o-phobes, last January on average 6% was negotiated off the asking price and this January 8% was negotiated off the asking price. Does this mean that a bunch of Realtors attended a seminar in negotiation techniques and became better negotiators on behalf of their Buyers? Does this mean that the Realtors that missed that seminar had all the Sellers and they were out-negotiated by the seminar attendees? NO, it means that the market ran up to the point that the Buyers started to balk, the Sellers listened to their agents and started to lower their asking prices and became a bit more flexible in what they would ultimately accept. I think we are going to see this trend continue. The inventory is going up because the new Sellers tend to be overly optimistic about the current state of the market and those that have been listed for a while without selling become more capitulative (another word I invented) or willing to sell and move on. Time will tell. 

Now, if you were to look back at some of my past boring emails you will see that I pretty much predicted this whole price lowering, being more negotiable on what you take thing. Jimmy the Greek used to be a great sports prognosticator, now we have Gerry the Jew, the great Real Estate prognosticator. (I hope I don't get accused of being anti-Semitic for writing that comment...)

So, I'm sitting talking to my first wife like I often do, and we exchange the normal pleasantries such as, how are the kids? how's life living in a condo now? how's your yoga teaching going? I then had to sit and listen to her blather on about how great and handsome her husband is and what a great father he is, and how everyone that meets him loves him. I know, I know, it's enough to make me puke too. We then were talking about what we each wanted out of life and a spouse. Now, those of you that know me, know I love tall women, the taller the better. You know how some people are afraid of clowns, well, like them, I'm afraid of short women. My experience is that they tend to be nasty, just like some little yappy dogs. Anyway, I digress. The point is that just like picking a spouse and all the unknowns that come with that, there are tons of unknowns in real estate price prognostication. Buyers always ask, what do you think they will take? Sellers always ask what do you think they will pay? Here is what I know. If you like the property, check the comps and work the deal with your Realtor and pay what you think is fair. Sometimes you may even pay a little bit more because you can't put a price on happiness now, can you? If you're the seller, same things hold true and you may even take a bit less than the last comp because the stress and agita you will get rid of by selling the property may extend you life expectancy. Can't put a price on that either, can you now?  So, in Real Estate, like spouse choosing, sometimes you get what you get, make the best of it and stay away from small yappy dogs.  

 

For the faithful 7.6 readers who beg to know each month's high and low sale, here you go: The highs  for the month are... a Single Family Home for at 620 South Barfield for $4,000,000  For Condos, Madeira 1105 closed for $3,650,000 Million. For Vacant lots, 1679 McCilvaine Court closed for $915,000. All Sales Were Cash Deals. (no mortgages, no refunds, no returns)

For you bargain hunters out there, a Single Family Home at 220 Flamingo sold for $465,000. In condos we have Island Manor unit N5 selling for $124,000 and a Vacant lot at 140 Sand Hill closed for $97,500. Again, All Sales Were Cash Deals. (no mortgages, no exchanges, no backs)

As always, please reach out and contact me if you have any real estate questions or need bad marriage advice.

And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought. 

Little Chuckie and I still await the dinner invitations. 

Gerry Rosenblum

Broker Associate

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 

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

Marco Island Real Estate Stats - 2016 Year End Review and Commentary

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

2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 

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