Everyone knows that the Jacksonville Real Estate Market is still a strong buyer's market but why do so many sellers still insist on overpricing their homes? A remarkable statistic is that in the Jacksonville Real Estate market the pending to active ratio of straight resale homes is only 9%. In comparison, the pending to active ratio of distressed properties, this includes Jacksonville short sales and Jacksonville foreclosures, is a pretty healthy 39.5% and trending up. For Jacksonville distress sales, the market is almost in balance between being a buyer and seller market. With a perfect balance being 50%, the market for distressed properties in Jacksonville is only slightly weighted towards buyers. At the same time, the straight resale real estate market in Jacksonville is heavily, heavily weighted towards buyers with the total of all straight resale homes under contract only being 9% of the total that are listed.
Why is this? Because Jacksonville short sales and Jacksonville foreclosures price their homes correctly and at current market value. They do not hang on to what their neighbors sold for two years ago or even what the house next door is priced at when their upgrades are better. Jacksonville foreclosures, and correctly priced Jacksonville short sales, are priced in an objective manner based on comparables and making the home the most attractive home to potential buyers.
Last month we put a new listing on the market. We explained to the seller the current conditions of the Jacksonville Real Estate market. The motivated seller listened and chose to price his home to be the next one to sell in the community. Within two weeks we had him under contract with a fully qualified buyer and we will be closing in a week and a half.
This seller was exceptionally smart. He recognized the fact that by pricing his home to be the next home to sell, he was taking advantage of today's market instead of sitting by and watching his competitors sell (or not sell, as the case may be). This savvy seller realized that by pricing his home correctly TODAY he would not be chasing the market down but would avoid future price decreases that have been coming rapidly in the past 3-6 months in the area.
By pricing his home correctly from the beginning, he saved himself a lot of money. He didn't look at what he bought it for less than two years ago, or get emotionally attached to what it "used to be worth." He simply accepted today's market and got his home sold.
In contrast, we listed a property for another seller six months ago. Great couple. Very nice, but unfortunately emotionally attached. They began their listing priced in the correct range, but would not price their home to be the next one to sell, no matter what the statistics said. We were able to bring the sellers three offers over the next couple of months. We were able to negotiate one particular offer up to a price where the seller could have gotten out from under their less than two year old purchase with several thousand dollars. This has been practically IMPOSSIBLE in this real estate market. We excitedly brought them the offer amazed that we were able to get them such a good deal. They rejected it. They lost the buyer.
Unfortunately, this was the last offer this nice couple received. We went back to them over and over for price reductions based on the drops in the market value, which they refused because they felt like they could get more. When it was time to renew their listing, we had to explain to them that for us to be able to keep it listed, we would have to reduce the price dramatically to get in line with the market, and the other homes in the community, or we simply could not sell it. The price we had to recommend at that point was 10s of thousands less than the offer we had brought them months earlier which would have netted them several thousand dollars. The sellers failed to take our advice and as a result will not be able to sell their home now without selling it short or bringing 10s of thousands to the table. They missed their window of opportunity by failing to get ahead of the market.
If you are considering selling your Jacksonville home, please understand that you have to price your home ahead of the market. If you don't have to sell, you should consider waiting. If you have to sell and fear that you do not have enough equity, talk to a qualified Jacksonville short sale specialist. Do not just talk to a general real estate practitioner. Successfully listing and selling short sales requires a special level of training and expertise. Call us at 904.371.9654 if you need help. We are Jacksonville short sale specialists and we can give you an honest evaluation of what your home is worth.
