Life In Bonita Springs

For Sale By Owner in Bonita Springs Florida

So I’m up at the dog park trying to burn some energy off of “hell on four legs” and one of the regular dog park attendees strikes up a conversation with me and says, “I’m thinking of getting a real estate license so I can sell my house.” Besides being absolutely shocked that I was standing in the presence of a living, breathing, Floridian without a real estate license, I was also surprised that someone would go to the trouble of real estate school for the sole purpose of selling their own house.

Out of curiosity I asked what the motivation was to become licensed just to sell their own home. I was genuinely curious since licensure is not a legal requirement to sell one’s own home. Surprisingly, this person thought there were all sorts of financial advantages. I suspect that, just now, one out of every one hundred seventy-five people reading this hit the floor laughing because they know differently. In the state of Florida alone, 1 in every 175 residents is a Realtor® according to a recent report. In case you were curious, Florida is number three in the nation behind Arizona and Hawaii.

While there may be some advantages on part of the commission depending upon the end result of who brings in the buyer, there is nothing about being a real estate licensee that absolves a person from the responsibility of closing costs; documentary stamps on deed, prorated taxes and HOA fees and possibly title insurance. Having a real estate license also doesn’t protect your home from being overpriced, not appraising for the buyers mortgage or for not selling.

So here’s the deal about selling your home yourself. You don’t need a real estate license; you just need motivation, a plan and to be more honest with yourself about your home than you probably can even imagine, which is the biggest obstacle for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) home owners have. Some of what sellers need to accomplish isn’t markedly different than employing a real estate agent. Depending upon inventory, which is particularly low in entry level pricing, it’s now more probable that real estate will actually sell FSBO.

If you have the desire, time and inclination to sell your own home here is a list of eight action items for the FSBO home owner:

1. Pricing – Just like listing your home with a real estate agent, ninety percent of your success is going to be determined on properly pricing your home. It just is. Read that sentence again, slowly.

2. Prepare your home for sale. You can’t get it clean enough or organized enough.

3. Interview and hire a real estate attorney to protect your interests, prepare your contracts and to close the sale of the property. There is so more to selling a home than just finding a buyer.

4. Market your home, especially on the internet. About 90% of home buyers search for real estate on the internet. Also, don’t overlook neighbors as a resource for knowing people who are interested in the neighborhood.

5. Keep up on closed sales in the area. Think the neighbor’s house or a house in the area sold? Call the agent and find out. They will tell you the price after it has closed sale. The closed sales, good or bad, influence valuation and the ability of your home to qualify for financing.

6. Network with real estate agents in the area with similar listings and offering a co-broke fee for bringing in a buyer. If supply in the area is low, they’ll probably be calling you asking to bring in buyers.

7. Ask for showing feedback from the agents if they do show it. While buyers may not be as honest about pricing, condition, location an agent will and it will help you adjust to entice new buyers.

8. Read item number one again.

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.

Bonita Springs Real Estate Inventory

• Single Family-Villa         11.9    Months
• Low Rise Condo           10.06  Months
• Mid Rise Condo            13       Months
• High Rise Condo           20.8    Months
• Attached Villas               9.7     Months
• Manufactured Homes    14.15  Months

How much real estate is on the market?  Is Bonita Springs real estate as bad as they say Florida real estate is?  These statistics are a broad stroke of the brush and when doing the calculations pending sales are counted as active so the numbers are less than what is published.  Great news for home owners, not so great of news for those looking to purchase Bonita Springs real estate.  Inventory is low in the entry level prices. 

To see other reports for April 2012, read also: Bonita Springs Real Estate market Reports

Flowers in Bonita Bay

SW Florida International Airport Near Bonita Springs, Fl

Bonita Springs, Florida offers fast access to Fort Myers International Airport RSW.  Generally a trip to the airport from Bonita Springs is about thirty minutes or less.  The distance is less than twenty miles from most locations in Bonita Springs to Southwest Florida International Airport.

During the busy winter tourist season time frames can be lengthened to about forty-five minutes, just to be safe. 

Of course, time of day is just as important as distance when estimating travel time between Bonita Springs and the airport. 

8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.  and 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. are busy drive times on the routes to the airport, I-75, Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, Alico Road and US 41/Tamiami Trail.

For more information about RSW, the local airport, read also: Southwest Florida International Airport

Historical Bonita Bay Real Estate Sales

Bonita Bay real estate sales fought to hold their own during the month of April 2012, but dipped only a few units shy of the average.  Of the recorded Bonita Bay real estate sales, all were considered equity sales, none were foreclosures or short sales.  This report includes both Bonita Bay homes and Bonita Bay condos, including the towers.

To get an idea of what price ranges of real estate in Bonita Bay has sold, take a look at the following graph. The price range of real estate selling in Bonita Bay helps consumers, both buyers and sellers of real estate understand how swiftly or slowly their real estate market is moving.

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.

Bonita Springs Real Estate and First Time Home Buyers

There’s never been a better time to buy a home … unless the buyer is financing the purchase. It’s not because it is difficult to finance real estate or that the banks aren’t lending, it’s because the entry level real estate market is chock full of cash buyers and the super affordable inventory is gone.

The Southwest Florida real estate market can remove that big scarlet “drowning in inventory” sign it’s been wearing around its neck for the last few years. The original deluge of foreclosures and short sales which flooded the area has, for the most part, been absorbed. For the record, I did say original deluge. I don’t want the sticks and bricks fatalists to have absolutely nothing to wring their hands over.

At any rate, one would have to actually be a first time home buyer or someone with the ambition to get in on affordable, entry level home ownership to feel the pressure. All of the starry eyed dreaming and careful planning aside, the first time home buyer of today is entering a combat zone trying to purchase a home these days.

Today’s successful first time home buyer is always prepared, has already found an experienced mortgage broker and a dedicated real estate agent who can drop everything morning, noon or night to get them into the latest listing that just hit the market. These buyers have been prequalified to purchase, been saving their dollars, tidied their credit and set off for the hunt, only to start placing offer, after offer, after offer and not getting awarded the contract.

Those who decide to live the American dream through the joys of home ownership can barely catch a break if they’re financing their purchase in the entry level market. How could that be?

Cash talks and financers walk … to the next available property that will, like the others before it, hit the market, receive multiple offers and call for highest and best offer by 5:00 p.m. The contract will likely be awarded to a cash buyer about 81% of the time if the purchase price is under $100,000 and 61% of the time priced under $150,000. Pretty tough odds, huh?

Wide eyed, first time home buyers become frustrated and if they’re not on the proverbial home buying band wagon when they start dabbling in the home buying arena, they get there quickly after a couple of smack downs by home sellers who step right over them for a buyer with cold, hard cash in hand.

Generally, cash buyers serve a very important place in the real estate market. They’re the buyers who can purchase real estate that is not financeable or the damaged and derelict properties needing extensive repairs. Unfortunately, there just isn’t a whole bunch of affordable real estate to go around, again, so they’re able to squeeze in and make the deals.

Besides digging up a cash benefactor there isn’t a big secret first time home buyers should know to help them get awarded the contract on the next property they place an offer on except speed, perseverance and luck. Luck, in this entry level home buying climate, is simply when thorough planning and preparation meets opportunity. So, if the goal is to buy a home in southwest Florida in the entry level real estate market, get your home buying team in order, plan your purchase, prepare for the financing, search every web portal and keep finding and quickly offering on new real estate opportunities until good fortune shines on you.

On a separate note, this would probably be an excellent time for someone to come up with a first time home buyer’s version of the St. Joseph statue.

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Real Life in Bonita Springs is a project by Chris Griffith dedicated to writing useful blog posts for consumers about the Bonita Springs, Florida area.  Find out what it is really like to live in Bonita Springs, Florida by reading about our fair city. You’ll get the latest in local real estate information, Bonita Springs real estate market reports and a little bit of humor.  If you have topic ideas, feel free to request a story about the idea, after all, this site is just for you.

You can subscribe to a weekly email newsletter by visiting www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com and entering your email in the subscription area on the center pane of the web page or by adding us to your reader by subscribing to this blog. Oh, and if you’re reading this content anywhere else but www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com or Naples Daily News it is probably stolen.

Historic Vintage Homes Antique Homes Bonita Springs

When you have the opportunity, take a drive down Pennsylvania Avenue in Bonita Springs, Florida.  Where Oak Creek meets Pennsylvania, an architect by the name of Christian Busk has salvaged and preserved historic homes.

Founders and influential residents of Bonita Springs and the SW Florida area have often had their homes fall into disrepair due to age, neglect or the elements.  As the value of land in Southwest Florida has grown, the homes have become a detriment to the property owner and are usually slated for demolition.

The homes, originally from various locations in Southwest Florida, have been relocated to Bonita Springs, rehabilitated and restored to their original grandeur.  They're quite charming and it's worth it to take a drive or bike ride by them.  The area they are situated in has a meandering creek and mature trees that the homes have been carefully placed amongst.

The restoration of these relics is more than a labor of love.  The man who renovated them, Christian Busk, has a respect for architecture and history and preserving perfectly.  The Packard Home, The Haldeman Home and the Nutting Home are three homes at the Pennsylvania Avenue site at this time.

• If you would like to learn more about these historic homes:  Read Here
• To learn about how these Bonita Springs homes were preserved:  Read Here
• To learn more about Christian Busk, Architect: Read Here

In addition to the renovated historic homes the City of Bonita has renovated the Liles Hotel and the cottages at Riverside Park less than a mile away in Olde Downtown Bonita Springs.

Sales History of Bonita Springs Homes and Condos

Bonita Springs real estate has changed dramatically and quietly over the years but often times consumers have a hard time figuring that out with the conflicting reports that make it to the mainstream media.  A good portion of the reason why I blog is to write accurate news.

Oye … most real estate buyers and sellers don’t realize how time consuming it is collect the data for these reports.  That being said, here is the latest and greatest of what is going on in the Bonita Springs and Estero Florida area.  For the most part it’s all good, we’re selling off inventory like gang busters and the market is stabilizing and moving forward. 

If you’re interested in seeing the other April 2012 real estate market reports, read also:

Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate | Condition of the Sale April 2012

Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate | What Price Range is Selling April 2012

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.

What Price Point of Bonita Springs Homes is Selling?

Bonita Springs Home Sales have been chugging along. We’ve seen the price point of $400,000 and under command the market for some time.  The reality of Bonita Springs and Estero Florida real estate sales is that all price points sell, just some price points sell more. 

Those homes and condos in the slimmer margins on the graph are generally in better condition and priced appropriately for the real estate market. 

Excluding manufactured homes, there are only about thirty properties on the market in Bonita Springs and Estero Florida, priced under $100,000.  We will be seeing the $200,000 and under market shrink in sales ratio simply because the 100K and under price point of Bonita Springs real estate is slowing going away with market recovery.  It was nice while it lasted.

For more April 2012 Bonita Springs real estate market reports, read also:

Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate | Condition of the Sale April 2012

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.

Bonita Springs Real Estate Sales Statistics

Bonita Springs Real estate sales have been cooking along and the latest month’s report has us looking at the lowest amount of foreclosure and short sales we’ve seen in a while in the Bonita Springs and Estero Florida areas.   Equity sales, the green section, are homes and condos for sale which do not have bank involvement.  They are just regular real estate sales.

The market has stabilized quite a bit and we’ve seen a tremendous amount of inventory absorbed as well as the prices of real estate go up.  The entry level has been absorbed.  Homes that hit the real estate market in the most affordable price points sell quickly, often with multiple offers.  It’s not fun being a first time home buyer in the Bonita Springs real estate market, these days.

For more April 2012 Bonita Springs real estate market reports, read also:

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All information is deem accurate, not guaranteed and subject to change.  Check the date on this report for freshness.  If you have questions regarding your particular neighborhood, your street or your home specifically you’re welcome to contact us for a current market report. Real estate consumers that read this website are urged to seek independent, professional legal, real estate and financial advice before engaging in any transaction. All information is deemed, accurate, subject to change and not guaranteed.