MillsRealEstate

For Buyers ~ Now Is The Time To Buy

2009-01-25T20:42:00.000-05:00

How often have you heard, "Now is the time to buy"? Well, I will tell you that if you are hearing it more and more lately, you may want to listen up. Just since January 1st we have been going nonstop. The phone is ringing off the hook and the offers are starting to increase. Which means many people out there have decided that now is the time to buy. We believe that the inventory will start to decline from this point forward which means supply will start to decrease and demand will increase. What happens when that occurs? The price goes up. Call it a new President, the end of a bad year, the new beginning, whatever you want, but things are definitely changing in Highlands County. Over the last few months many of our listings have been reduced in price to below market value.

With interest rates the lowest that I can ever remember them and prices back to 2003 and 2004 levels, I can't understand why anybody in the market for a home wouldn't be looking right now. I would hate to be the one that missed out because I thought the rock would never hit the bottom.

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http://www.millsrealestate.net

For Sellers ~ Presenting Your Home

2009-01-21T12:33:00.000-05:00

Too often we see homes for sale or owners that want to sell their home without first preparing it. We try to express to these sellers that most buyers want to picture themselves in the home before they consider buying it. If you have too many of your things lying around or hanging on the walls such as pictures, a buyer will feel like they are invading your space and not feel comfortable picturing their items there. We try to explain it like this, picture yourself walking into a hotel room. There are basic items like a few pictures, a table and beds. Maybe a dresser and night stand. This is how we like to see our listings presented. Neutral and welcoming.

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http://www.millsrealestate.net

Highlands County Real Estate Market - Halftime Report

2009-01-17T11:47:00.000-05:00

Wow! I'm very excited about our real estate market in Highlands County. We have been busy, busy, busy working with buyers. Our phones are ringing off the hook, in the office as well. There's plenty of walk ins to go around too. Yes, we do have an increase in residents this time of the year but there is far more activity compared to last winter.

The big question is, have we bottomed out? We are watching closely!

With 132 sales pending and 25 closed so far there is not really a reason to complain. Sales remain the strongest in the lower prices ranges. Distress sales at bargain prices continue to keep prices down and we expect Short Sales and Foreclosure Sales to dictate prices throughout 2009.

Sellers, just look at the statistics for January so far…click here
If you are ready to sell your home for a reasonable price, there’s no shortage of buyers!

Greetings,

Andrea Mills, predicting the recovery of our local market for mid 2009.
www.millsrealestate.net

For Sellers ~ Marketing Your Property

2009-01-17T10:20:00.001-05:00

Your agent has done a CMA for your and you have decided to sell your property at a competitive price. Now, how do you market it? What is your agents strategy? First you must consider who the most probably buyer will be and where they will come from. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), over 80% of buyers start their search for a new home on the internet. That is why we maximize our exposure on the internet. I can not count the number of sellers we have talked to that told us their property listing expired with no phone calls or offers. When we go back and look at these listings we often find that there were limited or no additional photos in the listing. Almost always there was no Video Tour. The more content a buyer has to look at for a listing, the longer they will spend considering your property for a purchase. All our home listings contain a video tour and at least twenty to thirty pictures, many have more. Take a look at our Featured Listings to see what I am talking about. Our tours also contain features and a detailed description for each property as well as a map that shows the location of the property and driving directions. This page is linked to numerous web sites and also linked to the MLS listing for the property. Any agent showing properties to a potential buyer can show that property to their client right from their desk in their office. A buyer will be more likely to want to go view the property if they have a better idea of exactly what the features are. Many agents are intimidated by the process of producing a video tour and many don't use them due to the cost of paying somebody else to produce them. We feel that it is a necessity when marketing a property. The days of placing a five line classified ad in the local paper are gone. The majority of our leads and offers come from the internet and the sign in the front yard. Additionally we syndicate our listings to over 40 real estate sites and search engines.

How many potential buyers are on the internet? According to Internet World Stats the are over 1.4 billion users on the internet, 248 million of these users are in North America. Therefore we feel this a good place to start when marketing a property.

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http://www.millsrealestate.net

For Sellers ~ Pricing

2009-01-17T08:52:00.001-05:00

The number one aspect to consider when selling your home is the price. Andrea explains it in simple terms. If you were shopping for a BMW and you found the model and color you wanted and it was available from two competing dealers. Both dealers had the exact same model and color and features. One dealer is offering this car for 10% less than his competitor. Is there any reason you would consider buying from the other higher priced dealer? Probably not. The same holds true for real estate. You have to price your product competitively in the market. That is why we always do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for every property we consider selling. If your home is priced out of range within the market, it does not matter how aggressively it is advertised, it will not sell in a timely manner.

Anybody that is frustrated with the time their property has been listed with no phone calls or offers should first look at the price. Buyers want deals and in this economy with all the inventory to choose from, their are many deals to be had. The more inventory on the market, the more competition you have to compete with to sell your property.

A CMA, available for free from most agents, will tell you where you need to price your property in order sell it in a timely manner. Remember what a buyer is willing to pay, market value, is the only price that matters when selling. Memories and sentimental value does not add to the sale price.

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http://www.millsrealestate.net

Why Am I Here

2009-01-16T23:31:00.000-05:00

Not all blogs have a purpose. Some are outlets for feelings and some are used for social networking. The purpose of my blog is to discuss the Highlands County Real Estate Market, to let those interested in real estate in our area to get to know me better and hopefully help educate buyers and sellers in Highlands County about our market.

Every market is different and ours is no exception. We do not try to sell real estate outside of our area for sellers and we do not represent buyers purchasing real estate in areas we know nothing about. We can refer you to an agent that we know in those areas that will take care of you. We specialize in knowing our market and providing the best service we can here locally.

As a native German, Andrea also has the ability to market to and help clients in German speaking European countries with interests in Highlands County.

I look forwarding to answering your questions and hopefully giving you some insight into the real estate market in Highlands County, Florida.

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http://www.millsrealestate.net

Welcome to MillsRealEstate

2009-01-16T22:13:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the MillsRealEstate Blog for Darrin Mills. My name is Darrin and I will be the author for this blog. My wife Andrea and I are Realtors(R) in Highlands County, Florida. Andrea is a very active poster on ActiveRain and I have a blog there as well. However, even though I consider myself somewhat of a computer geek, I am more of a minimalist type of person and preferred this type of forum to post my thoughts and ideas. Blogger offered a more convenient way for me to be a productive blogger.

I invite you to leave your comments or send me your thoughts. You may also visit Andrea's Blog. Please check back for new posts. I can not promise that every post will be entertaining, funny, or informative, but each will be an honest and heartfelt expression.

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http://www.millsrealestate.net