Since I seem to be getting this same type of question a lot I thought others may have the same question. Here’s an example of a few emails I’ve gotten lately.

I’ve been searching the web and many websites say, “Buyers Broker”. I want to use you as my Realtor but you don’t say that on your website. Can you represent me and be a “buyer’s broker”?

I’d like you to list my house but it appears that you list for banks but you’re not really a “listing agent”. Can you list my house?

Here’s the deal folks. I can call myself whatever I want-buyers broker, listing agent/broker, etc. I could say I’m a buyer’s broker one day and a listing broker the next. These are just terms the Realtors use when they are more comfortable representing one side or the other. There are certain classes that we can take like Certified Buyers Representative but here’s what important to you---HOW ARE YOU LEGALLY BEING REPRESENTED BY YOUR REALTOR/AGENT. This makes a BIG difference.

So you can understand what I’m talking about I should explain the different ways a Realtor in the state of Florida can represent you and what each mean. There are three ways you can be legally represented by your residential Realtor in Florida-Single Agency, Transaction Broker or “non rep”-no Brokerage Relationship. As of July, 2008 all Realtors in the state of Florida are representing you as a Transaction Broker unless they state otherwise at first contact (i.e. right before you go out to look at property, upon meeting at their office). Phone and email contact is not considered first contact.

I’ll go into a little further detail on each of these so you understand why this is important.

As a Single Agent my duties to you are:
1. Dealing honestly and fairly
2. Loyalty
3. Confidentiality
4. Obedience
5. Full Disclosure
6. Accounting for all funds
7. Skill, care, and diligence in the transaction
8. Presenting all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner, unless a party has previously directed the licensee otherwise in writing; and
9. Disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable

I’ll give you an example of me representing you as a single agent:
I take Mrs. Smith out and show her property all day and at the end of the showings I get a call from Realtor Jane telling me that her seller’s home that we looked at today is listed at $200K but she knows that they will take $150K. If I am representing you as a single agent by law I must disclose all rumors, fact, hearsay, etc. It’s my duty to pick up the phone and tell you that Realtor Jane just called me and told me that her seller would take $150K for the home we looked at today. If I’m representing you as a transaction agent or non-rep you would not get this call because I’m not legally able to disclose this information.

Here’s another scenario-I go to preview a home for a potential buyer and the next door neighbor comes out and tells me that the home I’m previewing used to be a drug home. As a single rep I must disclose this info to you. As a transaction broker or non-rep, I cannot.

As a Transaction Broker my duties to you are:

1. Dealing honestly and fairly
2. Accounting for all funds
3. Using skill, care, and diligence in the transaction
4. Disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable to the buyer
5. Presenting all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner, unless a party has previously directed the licensee otherwise in writing
6. Limited confidentiality, unless waived in writing by a party. This limited confidentiality will prevent disclosure that the seller will accept a price less than the asking price, that the buyer will pay a price greater than the price submitted in a written offer, of the motivation of any party for selling or buying property, that a seller or buyer will agree to financing terms other than those offered, or of any other information requested by a party to remain confidential; and
7. Any additional duties that are entered into by this or by separate written agreement.

Limited representation means that a buyer or seller is not responsible for the acts of the licensee. Additionally, parties are giving up their rights to the undivided loyalty of the licensee. This aspect of limited representation allows a licensee to facilitate a real estate transaction by assisting both the buyer and seller, but a licensee will not work to represent one party to the detriment of the other party when acting as a transaction broker to both parties.

As a No Brokerage Relationship my duties to you are:
1. Dealing honestly and fairly
2. Disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of the residential property which are not readily observable to the buyer.
3. Accounting for all funds entrusted to the licensee

According to the court case Johnson v. Davis all Realtors must disclose all know facts no matter how they represent you. For instance, if I have a listing and I go to the home after a big rain storm and they have a bucket in the living room collecting the rain that’s dripping down-I must notify anyone coming to see this home that there is a roof leak and they should have the roof inspected.

In the state of Florida dual agency is not allowed-where your Realtor would represent both parties as a single agent. The only case where this can happen is if both parties have assets in excess of $1Mil. I guess they figure that if you have that much in assets you know what you’re doing.

Now that I’ve explained the different types of representation I’ll tell you that the Realtor’s broker decides how each office will represent buyers/sellers. My broker has chosen to have me represent as a transaction broker. I do in some cases represent in other ways. A few of my banks require me to act as a single agent for them and with permission from my broker I can represent as a single agent or non-rep.

Here’s another common question I get:
How is the neighborhood? Or Do you know if there are any/how many whites, blacks, Hispanics, Chinese, kids, etc in this neighborhood. Is there a lot of crime in this neighborhood?

According to the Fair Housing Act the law prohibits me or any other Realtor from answering this question.

Although I have lived in every town from Bradenton to Punta Gorda I cannot possibly know every single street in each town. Here’s my advice.
1. Go visit the neighborhood after 5 pm when most people are home from work and the kids are out of school. Take a look around. Do you like what you see?
2. Call the local police department and ask if they get a lot of calls to that neighborhood.
3. Pick up a copy of the local newspaper and look at the streets mentioned in the Police Beat. Do you see the same ones mentioned over and over? Are these the streets in the neighborhood you are looking at?

I hope this clears up a lot of myths and mysteries behind these subjects

Englewood
# of listings in Englewood= 266 active listings
# of listings sold from June-16-July 16: 36
# of listings sold from May 16-June 16: 58
# of listings sold from Apr 16-May 16: 44
# of listings sold from Mar 16-Apr 16: 50
# of listings sold from Feb 16-Mar 16: 48
# of listings sold from Jan 16-Feb 16: 30
266 homes sold in the last six months in Englewood. Average number of homes sold per month over the last 6 months in Englewood: 44 homes
#sold (44 homes) X 12 (months) = 528
divide 528 by 52 weeks= 10 units per week
If 10 units sell each week divide that number into the number of active listings 10 divided by 528 = 53 weeks of inventory or a little more than a years worth of inventory in Englewood.

Osprey
# of listings in Osprey= 170 active listings
# of listings sold from June-16-July 16: 16
# of listings sold from May 16-June 16: 10
# of listings sold from Apr 16-May 16: 13
# of listings sold from Mar 16-Apr 16: 7
# of listings sold from Feb 16-Mar 16: 12
# of listings sold from Jan 16-Feb 16: 11
69 homes sold in the last six months in Osprey. Average number of homes sold per month over the last 6 months in Osprey: 12 homes
#sold (12 homes) X 12 (months) = 144
divide 144 by 52 weeks= 2.8 units per week
If 2.8 units sell each week divide that number into the number of active listings 2.8 divided by 144 = 52 weeks of inventory or a years worth of inventory in Osprey.

Sarasota
# of listings in Sarasota= 2154 active listings
# of listings sold from June-16-July 16: 221
# of listings sold from May 16-June 16: 274
# of listings sold from Apr 16-May 16: 267
# of listings sold from Mar 16-Apr 16: 253
# of listings sold from Feb 16-Mar 16: 199
# of listings sold from Jan 16-Feb 16: 186
1400 homes sold in the last six months in Sarasota. Average number of homes sold per month over the last 6 months in Sarasota: 233 homes
#sold (233 homes) X 12 (months) = 2796
divide 2796 by 52 weeks= 54 units per week
If 54 units sell each week divide that number into the number of active listings 54 divided by 2796 = 54 weeks of inventory or a little more than a years worth of inventory in Sarasota.

Punta Gorda (not including Deep Creek)
# of listings in Punta Gorda= 366 active listings
# of listings sold from June-16-July 16: 70
# of listings sold from May 16-June 16: 68
# of listings sold from Apr 16-May 16: 61
# of listings sold from Mar 16-Apr 16: 60
# of listings sold from Feb 16-Mar 16: 70
# of listings sold from Jan 16-Feb 16: 37
366 homes sold in the last six months in PG. Average number of homes sold per month over the last 6 months in PG: 61 homes
#sold (61 homes) X 12 (months) = 732
divide 732 by 52 weeks= 14 units per week
If 14 units sell each week divide that number into the number of active listings 14 divided by 732 = 52 weeks of inventory or a years worth of inventory in Punta Gorda.

Port Charlotte
# of listings in Port Charlotte= 1087 active listings
# of listings sold from June-16-July 16: 109
# of listings sold from May 16-June 16: 163
# of listings sold from Apr 16-May 16: 204
# of listings sold from Mar 16-Apr 16: 168
# of listings sold from Feb 16-Mar 16: 142
# of listings sold from Jan 16-Feb 16: 120
906 homes sold in the last six months in PC. Average number of homes sold per month over the last 6 months in PC: 151 homes
#sold (151 homes) X 12 (months) = 1812
divide 1812 by 52 weeks= 35 units per week
If 35 units sell each week divide that number into the number of active listings 35 divided by 1087 = 31 weeks is the absorption rate or about 8 months worth of inventory in Port Charlotte.

Sarasota:
Sarasota's average listing price for the last 6 months $270,412-Average selling price for the last six months is $241,961:
Average list price June 16-July 16 was $292,372 and the average selling price was $266,111. Average size home was 1708 sq ft under air.
Average list price May 16-June 16 was $294,229 and the average selling price was $267,475. Average size home selling is 1783 sq ft under air.
Average list price Apr 16-May 16 was $271,561 and the average selling price was $239,740. Average size home selling was 1664 under air.
Average list price Mar 16-Apr 16 was $237,319 and average selling price was $212,662. Average size home selling was 1640 sq ft under air.
Average list price Feb 16-Mar 16 was $271,561 and average selling price was $239,740. Average size home selling was 1664 sq ft under air.
Average list price Jan 16-Feb 16 was $255,434 and average selling price was $226,038. Average size home selling was 1626 sq ft under air.

Punta Gorda (including Deep Creek):
Punta Gorda's average listing price for the last 6 months $199,672-Average selling price for the last six months is $181,292:
Average list price June 16-July 16 was $205,494 and the average selling price was $186,964. Average size home was 1768 sq ft under air.
Average list price May 16-June 16 was $207,641 and the average selling price was $188,634. Average size home selling is 1757 sq ft under air.
Average list price Apr 16-May 16 was $188,990 and the average selling price was $172,271. Average size home selling was 1676 under air.
Average list price Mar 16-Apr 16 was $164,356 and average selling price was $149,375. Average size home selling was 1588 sq ft under air.
Average list price Feb 16-Mar 16 was $210,463 and average selling price was $191,601. Average size home selling was 1816 sq ft under air.
Average list price Jan 16-Feb 16 was $221,097 and average selling price was $198,907. Average size home selling was 1804 sq ft under air.

North Port:
North Port's average listing price for the last 6 months $118,977-Average selling price for the last six months is $109,563:
Average list price June 16-July 16 was $107,168 and the average selling price was $101,888. Average size home was 1616 sq ft under air.
Average list price May 16-June 16 was $113,354 and the average selling price was $107,128. Average size home was 1651 sq ft under air.
Average list price Apr 16-May 16 was $111,080 and the average selling price was $103,651. Average size home selling was 1588 under air.
Average list price Mar 16-Apr 16 was $108,114 and average selling price was $102,362. Average size home selling was 1566 sq ft under air.
Average list price Feb 16-Mar 16 was $102,399 and average selling price was $97,125. Average size home selling was 1572 sq ft under air.
Average list price Jan 16-Feb 16 was $111,387 and average selling price was $105,740. Average size home selling was 1595 sq ft under air.

North Port
# of listings in North Port= 615 active listings
# of listings sold from June-16-July 16: 125
# of listings sold from May 16-June 16: 147
# of listings sold from Apr 16-May 16: 150
# of listings sold from Mar 16-Apr 16: 156
# of listings sold from Feb 16-Mar 16: 152
# of listings sold from Jan 16-Feb 16: 130
860 homes sold in the last six months in NP. Average number of homes sold per month over the last 6 months in NP: 143 homes
#sold (143 homes) X 12 (months) = 1716
divide 1716 by 52 weeks= 33 units per week
If 33 units sell each week divide that number into the number of active listings 33 divided by 663 = 19 weeks is the absorption rate or 4 ½ months of inventory in North Port.