Homeowner Sellers Now Competing Head-to-Head With Developers/Builders

For several months now you have heard me mention again and again how many home sellers were asking for more money per square foot than the developers were. It made little sense to me that a buyer would pay $134/sq ft when a developer would sell them a brand new home for $100/sq ft. Yet sellers would stubbornly hold on to the dream of hitting a jackpot while the developers sold off their inventories.

Now we are seeing that the light of reality has finally begun to shine on many sellers and they are giving some of the developers a run for their money. The builders are limited to the costs of constructing a home in today's economic circumstances. Resellers, however, are limited only by the price they paid for their homes. And if they purchased then several years ago, they can undercut the prices of the builders and still make a profit.

As an example, in our area we have a large subdivision called Lake Bernadette. It was started in the 1980's but construction continues to this day in various parts of it. I recently pulled up the MLS listings that were currently on the market. Of the 56 that came up as "active", half of them were at, or very close to, $100 per square foot. A few were substantially under that amount. This tells me that homeowners are not telling their agents to be more aggressive in their pricing and are offering their properties for realistic amounts that compete well with the builder/developers.

What also helps the homeowners at this time is the cut-back in new construction that is taking place. We have several subdivisions near our office that have streets, lights, stop signs, etc, and not a single home under construction. They have sat this way for many months. This lack of of additional inventory each month can only help those sellers who want to move their homes.

So if you home has been languishing on the market for months, or in some cases years, take a lesson from your neighbors who are going after those buyers who will pass you by on the way to the homes that are reasonably priced.

For more information or questions about this topic please call me at: 813-783-4444 or e-mail me at: jelwell1@tampabay.rr.com

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