Monthly Flagler County Waterfront Sales Reports & Florida Realtors® News
Realtor.com: Luxury Market Picks up Speed
/Realtor.com: Luxury market picks up speed
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Sept. 19, 2018 – Luxury home sales continued to break records as prices hit double-digit gains in 20 major counties, according to the realtor.com 2018 Luxury Home Index released today. Additionally, the number of sales at or above the $1 million mark rose 6 percent over last year.
The realtor.com Luxury Home Index analyzes the luxury price tier, defined as the top 5 percent of all residential sales, in 90 U.S. counties.
Demand for luxury homes remains strong
The pace of sales for luxury homes remains strong. The combined median age of inventory in the 90 luxury markets surveyed was 121 days, down nine days or 6.9 percent year-over-year. Additionally, two-thirds of luxury markets are seeing inventory move faster than this time last year.
In 50 of the 90 counties analyzed, the luxury tier currently has an entry point of at least $1 million, while 70 markets continue to see yearly price growth.
"The conditions in the luxury segment are quite different from the market overall – it's really a tale of two markets," says Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com. "Although U.S. median listing prices show signs of slowing growth, luxury prices are moving in the opposite direction in many places. For the second consecutive month, we've seen more markets with double-digit, entry-level luxury price growth than in the past four years."
Sarasota stays on top
Since March, Sarasota, Fla. has remained the nation's fastest-growing luxury market, with sales prices up 21 percent since last June. Half of all luxury homes in Sarasota sold within 165 days – 22 percent faster than the previous year. Queens, N.Y.; Santa Clara, Calif.; Boulder, Colo.; and Naples (CollierCounty, Fla.)rounded out the top five counties, each seeing yearly price growth between 13 and 15 percent.
Miami's luxury market starts heating up
Recent trends in Miami's luxury segment suggest that the luxury entry point could break the $1 million mark for the first time this fall. After declining for 24 months in a row, Miami luxury prices finally saw growth this January and have now reached the highest price gains since July 2015. Miami's luxury market is currently growing at 2.2 percent year-over-year.
Other surrounding South Florida counties, including Broward, Collier, Lee, and Palm Beach, saw similar declines in recent years, but many of them have outpaced the rest of the country since early last year with yearly price growth between 5 and 13 percent.
Other U.S. marketsNorthern California luxury markets continue performing well, with seven counties in the top 20 fastest growing markets, all of which saw double-digit growth in June. San Francisco, Sonoma, and Santa Clara – up 10, 13, and 15 percent, respectively – are showing there is still room for growth. On the other hand, San Mateo, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Cruz are holding steady.
There's a hot streak in Davidson and Williamson counties, both part of the greater Nashville area, which grew 12 and 11 percent, respectively. Both saw double-digit growth in June, after steadily gaining momentum since 2016. Half of all luxury homes sold in 61 days in Davidson County, putting it among the nation's 10 fastest-moving luxury markets.
Seattle (King County, Wash.) luxury grew by 13 percent in June compared to the same time last year, pushing its luxury entry point to $1.5 million. This marks Seattle's 11th consecutive month of growth between 12 and 14 percent. As the market's growing tech scene funnels in a more affluent crowd, more buyers can afford pricier homes, which may push demand - and prices - higher.
© 2018 Florida Realtors®
Top Reason for Risky RE Behavior? Fear of Losing a Deal
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Top reason for risky RE behavior? Fear of losing a deal
CHICAGO – Sept. 17, 2018 – What would you be willing to do in order to keep a real estate transaction from falling through? Would you literally put your life on the line to save a deal? Ask any agent or broker, and the answer likely will be an easy "no."
But according to real estate safety instructor Cheryl Knowlton, president of Elite Edge Real Estate Training, practitioners most commonly cite fear of losing the deal as the reason they don't follow safety protocols on the job. However, a third of the nation's 1.3 million Realtors® say that they've faced professional situations that made them afraid for their personal safety or the security of their personal information, according to the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) 2018 Member Safety Report.
Though fewer Realtors say they've been in harm's way on the job – 33 percent, down from 38 percent in 2017 – there's still a prevailing motivation in the industry to put business interests above all else, says Knowlton, who recently hosted a safety webinar called "Habits to Keep You Safe on the Job Year-Round."
"We don't want you to lose a deal, but we also don't want you to lose your life," Knowlton said during the webinar.
Sixteen real estate professionals were killed in homicides while on the job last year, and 64 suffered fatal injuries, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cited in NAR's "Real Estate Safety Matters" course. Bad habits that make you more vulnerable to safety threats in real estate – such as working alone, focusing on something other than your immediate surroundings, and meeting prospects in the field before verifying their identity – take time to break, Knowlton said. She offered a five-step process for changing unsafe work habits.
Admit that you need to make a change. "Whether you're creating a new, good habit or breaking a bad one, you can't change anything you're not willing to acknowledge," Knowlton said.
Understand the things that can trigger bad habits. Knowlton said two things often lead real estate professionals to skirt safety protocols: the need to save time and a "faulty belief that I'm going to lose this deal, and it's going to go to my competition if I don't do these things – meet strangers in strange places and keep doing things the way I've always done them."
Change your routine one action at a time. If you typically meet prospects for the first time at property showings, start committing to having a phone conversation with them first, where you can gather information about the potential client and their needs. Identify behaviors that are problematic for your safety, and institute one action that could help alleviate the danger. Eventually, it will become a new habit.
Believe that it's necessary to change behaviors. You won't be able to change your behavior long term unless you believe it truly makes a difference in your life, Knowlton said. "We've got to believe that we can and will make the changes necessary" and "tap into the reasons why we want to make those changes."
Reward yourself for making small but significant changes. "You can eat an elephant if you take it one bite at a time," Knowlton said. "I used to be guilty of setting gigantic goals, and then becoming frustrated and overwhelmed because I didn't achieve what I set out to do in the timeframe I set out to do it." Without recognizing the small shifts you make in pursuit of a larger change in your routine, the effects won't be long-lasting.
