3576 Pine Street, Avondale

If you’ve got a turn key home that’s been renovated in Avondale and you price it right, you’re likely to have good luck in finding a buyer who’s ready to act. There are lots of buyers out there — just waiting pounce on something great when it pops up.

A great example of this is the house located at 3576 Pine Street in Avondale. It was listed last month by the Fred Miller Group for $399,000. It’s a 3 bedroom, 2 bath bungalow with a beautiful front porch, gorgeous brand new kitchen, renovated master bathroom, tall ceilings, screened porch in the back and has new landscaping — the perfect example of a “turn key” home.

The house came on the market, had two competing offers within weeks of being listed and is already under contract.

If you’re thinking of selling, there is a lot of pent up demand for houses in Avondale and lots of buyers out there looking for them. Please call us at 904-252-5181 for a market evaluation of your home if you’re considering selling – the time is now!

Bi - Lo is moving their headquarters to Jacksonville, FL

The Jacksonville Business Journal reported on March 12, 2012 that Bi-Lo is moving their headquarters to Jacksonville, FL. This will bring quite a few new people to town and guess what? They’re going to need houses.

Considering the fact that the offices aren’t too far from Avondale and Ortega, we will probably see quite a few new buyers looking for homes in our area.

So….if you’ve been thinking of putting your house on the market but just weren’t quite sure if you’re ready – NOW is the time! A word of caution – in today’s market, it’s critical that a house must be priced right in order to sell so please consult with us on where current market values are.

Caroline Powell and I are local area experts and were the top producers in the Avondale office last year. Please call us at 904-252-5181.

Increasing sales in the $500K - $1M price Range in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside

The $500 – $1M price point for non-waterfront homes has been hit hard over the last few years in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods of Jacksonville, FL but it looks like we’re seeing something of a recovery.

in 2009, there were only 8 sales in this price range.
In 2010, there were also only 8.
In 2011, the number more than doubled to a whopping 18.

A quick look at homes that have either sold this year (or are under contract) reveals that we’ve already hit 8 — and it’s only March 24th!

I did a search to see how many homes are currently still available for sale in this price range and find that there are only 14 — one of them is a townhouse and several others have “issues”. Our inventory of “good” homes (nicely renovated with good floorplans) is in short supply and the demand is increasing.

Buyers are picky these days. They either want turn key, move-in condition homes or  ”fixer uppers” at a steeply discounted prices. Take a look at our fantastic listing located at 4973 Arapahoe Avenue in Ortega. This turn key home was built in 2006, has a great floor plan, is very energy efficient & has a beautiful sparkling pool – just in time for summer!

Our inventory of renovated turn key homes in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside is low and there are lots of buyers out there, so if you’ve been thinking of selling, please give us a call.

And….. after. Add, sofa with contrasting pillows, a leather armchair, some pictures on the wall and accessories on the built in shelving. Don’t you love the green glass jar?

Now look at the before and after pictures of the deck just outside the family room.

And……after. Add furniture, some plants and pillows, an area rug and, voila, a space Martha Stewart would be proud to call her own!

You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that shortly after staging, we received an offer on this darling home. As real estate experts in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside, we often use resources like staging to help our homeowners get the most out of their property. Count on us for valuable tips like this to ensure you get top dollar for your home!

Readers…..We’d love for you to chime in and tell us what you think! Please leave us a comment!

Ever think about selling your house but not sure you’re quite ready? There’s lots of unfinished business to attend to – update the kitchen, spruce up the landscaping, switch out a few appliances, get dated wallpaper taken down….the list could go on and on. You’re stuck in the analysis/paralysis stage of wondering what your house is worth, feeling daunted by all the things you should do….

What if we told you we’ve got someone looking for a house just like yours! And…….you don’t have to endure keeping it picked up every day, costly updates AND you get to remain in control — and show your house only when you want to?

What if we can bring a qualified buyer directly to your door and voila – you’re ready to move on – no scurrying around and no stress. Sounds pretty good – right?

Let us add you to our little black book of real estate for Avondale and Ortega and we’ll be on the lookout. No pressure, no stress — just quietly let us know you’re out there.

Buyers…..we want you too — casually looking for something but not ready to go “all out” in your search? If just the right house came on the market, you’d certainly be interested but not quite ready to start the search? Tell us what your dream house is and we’ll get to work trying to find it! We know a LOT of people in the neighborhood and are often privy to things that aren’t public just yet.

So….take advantage of our insider’s edge – for buyers AND sellers – send us an email (or text us) and join our Litttle Black Book of Real Estate for Avondale, Ortega and Riverside. PRIVACY GUARANTEED — one of the cornerstone’s of our business is confidentiality. We’ll schedule a private consultation where we’ll take down the details about your home (or what you hope to find), talk about what we think a fair market value might be (or what we think you might have to pay) and when we have someone in the market looking for a house like yours (or someone thinking of selling) – we’ll make the connection!

1463 Ingleside Avenue, Jacksonville, FL

We had a wonderful closing today on our listing at 1463 Ingleside Avenue in the lovely Avondale neighborhood of Jacksonville. It was one of those rare closings where both the buyers and sellers were at the closing table and both were very happy about the transaction. In our fast paced world, we often have MAIL AWAY closings (where neither buyer nor seller actually attends the closing) or closings where either the buyer or seller signs “in advance” and the closing only has one party in attendance.

The house was listed at $310,000 (and SOLD for $310,000) and is a lovely two story residence within walking distance to the shoppes of Avondale that has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, renovated kitchen, family room, large master bath, a guest house AND a 1.5 car garage — Wow! The buyers recognized the value and offered full price.

Thank you to our sellers and congratulations to the buyers — we look forward to having you in the neighborhood!

Since this time last year (12 months of data), the number of closed sales in this price range has increased by 14.04% and the amount of inventory has DECREASED (that’s a good thing) by more than 50% (53.31% to be exact). We are down to only 13.15 months of inventory meaning that if every home on the market in this price were to sell and no other new listings were to come on the market, it would take approximately 13 months for all of the inventory to be absorbed.

Most people define a “balanced” market where there are an even number of buyers and sellers to be around six months of inventory.  13 months of inventory is approximately double that of a “balanced” market and would indicate a buyer’s market. That’s certainly still true but considering that inventory levels have been as high as a three or four year supply, only thirteen months supply actually seems small by comparison.

So…thinking of selling? Wondering just exactly what your chances are of finding a buyer in this crazy market? Call the experts! The Powell Steilberg team consistently tracks and measures the market so that you have a realistic picture of what’s going on. It’s essential information to have and we have it!

Thanks for reading! For the state of real estate in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods, subscribe to our blog and you’ll be the first to know about what’s going on!

Unfortunately, the life of a realtor is often the same. We mean to call each and every one of our buyers and sellers every day.  The truth is that we DO think about you all the time.  Almost every day we say, we REALLY need to call (….).  But in the interim, life happens. Busy with getting a new listing photographed, negotiating a offer on a listing, attending an inspection, creating a flyer for your open house on Sunday, researching what the proper price of the house you want might be, searching through active listings for what we’re going to show you or calling to schedule showing appointments keep us from sittting down to check in and just say hello.

The realtor is the middle man. It’s through us that you learn “what’s going on”.  How did the showing go? What did the buyer think of my house? Do you think I’ll get an offer? Have you seen anything new on the market? What do you think we should offer on this house that we love? We’ve received an offer way below our asking price — should we make a counter-offer or just not respond? Have you heard anything from the bank on our short sale offer?

Despite knowing that the MOST important thing we can do is STAY IN TOUCH, it’s one thing that can be the most difficult to do. Please know that even if you don’t hear from us, we ARE thinking of you nearly every minute of every day — REALLY. And…..if we don’t call you — CALL US! We love to hear from you. Thanks!

Thanks for reading! If you like what you see, please subscribe so that our posts will be sent directly to your inbox. We write primarily about the state of real estate in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside.

TOP 5 REASONS TO SELL YOUR HOUSE NOW!

1. The market for houses priced at $500K and below is busy!
2.  Interest Rates are at Historically Low Levels – This makes your home more affordable to buyers
3. The First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit will expire on April 30th, 2010
4. You May be Eligible for a $6,500 Tax Credit
5. Property Tax Portability May save you thousands of Dollars on the Property Taxes of your New Home

Did you know that just since January 1st, 2010  33 homes or condos have either sold or gone under contract in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside?

Did you know that with historically low interest rates that your home is more affordable than ever to potential purchasers?

Did you know that a person must have a fully executed contract to purchase a home before April 30th, 2010 in order to qualify for the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit but that they don’t have to close until June 30th, 2010?

Did you know that if you’ve been in your home for five years or more that you may qualify for a $6,500 tax credit yourself?

Did you know that if you’ve lived in your home as a principal residence (homestead) for 5 years or more you might have a lot of deferred value that you can carry or “port” with you to your next home? This will significantly reduce the property tax bill on your new home.

Did you know that over 85% of today’s buyers start their search on the internet and that professional photographs are the equivalent of internet curb appeal?

We specialize in the neighborhoods of Avondale, Ortega and Riverside and know the area street by street which is essential when making the decision on who you want to work with when selling your home. We live here AND work here so who better to share the good news to your potential buyers about what a great part of town this is!  

Your realtor MUST have expertise in internet marketing which is a primary focus of our business plan. We have a comprehensive marketing package that includes: professional photography, direct mail, print, blogging, facebook, twitter, foursquare, video, extensive personal networking and more! Call us, we’d love to share what we know about what your home might be worth and what we can do to help you sell it!

Thanks for reading — please join me for my next blog about what’s happening in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside real estate market.

Most realtors charge between 6 and 7% commission. The listing realtor (the one whose sign is in your yard) and the selling agent (the one who represents the buyer) each get half (3% each). The average real estate transaction is about $200K which at 6% commission is $12,000 or $6,000 for each realtor.

Out of the $6,000, the realtor must pay the broker a “split”. In most agencies, the realtor gets around 70% and the broker gets 30% which in this scenario $4,200 for the realtor and $1,800 for the broker.

Out of that $4,200, the realtor pays ALL of their own marketing expenses. This includes all ads, photography for our listings (we use and pay for professional photography), postcards, postage for postcards, online advertising (including realtor.com, trulia.com, zillow.com, etc…) and dues including membership in the MLS (multiple listing service) & NEFAR (NorthEast Florida Association of Realtors).

Realtors spend many, many hours on the phone talking with homeowners, prospective buyers and other realtors. They hold open houses, place signs out for open houses (and then pick them back up), attend showings, follow up with showings, call realtors to get feedback, negotiate contracts (once at the beginning of a deal and often a second time after inspections), coordinate the transaction with the closing or title company, the mortgage company, attend inspections, go to closing, buy closing gifts, prospect for new business, develop budgets and marketing strategies, place ads in local publications, etc… The list goes on and on.

Realtors are also condsidered independent contractors which means that we pay both employer and employee taxes AND we pay for our own health insurance. Perhaps even more important than all of the expenses is the fact that a realtor only gets paid if someone buys (or sells). We show lots of houses to people that never buy and not every listing we take sells.

The average realtor is involved in 6-8 transactions per year. So, the next time you think you’re realtor is overpaid, ask how much he/she made last year. I bet you’ll be surprised.  Hopefully you can see that with all that’s involved, most realtors are not getting rich. Just like in any profession (superstar athletes, surgeons, businessmen, actors, etc…) there are a few MEGA producers that do make a lot of money — but they’ve served their time of lost holidays, weekends and evenings on their way to the top.

A final point to consider is that when you bought your house, you didn’t pay ANY commission at all – the seller paid it. So, if you’re getting ready to sell and dreading the thought of paying a commission, try to remember all the times that you got the services of a realtor for free!

There seems to be the perception out there that realtors don’t do much and get paid a lot. I hope after reading this that you’ll see things a little differently.  If you’re interested, I copied an article from the internet on the subject — click here to read it.

Thanks for reading — if you’d like more information about houses for sale in Jacksonville (or thinking or selling yours) in the Avondale, Ortega or Riverside neighborhoods of Jacksonville, I’d love to share my local area knowledge with you!