Daytona Beach Real Estate Blog: April 2009

Yesterday, Florida REALTORS® received an e-mail today about the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" which is the $8000 tax credit for qualifying first-time home buyers. The e-mail came from the Florida Association of REALTORS® (FAR), asking Florida REALTORS® to contact their state representative, and contained a link to a form letter to e-mail.

I just posted the actual e-mail as a topic for discussion on LinkedIn, in the "Real Estate Services" group. If you haven't joined the group, feel free to do so, and feel free to post your own topics for discussion in the group =)

But on this post, right here on Active Rain, I'd like to know what REALTORS® from EVERY STATE are hearing from the National Association of REALTORS®. Are you being asked to contact your state representatives?

After commenting here, if you'd like a more in-depth discussion, feel free to carry it over to the Real Estate Services group on LinkedIn. I've posted the exact e-mail, as I received it, in the group there.

Thanks for commenting!

I just finished my 1st quarter real estate listings vs sales report for Ponce Inlet, for the 1st quarter of 2009, and decided to add some fun local events when I ran across something that's only going to be here for a week. Check this out.

Right now, at the Inlet Harbor Restaurant & Marina at Ponce Inlet, you can "Discover the Pinta and the Nina". Only until May 3rd, you can tour replicas of the Pinta and the Nina as they land in Ponce Inlet! I think this sounds really cool.

In addition to this short-term, historically fun event, the Inlet Harbor Marina is committed to protecting the water quality and habitat of the Intracoastal Waterway and Halifax River. As a matter of fact the Inlet Harbor Marina was "the first facility in Volusia County to achieve dual certifications as a Clean Marina and Clean Boatyard". But there's more!

Visit the Inlet Harbor Restaurant & Marina web site, and check out the long list of "Reader's Choice Awards", voted on by local residents. I counted over 20 awards, ranging from food, to drinks, to live music, to general entertainment, and more.

So hurry if you want to visit the Pinta and the Nina this week, but visit as often as possible to enjoy the many fun things to do. It could take you a month just to enjoy all the great food, drinks and music!

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Ponce Inlet, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill, a Daytona Beach native, and expert REALTOR® with experience selling real estate in every city in east Volusia County.

Moving right along through the 1st quarter real estate listing and sales reports for each city in East Volusia County, we're now on the fabulous city of Ponce Inlet. For anyone who's famililar with the Daytona Beach area... if you've ever visited Ponce Inlet, or even better, if you have the privilege of owning a home in Ponce Inlet, you know how many unique and interesting things are packed into this exclusive, oceanside AND riverside town! You have your choice of restaurants that range from casual to elegant. Then there's the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, and the Marine Science Center, and Inlet Harbour Marina, and very cool walkways through the marshes and dunes, on the way to the inlet. I love to walk way out on the jetty, where the waves are crashing against the rocks. And sometimes I drive to my favorite beach access point (which just happens to be located in Ponce Inlet) where I can either park my car and look at the ocean, or get out and walk barefoot in the sand. I absolutely love the feeling of beach sand between my toes. But I'm digressing. Let's get to the real estate statistics.

For this report, I'm providing more details, because there are more diverse types of properties, in a wider range of values. And to keep this information all easy to read and understand, I've created a chart that separates houses and condos/multi-family residences. And just as I've done with the previous cities I've finished so far... Port Orange, South Daytona, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores and Wilbur-by-the-Sea... I've shown the amount of houses or condos that were listed in each price range, for the 1st quarter in one column, then the amount of sales for houses and columns in the next column, then the total number of real estate listings in those categories in the third column.

Now for those of you who like graphs...

Ponce Inlet 1st Quarter Houses Report. New Listings, Sales, and Total Inventory.

Ponce Inlet 1st Quarter Condos Report. New Listings, Sales, and Total Inventory.

To buy or sell houses or condos in Ponce Inlet, or any city in East Volusia County, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

If you're not in this area, but are interested in helping in saving endangered sea turtles, you can actually adopt a sea turtle nest and have some check on your personal nest, take pictures of it, wait for them to hatch, and know you really made a difference. Click here >> for information on how to Adopt Your Own Sea Turtle Nest in Ponce Inlet FL.

It's time for me to continue with my first quarter real estate reports for each city in East Volusia County. For the 1st Quarter of 2009 we're comparing New Listings, Total Number of Listings and the Number of Sales for each city. And for some cities I've separated the condo listings and sales from the houses or in one particular city (Daytona Beach Shores) we looked at the totals for each category, then just pulled the condos into a seperate category.

So far we've covered Port Orange, South Daytona, Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach Shores. In this post we're going to take a quick look at Wilbur-by-the-Sea.

Why are we only taking a quick look at Wilbur-by-the-Sea? For starters because Wilbur is a very small town. And more importantly because there were no sales at all in Wilbur, for the first quarter of 2009. That's right. Zip; Zero; Zilch on the sales. No houses. No duplexes. No condos.

I'm going to let the chart speak for itself, then we can move along to the Ponce Inlet report, which holds much more real estate data.

As you can see, the vast majority of the real estate for sale in Wilbur-by-the-Sea is in the form of condos. And none of them sold during the first quarter of 2009. The most likely reason for there being no sales is because of the layout of the cities. Wilbur-by-the-Sea is sandwiched in between Daytona Beach Shores and Ponce Inlet. Both Daytona Beach Shores and Ponce Inlet draw higher real estate values due to the newer ages of the houses and condos and the shopping conveniences, while Wilbur is a quaint, smaller town, and the houses and condos in Wilbur are older than those in Ponce Inlet and Daytona Beach Shores. And the simple reason for this is because Wilbur-by-the-Sea was unincorporated until just a few years ago. Can anyone read between the lines here? You can find excellent real estate values in Wilbur-by-the-Sea, while still enjoying the restaurants and shopping all around you!

So let's move along to the Ponce Inlet 1st Quarter Real Estate Report for 2009.

To visit my web site, go to www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com. You can also view house and condo MLS listing Video Tours at www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateVideos.com.

Today was one of my favorite types of days. It always amazes me that being a Daytona Beach native, living in Port Orange, that there are so many things to do, that I often forget all there is to do and see. 

This morning I had an appointment with a real estate buyer who wants to buy an oceanfront condo in Daytona Beach. And we have some unbelievable bargains for sale in condos on the ocean! But this buyer is in the beginning stages of her search, so after meeting with her and sharing some information, I headed home, over the Silver Beach/Orange Avenue bridge. And as I came over the bridge, (I don't usually use this one) I looked over and noticed the peaceful pavilions along the shoreline of "City Island", on the Halifax River/Intracoastal Waterway. And I had to stop!

If you've never been in this section of town, or if it's been a while since you visited this gorgeous area where you can also walk across the street to the Daytona Beach downtown stores, or visit Jackie Robinson Ballpark, you owe it to yourself to take a leisurely stroll along the river banks and enjoy the ducks, the pavilions, the playground, swings, library and peaceful views of the river and bridge.

I took lots of photos and video footage too. I haven't had time to process the video footage yet, but I hope you enjoy the photos. It was a perfect spring day with blue skies, white fluffy clouds, and warm sunshine at a pleasant temperature. It couldn't be more perfect. There was even a young boy swinging, and I got to feed the ducks too!  =)

After an hour or so of peaceful wandering, I headed south on U.S.1, toward Port Orange. But as I was passing the fairly recently finished Halifax Landing, luxury condominiums on the Halifax River/Intracoastal Waterway, I had the sudden urge to stop in for a new tour and some updated photos and price lists. Now THIS is a spectacular offering at unbelievable prices. But I'll blog about that when I finish processing the photos and video.

And that was the majority of the events of my pleasant, spontaneous, productive day. (I had to go back to the office and work all evening.)

If you're interested in a move to Daytona Beach, now is a great time to buy. And there is much to enjoy at any given time. For things to do around the area, here's a handy list...

• The Southeast Museum of Photography at Daytona State College

• Daytona Beach Flea and Farmer's Market; one of the Top 5 Flea Markets in the U.S.

• Daytona Beach Halifax Humane Society (Have fun visiting the animals)

• Daytona Beach Spas and Resorts (I'm finding something for everyone to do!)

• Pirate's Island Adventure Golf in Daytona Beach Shores

• South Daytona Riverfront Veteran's Memorial Park

• Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Marine Science Center

• Ormond Beach Tomoka State Park

There are many fun things to do in every city in east Volusia County, and I've posted many more blog posts from which you can choose. But this is enough for now. Just keep checking back and I'll keep you posted with new information. Stay tuned for fresh ideas of things to do, and ongoing real estate reports and updates.

For the 1st quarter real estate update for East Volusia County, view the Daytona Beach 1st Quarter Real Estate Listings vs Sales Report, and follow each of the other cities in East Volusia County from there.

For all your real estate needs, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

This real estate update is for the 2009 1st quarter real estate listings and sales report for Daytona Beach Shores. If you're not familiar with the layout of the Daytona Beach area, you should know that what you think is all Daytona Beach, is actually a string of 7 small cities that abutt each other, with Daytona Beach being at the center.

In the last couple of weeks I've written...

• 1st quarter real estate report for Port Orange

• 1st quarter real estate report for South Daytona

• 1st quarter real estate report for Daytona Beach

The 1st part of the total real estate data for Daytona Beach Shores for the 1st quarter of 2009 includes houses, condos, manufactured homes on land and town houses.

The 2nd part of the Daytona Beach Shores graph for the 1st quarter of 2009 is only for condos.

You'll notice that not all of the cities I've done these real estate reports on so far, have condos included. This is because some cities have very few condos in them. Daytona Beach Shores is quite the opposite. There are many condos available for sale in Daytona Beach Shores. There were also many condos sold for Daytona Beach Shores 1st quarter. I still have several cities to cover for my east Volusia County 1st quarter real estate reports, and there will be many condos in the beachside cities.

Whatever your interests, in either buying or selling houses or condos, or if you're a local resident, trying to keep an eye on our local real estate climate, keep checking back as I continue with these reports.

If you'd like to buy a house or condo in Daytona Beach Shores, I'm a Daytona Beach native with experience selling houses and condos in every city in east Volusia County.

If you'd like to sell a house or condo in Daytona Beach Shores, I reiterate, I'm a Daytona Beach native with experience selling houses and condos in every city in east Volusia County.

For some fun things to do in Daytona Beach Shores, check out these ideas...

• Home Buyers and Residents of Daytona Beach Shores; Let's Have Some Fun!

• Real Estate Buyers and Visitors of Daytona Beach Shores, Let's Have Some MORE Fun!

**This Daytona Beach Shores real estate data is presented by Lisa Hill, Daytona Beach native with experience selling real estate in every city in east Volusia County. Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

Now is a great time for Daytona Beach Area real estate buyers and residents. Not only are we enjoying the Daytona Beach International Festival with the London Symphony Orchestra AND the Port Orange Lakeside Jazz Fest, you can also take your pick of multiple theatrical productions and musical presentations. Here are some of your choices...

• Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach. "Driving Miss Daisy". April 23-25 at 8:00 p.m. and April 26 at 2:00 p.m. The Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach is is located at 726 Third Ave., New Smyrna Beach, FL. Ticket prices are $7.00 - $14.00. For more information, call 386-423-4246.

• Daytona State College, Theater Center, Building 220. "The Color of Justice", VSA Arts Performance. April 27, 10:00 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Daytona State College Theater Center-Building 220 is located at 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach. Tickets are $10.00 for grades 3-9. For more information call 386-214-2021.

• Daytona State College, Goddard Theater, "The Taming of the Shrew". April 28-30 and May 1-2 all at 7:30 p.m., and May 3 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $5.00, or FREE to Daytona State College and Volusia County STUDENTS. For more information call 386-506-3042.

Buying real estate in Daytona Beach or Port Orange?

Selling real estate in Daytona Beach or Port Orange? 

Anywhere in East Volusia County, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

View Daytona Beach MLS real estate video tours

**This Port Orange and Daytona Beach real estate information, and area events is provided by Lisa Hill, REALTOR® with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

If you're a resident of Port Orange, we have several important dates to mark on our calendars in the upcoming weeks. To keep anyone from getting overwhelmed, I'm going to break up the information a little bit. For this blog post, I'm going to focus on everyone who loves to play at the All Children's Park on Spruce Creek Rd, near Central Park Blvd., in Port Orange.

It's hard to believe, but All Children's Park is now twenty years old! Obviously, over the course of twenty years, the playground equipment has become weathered and worn. The good news is, two large financial grants were obtained to help renovate the park. So, over the next two to three months, $167,000+ will be spent on the renovations of the All Children's Park. If all goes as planned, it's estimated that the re-opening of the park will be some time in July.

If you've never visited the Port Orange All Children's Park, you've been missing a lot! And I can't wait to see how much better it will be with renovations and new playground equipment! In the interim, you can play at these other Port Orange parks...

• Willow Run Park
• Riverside Pavilion Park
• Airport Road Park

And since it's summer, you and your family have many choices of fun things to do, all over the Daytona Beach area. You can...

• Spend time at the beaches
• Catch a Daytona Cubs baseball game at Jackie Robinson Ball Park
• Take a short drive to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Park
• Visit Ponce Inlet Marine Science Center
• Enjoy Ormond Beach Tomoka State Park
  

There are plenty of other fantastic activities to enjoy, so stay tuned to my blog, and I'll keep you posted.

If you and/or your family are planning to buy a new home this summer, you'll probably want to close on your new house, and get the children registered in their new schools before the new school year starts. With financing taking much longer than in the past, it's never too early to start the process of applying for your mortgage financing so you'll know how much house you can afford to buy. And it's a great time to buy now! Interest rates are low and so are the real estate prices. So don't hesiate. Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

For real estate information on the city of Port Orange, << click here.  And for information on buying or selling real estate in Daytona Beach and all of the surrounding cities, << click here. And to view Daytona Beach area MLS real estate video tours, << click here.

**This Daytona Beach, Port Orange, and all of Volusia County real estate information has been brought to you by Lisa Hill, Daytona Beach native, and local real estate expert.

As most REALTORS® are experiencng, I'm finding myslef almost grasping at straws, looking for new ways to sell my Port Orange and Daytona Beach area real estate listings. We all know it's a buyer's market, and home buyers and investors can buy houses or condos at superbly low prices! And yet they only seem to want to buy the cheap properties, even though some of the best buys are found in the luxury market. I personally have a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house with a full in-law apartment and swimming pool, located on a lake in a fabulous, gated, Port Orange community, listed for only $499,000!

I was just reading a blog post by Sheldon Neal... Actually, it was the post he wrote for Sally Cheeseman's "Spring Fresh" contest. One portion of Sheldon's post could not have more perfectly stated what REALTORS® everywhere are experiencing, learning, and doing for their clients.

Here are Sheldon's words... "Out with the standard thinking of how to represent my clients and the way to market their homes and my services. In with FRESH new ideas including blogging, SEO enhancements, network strengthening - both online & offline, and an embracing of the changed environment we work in, including learning the nuances of new business opportunities such as short sales and strong buyer representation." I could not have said this better myself. So I didn't.

Selling real estate in this day and age is like being catapulted into a whole new world... a topsy-turvy world full of contradictory reports and annoyingly negative media! The learning curve is difficult, and the obstacles are astronomical. This is most especially true for listings like the one I mentioned above, being that it has the additional difficulty of being in the jumbo mortgage market. The old ways of doing business do not work anymore. And any agent who thinks they can be effective, using yesterday's methods is not only disillusioned, they're an embarrassment to our industry, and they're doing a huge disservice to their clients.

So what do professional REALTORS® do?

• When working with real estate sellers, we never stop using every marketing strategy we know; both new and old. And we never stop looking for new ways to market our real estate listings.
  

• When working with real estate buyers, we scour through thousands of MLS listings to find the house, condo, townhouse, land, or whatever property best meets their needs.  If necessary, we preview properties on behalf of our buyers. (This is often necessary in Florida, since so many of our buyers are from other states and countries) Sometimes we take additional photos or video of the listings we preview, if the listing agent did not do a thorough job for their sellers. We then can e-mail or upload for viewing, these photos and video for our non-local real estate buyers.
  

Why do we go to these lengths? Because we're professionals and this is a career. When the market changes, we change with it. We may be down, but we're not out. Many people are desperate and depending on us. So we do the best we can, and we keep learning, keep trying, keep praying, keep changing, and never give up.

I guess we really must love what we do! So did I miss anything?

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateVideos.com

Lisa Hill, Expert REALTOR® for Daytona Beach, Port Orange, and all of Volusia County. A Daytona Beach native with experience selling real estate in every city in the area!

This real estate update is for the 1st quarter real estate listings and sales report for Daytona Beach. If you're not familiar with the layout of the Daytona Beach area, you should know that what you think is all Daytona Beach, is actually a string of 7 small cities that abutt each other, with Daytona Beach being at the center.

Last week I wrote a blog post about the city of Port Orange, 1st Quarter Real Estate Listings vs Sales Report, and the city of South Daytona, 1st Quarter Real Estate Listings vs Sales Report. Each of those reports contain the real estate data for the specific city, and the proximity of those cities. As is to be expected, South Daytona, abuts the south edge of Daytona Beach. However, South Daytona is only located on the "mainland" aka the area west of the Intracoastal Waterway whereas Daytona Beach extends across the Intracoastal to "The Beachside" aka "The Peninsula" aka the area between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean.

For other real estate sales data on Daytona Beach, check out the following posts...

• Daytona Beach 2008 3rd Quarter Real Estate Update
  

• Volusia County Real Estate Listings vs Sales Report for 2008

• Daytona Beach Real Estate in Golf Communities

Now for the 1st quarter 2009, Daytona Beach real estate listings vs sales report, just view the chart below.

Compare Daytona Beach's 1st quarter results to other local cities. I haven't finished each city yet, but here are the reports I have so far...

• South Daytona Real Estate, 1st Quarter 2009, Listings vs Sales Report

• Daytona Beach Shores Real Estate, 1st Quarter 2009, Listings vs Sales Report

• Port Orange Real Estate, 1st Quarter 2009, Listings vs Sales Report

• Wilbur-by-the-Sea Real Estate, 1st Quarter 2009, Listings vs Sales Report
  

• Ponce Inlet Real Estate, 1st Quarter 2009, Listings vs Sales Report 

To buy or sell real estate in Daytona Beach, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

Click here >> to buy or sell real estate in Port Orange FL.

Daytona Beach and Port Orange real estate buyers and sellers, as well as residents who enjoy exquisite music from both local and international sources, this is a great time to be living or visiting the Daytona Beach and Port Orange areas!

Right now, Volusia County residents and visitors are enjoying the musical excellence of The London Symphony Orchestra and the Daytona Beach International Festival. But to add to this annual incredible event, this weekend, April 17 and 18, we can also enjoy Lakeside Jazz Fest in Port Orange.

Lakeside Jazz Fest is completely FREE, and features the United States Marine All Star Jazz Band from Washington, D.C. You can also enjoy jazz bands from the University of Central Florida, Stetson University, and more. The Festival is being held at the Kenneth W. Parker Amphitheater at Port Orange City Center.

The Lakeside Jazz Festival was established in 1998, and is hosted by local high schools jazz bands from Atlantic High School and Spruce Creek High School.

For more information, you can visit www.LakesideJazz.org where you can view a complete list of the headliner bands, and a schedule of their performances. At the festival, you can purchase food from the concession stands, with all proceeds going to summer music camp scholarships for Atlantic High School and Spruce Creek High School band members.

This is a great way to support our local high school music programs. Please enjoy the free jazz concerts, and buy food from the concession stands, so our local high schools won't have to worry about falling prey to losing their art programs, like so many other nationwide schools.

If you're visiting the Daytona Beach and Port Orange areas right now, enjoy all the fantastic musical offerings, and if you're considering buying real estate in Daytona Beach, or perhaps you'd like to buy real estate in Port Orange, or any city in East Volusia County, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill: real estate agent with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

It's that time of year again. Tomorrow is the beginning of the Daytona Beach International Festival. This is one of the most prestigious annual events of the Daytona Beach area. Beginning tomorrow April 16, through May 2nd, Daytona Beach area residents can enjoy the beautiful sounds of the London Symphony Orchestra at venues all over Volusia County.

To name just a few, you can enjoy...

• Jazz at DBIF Series, featuring Chris Botti, The Yellowjackets with Mike Stern, and Chuck Mangione
• Festival Late Night Series, featuring Sophie Milman, PROJECT,  and Chuchito Valdes
• LSO Classical Series, featuring works by Mozart, Dvorak, Brahms, Orf and the LSO Pops
• World Stage, featuring multi-cultural works of Tiempo Libre, Celtic Crossroads, Ballet Hispanico, and the Bluegrass Bash

The London Symphony Orchestra has called the Daytona Beach International Festival it's American Residency for over 40 years. This is just one of the things that makes me proud to be able to call myself a true Daytona Beach native. We're a rarity you know!

If you're considering buying real estate in the Daytona Beach area, the annual musical offerings of the Daytona Beach International Festival and London Symphony Orchestra are just the beginning of some of our fantastic cultural events. So take your pick and  move to Port Orange, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Ponce Inlet, or any of the delightful cities of Volusia County, and take part in a variety of spectacular events. We have practically non-stop special events of many varieties. You can choose from Bike Week, Biketoberfest, all types of NASCAR Racing at the Daytona International Speedway, and many, many cultural events at the Peabody Auditorium or the Daytona Beach Ocean Center.... and the list goes on.

Take a look at some fantastic real estate listings for sale, then make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs!

I'm writing this post to share something very cool. This morning while I was talking to a real estate customer on the phone, I was checking out his personal web page, and some others to which he had linked. We were having a nice conversation, and I learned quite a bit about this potential real estate buyer and his interests. But what prompted me to share this information with all of you, is one of the sites I found while I was clicking through his various links. What I think some bloggers may find interesting is a web site that allows you to do your own online self-publishing of short stories. With the many blogs I read here, and the creativity that's expressed, I suspect we may have some true writers in our midst.

If you're a writer, or a wannabe writer, this may be a great way for you to connect with other writers, on Bibliofaction. You can choose stories by genre, you can save your own writings in draft mode, you can write reviews about what you've read, and have your own stories reviewed. As bloggers, you'll especially like the section where you can read or write news articles!

A word to the wise. If you join Bibliofaction, you're no longer in the safety net of blogging. There won't be any excuses for poor grammar, and don't forget, Bibliofaction has a "Reviews" section for anyone to use. Of course, for those of us who are grammar nerds, we'll be in hog heaven! (LOL)

Regardless of who you are, you may read, write, or rate, on Bibliofaction. I was amazed by how many categories they have. There seems to be something for everyone, including an "Advice" section.

If you're interested, join now while it's free. I noticed the site is in beta, and most sites start charging a fee once they've passed through the beta phase. Also, please bear in mind that Bibliofaction is NOT a blogging, or real estate community, so please don't abuse this special site. DO, enjoy it though! If you want to make contact with me there, I signed up for an account under the user name of TheSmartChoice.

www.LisaHillRealtor.com

In the course of reading through quite a few real estate blogs this afternoon, I've run across a couple of posts that contained information, or questions that were posed in a way that made me question my current position on how I view the short-term future of the real estate economy. The post below is one of them. This information will really make you think.

This post calls into question the future of our nation's real estate climate, and the report is not good. However, before you proceed with this depressing news, consider on this fabulous Easter Sunday, that God is able to change everything! All we have to do is ask and believe. Of course, we need to educate ourselves, and pay attention to experts in each field. But we should remember this...

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Now keep this promise in mind as you educate yourself, and find balance in your business and your life.

Happy Easter!

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

This real estate blog post is part 2 in my mini-series on How to Sell Your House in Today's Real Estate Climate. Part 1 was on How to Properly Price your Real Estate Offering.

Welcome to part 2 on  HOW to BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME! Curb appeal counts!

1. Exterior Maintenance

I can't count the times I've had buyers in my car, with an appointment scheduled for them to see a home that perfectly fit their criteria. But when we pulled up in front of the house, they didn't like the way it looked from the street, so they didn't want to go inside. A fresh coat of paint, some colorful flowers, trimmed trees, and green grass can make or break your sale. Other helpful curb appealers are pressure washing, sweeping the driveway and walkways, pulling weeds, and cleaning the gutters. (If it needs to be done, do it!) Realize that the owners of the other recently sold properties have done the necessary exterior maintenance on their homes. If not, it will most likely be reflected in the sale price.

2. Interior Maintenance

Let's consider a few of the possible (and recommended) things that can be done, to get a better selling price on the house you need to sell.

• Freshly paint with neutral colors
• Replace the roof
• Replace the carpet
• Clean the existing carpet
• Replace old cabinets, to make your listing look newer
• Replace the hardware on your old cabinets (This is an affordable way to give a big face-lift to old cabinets)
• Replace the central heat and air conditioning
• Have maintenance done on your current heat and air conditioning units
• Enclose your screened porch to add more living space
• Offer a home warranty (This is a very affordable way to make real estate buyers feel more drawn to your house, and push it higher up the list of houses they're thinking of buying.)

These are just examples of the maintenance and upgrades that may be done to help sell your house. But I'm now going to make a very important point!

Don't assume that if you do any, or even all of the items on this list, (or even more) that you'll be able to raise your asking price. By maintaining or improving the aesthetics of your home, you're making it more desirable to your potential real estate buyer, thus improving your chances of having them buy your house instead of one of the other ones on their list of choices. Remember, we have over 2 years of inventory! Are you willing to wait that long, by making a mistake of over-pricing it?

Last, but certainly not least; We've just gone through a list of possible improvements that can be done to your real estate listing, that will improve your chances of selling it close to your already competitive asking price, and will also help to shorten the time your house is on the market. But as you go through this process, you may find yourself wondering what improvements were made to the other houses that have recently sold. Well, this is a very important, foundational reason to have a good listing agent to represent you in the sale of your house. Please allow me to explain.

Many times, as I'm working with real estate buyers and I need to find houses that fit their criteria, when I check the listings in the Daytona Beach area Multiple Listing System (MLS), I'm frustrated to find the houses that are in their price range do not indicate any of the items on the short-list I just provided. I'm sorry, but in my opinion, this shows laziness on the part of the listing agent. There's absolutely no reason for any REALTOR® who is listing real estate to not provide a detailed description of the property they're listing, and check the appropriate boxes in the MLS (unless it's truly a fixer-upper! But in my opinion, even that should be explained a bit more.). It's the only way for a REALTOR® who is working with potential buyers for that property, to obtain this necessary information. There are far too many listings in the MLS for a real estate buyers' agent to physically inspect every listing in advance, in order to see if it meets the needs of their buyer(s). All the necessary information should be in the MLS.

Example: Here's a brief synopsis of the way I tour and catalogue the details of a house I'm listing to sell. I rarely vary from this system. (It's worked effectively for many years.)

As I enter the home and begin building a relationship my new real estate sellers, I have them give me the grand tour of the entire house, as I thoroughly inspect each and every room, while taking detailed notes and asking pertinent questions of the sellers. All this information is used to write a detailed description that will be placed in the MLS, on my blogs, on multiple web sites, and anywhere the property is being marketed. If this process was followed by all REALTORS®, there would be no question as to what maintenance and updates have been done to each real estate listing on the market. As you know, professional REALTORS® work together, to bring real estate buyers and sellers together, in order to meet the needs of all parties involved in their transactions. Also, by providing detailed listing information, it helps future listing agents to properly price their new listings. **This will help to ensure that the real estate industry remains professional and working effectively! It's part of being a professional.

My next step is to take LOTS and LOTS of quality photos of my new real estate listing! (Click here >> to view examples of reallly bad real estate photos) The Daytona Beach area MLS will hold 12 photos of each listing. Unless the house or condo being listed is in disrepair and does not photograph well, there is no reason to not have all 12 photo positions filled. The old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" would not be so famous, if it weren't true! But when selling real estate, you must have both the picture AND the words... and now, you need full video tours as well! After photographing my listings from as many angles as possible (you never know which one will work out the best until you see it in a large size, on your computer monitor!) I then video tape the entire house, using the same system as I did when photographing it. When I create the eventual video, I will combine the video footage and the still shots, so real estate buyers will be able to get a feel of the actual layout of the rooms, the amount of light that enters the windows, the amount of furniture that will fit in a room, and basically have a feeling that they themselves, have just walked through the house. After all, we live in Florida and many of our buyers are moving here from other states. They're relying on the information we provide, in order for them to help make their plans for when they arrive here and start their physical search. By providing a thorough, well-written description, multiple photos, and a full video tour, along with your excellent price, you're laying the groundwork for a smooth transaction with an excited and knowledgeable buyer for your home!

All that being said, there are many other resources I implement when selling my listings. But with this foundation, I'm helping my reale state sellers to position themselves ahead of their competition. And when we find the buyer for their house, condo or vacant land, that is when all my work pays off, not just in a monetary manner, but in a way that leaves my sellers with a sense of well-being; my buyers with a feeling of satisfaction, and me with a sense of fulfillment in knowing I've done my job well, and helped to meet the needs of some very important people. Will you be among these important people? If you like what you've just read, then contact me today. I'd love to help you with all your real estate needs.

Want to know more about Lisa Hill? <<< Just click this link!  Want to make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for your real estate needs? <<<< Just click this link!

And take your time in browsing my real estate web site. It's chock full of all types of information that will help you make an educated decision in buying real estate, or selling real estate in the Daytona Beach Florida area. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Choose Lisa Hill, real estate agent with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®, for Port Orange, Daytona Beach, Ponce Inlet and all of the Daytona Beach area.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateVideos.com

**Added bonus: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Business of Real Estate and a previous post I wrote a couple of years ago with Helpful Information about Buying and Selling Real Estate.

So you want to sell real estate in a difficult buyer's market. Reading this blog post is your first step in the right direction. I'm going to provide you with information that can save you from the pitfalls many real estate sellers make when trying to sell their houses in a buyer's market. First piece of advice...

HEED THE ADVICE OF YOUR REALTOR®!

As a professional REALTOR®, when I do a Comparative Market Analysis on your home, I take into account...

• All recently sold properties in your neighborhood
• Houses of similar size and condition that have recently sold in your neighborhood
• Recently sold prices of houses in other neighborhoods of similar nature, within a 2 to 5 mile radius of your home
  
• The condition of your house, compared to the recent sales
• After considering these major factors, we also check the active listings to make sure you're priced competitively, and we sometimes determine the price per square foot as well.
  
• *There may be several other steps, depending on location, condition, comps, and other possibilities.

The idea is to look at your house from every angle, and to determine your property value in a manner that is similar to the way an appraiser would, but we also need to view your house through the eyes of potential real estate buyers. This can be difficult when selling your home. Emotions can run high. This is why REALTORS® serve such a pivotal purpose in helping with negotiations. We're not emotionally attached to the home. So when you combine our experience in negotiating, and our training at working with varying personalities without letting our emotions harm the transaction, you have a pleasant and less stressful experience =)  We also pre-qualify buyers to make sure only qualified buyers enter your home. This is for safety purposes, and wise time management for you and us.

A bit more information on pricing: With over 2 years of active listing inventory in the Daytona Beach area Multiple Listing System, your house needs to jump off the page, so to speak, from all the others. The first way to do that is always through price.

Additionally, we stress the importance of properly pricing any real estate offerings because... if by happenstance, we find a buyer who is willing to pay a price that is equal to the prices of your competition (FYI: For the last 2 to 3 years, buyers have only been willing to pay significantly lower prices than the other properties they view), a bank will not loan more than what an appraiser determines to be the value of your house. And the bank chooses the appraiser! 

This is part one of a mini-series about selling your house in a buyer's market. Next installation (Part 2) will be on Beautifying Your Home For Sale.

For all your real estate needs, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

"How to SELL your house in today's real estate climate (Part 2) Beautify Your Home" is now posted =)

This post is for the 1st quarter real estate listings and sales report for South Daytona, which is on the south side of the city of Port Orange. A few days ago I wrote a blog post about the 1st quarter real estate report for Port Orange FL. Thankfully, the Port Orange real estate market is continuing to improve. But before we get into the details of the South Daytona 1st quarter real estate report for 2009, you may want to compare this report with last years' 3rd Quarter South Daytona Listings vs Sales Report, and the 2008 annual real estate listings vs sales report for all of Volusia County.

When comparing real estate values for Port Orange and South Daytona, you'll find that South Daytona real estate is more affordable than Port Orange. This is partially because of South Daytona's slightly lower property taxes, and because although South Daytona has excellent schools, the Port Orange schools are primarily A rated (this fluctuates from year-to-year), which is a big draw for real estate buyers, but it also impacts the property values. One other factor to consider in the South Daytona/Port Orange real estate values comparison is the fact that approximately 50% of the city of Port Orange consists of new construction or relatively new construction. So when you look at all of these factors, you find that you can buy a more affordable home in South Daytona, while living only 5 minutes from anything you'd like to do in Port Orange.

Another great reason to buy real estate in South Daytona is it's proximity to Daytona Beach. While Port Orange may border South Daytona on the south side, Daytona Beach borders South Daytona on the north side. You can be on Daytona Beach, frolicking in the ocean and feeling the sand between your toes in 5-10 minutes, but not get stuck in the Daytona Beach traffic during special events such as Race Week or Bike Week.

And now for an explanation of the South Daytona real estate statistics for the 1st quarter of 2009. I've separated the houses and the condos, and broken down each category by price range as well. The graph at the top displays the first quarter number of newly listed houses, sales, and the total listing inventory in the MLS. I've also provided the same information for South Daytona condos.

And for those of you who also like a visual breakdown that includes the total percentage of all 1st quarter new listings for South Daytona (combines houses and condos), the sales, and the total listing inventory in the Daytona Beach area Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

To buy or sell real estate in South Daytona, or anywhere in Volusia county, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

It's Friday and I have some new real estate data to report, for another city in the Daytona Beach area, but I'm on the run today and won't have time to lay it all out in a professional manner until tonight. So I thought I'd help you all start your morning with something fascinating and fun with this worldwide interactive media map. Now you can keep yourself entertained while I'm out working :oP  Or you can enjoy the Port Orange 1st Quarter real estate data I've already posted, and I'll post the South Daytona real estate info for you tonight.

Not long ago I found the web site called "Newseum" that allows you to read the daily headline news from any country in the world (except the ones that don't want anyone to know what they're doing), just by letting your computer mouse hover over whatever city in which you have an interest. You can then just click on whatever news you want to read (assuming you can read that language: Doh!), and enjoy =)  Now the text is pretty small on these "newspapers" but here's a tip that many of you many not know. If you use either Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Internet Explorer for your web browser, either one of them will let you enlarge the text you're trying to read by just holding the control button and pressing the plus button until the text is legible for you. You can scale it back down in the same manner, by holding Control and pressing the minus button until your browser data is back to normal.

If you like using "Newseum", you can follow your Newseum news on Twitter, or you can watch Newseum news on You Tube, or you can follow Newseum on Facebook. Or if you're in Washington, DC, check out the exhibits and galleries at the 6 level Newseum complex at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20001 888/NEWSEUM (888/639-7386). You'll find theaters on 3 levels, and shopping and restaurants on 3 levels.

Enjoy playing with Newseum while I'm hard at work (do you feel sorry for me yet?) and I'll catch you all tonight!  =D

www.LisaHillRealtor.com

As a Port Orange home owner and REALTOR®, I frequently buy closing gifts for my clients after a real estate closing. Depending on the clients and their personal tastes, I give gifts from several different stores and restaurants. But one of my favorite stores, both for gift-giving and for my own indulgences, is Halstons' Fine Jewelry & Gifts.

Halstons' has been around for as long as I can remember. I had a piece of custom jewelry made by the jeweler there, over 20 years ago. Since then, I've had gem stones replaced, necklaces repaired, and I've purchased many gifts there.

One of my favorite indulgences for myself, and for clients with distinctive tastes, is a Lampe Berger lamp and a fabulous parfum fragrance for the lamp. (My favorite parfum fragrance is Ocean Breeze.) If you're not familiar with Lampe Berger, the detailing is exquisite, and the parfum fragance is the only "air freshener" I know of that "cleanses, purifies and perfumes the air". It not only fragrances, but it actually cleans the air! As for the actual lamps, if you've ever owned, or really examined a Lampe Berger lamp, you know that the substitutes that are sometimes found in other stores, pale in comparison to the real thing!

But there are many other beautiful things to enjoy at Halstons' Fine Jewelry & Gifts. Last week when I went to Halstons' to buy a new bottle of parfum fragrance for my lamps... yes, I have more than one. This time I also bought some gorgeous monogram note paper, encased by a rich green and gilt designed cover with a magnetic closure. I was surprised by it's affordability. Only now I'm reluctant to use it. It's too pretty! =)

I've been wanting to blog about Halstons for a while now, so this time while I was in the store, I also asked the owner if I could take some photos for this blog. I was given carte blanche to take photos of everything but the jewelry. (No jewelry, due to insurance purposes.)

So if you're a Port Orange home owner, renter, seasonal resident, or visitor... you owe it to yourself to visit Halstons' Fine Jewelry & Gifts. The merchandise is constantly changing, and they have a wide range of gifts and jewelry from the most exquisite to the pleasantly affordable.

So enjoy the photos, and be sure to visit Halstons' Fine Jewelry & Gifts at 3841 S. Nova Rd., Port Orange, FL 32127. The staff is always friendly and helpful and you'll certainly enjoy your shopping indulgence.

To visit their web site, just follow this link to Halston's Fine Jewelry & Gifts. But I highly recommend that you physically visit the store. Their web site doesn't feature much of their merchandise since so much of their jewelry is custom-designed, and the gifts are constantly changing. But their jeweler is the absolute best around, for any of your jewelry needs. And you can call the store at 386-788-7570 if you have any questions.

To buy real estate in Port Orange, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron REALTORS, for all your real estate needs. If you need to sell a house in Port Orange, call today for a FREE Comparative Market Analysis. And if you'd like a free gift from Halstons', just let me know your preferences while we're shopping for your next home  ;-)

I look forward to helping you with all your real estate needs. www.PortOrangeRealEstateSales.com