Today I found a new question on my blog post about Real Estate Activity for the area of Daytona Beach Florida. This question was referencing why we're seeing so many expired listings each month in the Daytona Beach Multiple Listing Service (MLS). 
To answer the question of why we have so many expired listings, let's look at the ratio of listings vs sales.
- Approximately 7,000 listings on the market at any given time.
- A YTD average of 259 sales per month.
Long story short = 2.25 years of inventory. This obviously means we're going to keep seeing a lot of homes expire.
I'd also like to add a very important fact. The ONLY properties that are selling are the ones that are already priced below the competing properties. If any particular piece of real estate is priced similarly to the competing properties, it's probably not even going to be viewed.
I'm speaking from personal experience on this. My buyers are coming to me with their specifications of what type of house or condo they want to buy, along with the amount of money for which they're qualified to invest. When I search the MLS for those specifications, the buyers then select the properties they want to see from the lowest end of the price range. They're not interested in even looking at the ones that are priced in line with the others.
As for the sellers who price their house or condo similarly to the competing properties by justifying that decision with the fact that they have upgrades, these properties are most likely going to continue to sit on the market. Consider 
this: Those upgrades are not found in any of the primary MLS search fields. Buyers and REALTORS® only see the short list containing the basic facts such as location, size, age and price. There are simply too many listings on the market for buyers to read through the description of every property, in hopes of finding an upgrade they think is worth the difference in price.
- CHASING THE MARKET! That's what many sellers are doing. Instead of pricing their houses and condos where they will actually sell, they wait a few months before they reduce the price. The problem is, now the property values have dropped again. The new price adjustment just puts them back in line with the competition. As I previously stated, the only houses and condos that are selling are the ones that are priced BELOW the competition.
I really don't know how to stress this point anymore. Every REALTOR® that is still active in the marketplace knows this to be the case. We don't have any control over the real estate market conditions. We can only do our jobs in educating our buyers and sellers. Blogging is just one more way to do that. Hopefully this post will help someone out there who really needs a fast real estate sale.
If you're a real estate seller and you have been previously listed with a REALTOR® (or a licensed agent who is not a REALTOR®) who has not provided you with the necessary tools and/or information to accomplish your sale, make a SMART CHOICE today and call Lisa Hill!
Visit my real estate web site.
