If you are looking to see what is currently available for sale in the Tallahassee housing market, then you have come to the right place.
Not only will you be able to view all of the homes for sale in Tallahassee, you can also view a quick Tallahassee Housing Report which will help guide your property search and keep you from making a big mistake when you buy a home in Tallahassee.
There are so many good buys in the Tallahassee housing market today, but that does not mean that everything is a good deal!
By studying what has happened in the recent past with Tallahassee housing, you can be prepared to recognize a great deal from one that is merely a nice house, but not priced as a great opportunity.
I have not seen any REALTOR reports showing that Tallahassee housing are currently selling at the slowest rate in more than 20 years, but our real estate graph below shows this to be the case.
Two separate data sources were used to create this graph.
The dark green area shows all Tallahassee house sales recorded by the Leon County Property Appraiser, while the light green area shows all house sales in the Tallahassee MLS.
The graph is clear; homebuyer activity is at the lowest level for more than 20 years. As I do not have data going back prior to 1991, and can only use reverse population reports to conclude that sales levels are at the lowest raw levels since the 1950s, and most likely at the lowest relative levels of all time.
Currently, fewer than 8 Tallahassee housing sales close each day, bringing the 10 year daily average down to 15.4. This means that Tallahassee house sales (today) are closing at one half the rate that we have seen over the past ten years! If you are planning to buy a home in Tallahassee, you will be pleasantly surprised.
This means that if you are a qualified homebuyer in the Tallahassee housing market, you are the proverbial King of the Jungle! So what should you do?
Here is what I would do to ensure that I get the "Royal Treatment" as a rare homebuyer today:
If you put all of these tips into your plan, you will end up getting a great buy in your local housing market. While you know we can help you with Tallahassee housing, you can also simply drop me a note and I can refer you to the best real estate team in any other real estate market as well.
With more than 50% of the homes listed for sale in Tallahassee failing to sell, now might be the moment in time where home sellers most need a real estate agent.
But don't take my word for it, just take a look at what home sellers who have recently sold reveal about whether or not you need a real estate agent.
In fact, when we look at a real estate graph of consumer confidence in real estate agents over the past twenty years, you can see that people believe you need a real estate agent today more than any time in the past.
In the real estate graph below, the red area represents 100% of the closed home sales in Tallahassee. The area that is filled with the logo of the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS measures the sales that have closed in the Tallahassee MLS, thus meaning those sales had real estate agent involvement.
The yellow line shows the "share" or percentage of all home sales in Tallahassee that are recorded in the Tallahassee MLS. Additionally, we know that some home sales that real estate agents do occur outside of the Tallahassee MLS, so the actual level of of real estate agent involvement has to be higher than what is recorded by the yellow line.
So, do you need a real estate agent to sell a home right now? With more than 80% of the homes being sold with one, I suspect the answer is "yes" for anybody who wishes to get the absolute top dollar for a home, in a market where buyers are calling the shots. But there are ways for you to find out for sure.
If you are thinking about selling a home in Tallahassee, why not take the time to determine if you really need a real estate agent. You could interview several to find out what they are going to do to get your home sold, or you could watch our video about a targeted home selling plan.
Our course, you can always drop me a note and just let me know that you need a real estate agent, and we will help you directly or introduce you to the top real estate agent in your area.
Most people end up "backing in" to their relationship with a Realtor when they go to buy a home, but recently a reader wanted to know more about how compensation works for a home buyer's agent.
Sadly, most people meet a home buyer's agent during the process of looking for homes, and this is actually the worst way to go about buying a home.
I have written numerous articles on how to hire a home buyer's agent, and they all include advice about hiring the agent before you begin physically looking at houses. Why?
Because nearly every home buyer's agent charges the same amount, but the difference between the capabilities, education, and experience levels is frightening vast!
First of all, can you see where we get the smartest readers here at the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog? :)
Remembering back over 20 years ago when I was new to the business, this line of questions was what hit me right away. Why wouldn't people secure the services of the absolute best home buyer's agent before they start their home buying quest?
Sure, if the best was super expensive, then I would understand why many might choose to go with "cheaper." But as I discovered, you can actually hire the best home buyer's agent and save money when you buy a home!
My answers to "LE's" questions can be found in the numerous articles already published here at the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, but I will summarize them here for convenience:
1. Is a home buyer's agent paid a commission based on the selling price of the property? - The short answer on this is "Yes." It is a standard of practice that occurs every community in the US (that I am aware of), and is certainly the "way it works" in Tallahassee for most home buyer's agents.
2. Is that not a disincentive for him (or her) to obtain the lowest purchase price for me? I would say "Yes" for the majority of real estate agents. The average real estate agent in Tallahassee will make less than $10,000 each year (remember, there are many real estate agents that do not work full time), so a few hundred dollars in either direction can be a very significant amount to a low producing agent.
3. Is it a conflict of interest for a buyers agent to show me homes listed with his or her firm since the firm has an obligation to represent the seller's interest? - The short answer is surprisingly "No." The law in Florida allows for this through a few different agency relationships, and most of us use what is known as "transactional" agency to be legal.
But that is the law ... and "LE" asked about conflict of interest...
It has been my experience that the relationship between real estate buyer agent and homebuyer should be built around education (agent educating buyer) on real estate valuation.
So when a particular property is found, the buyer isn't asking "what should I offer," rather the buyer should already know what the seller is likely to receive in the market. Thus the buyer should make a compelling offer when buying a home in order to negotiate the best price.
The only "exception" I would add is that if the home buyer's agent is specifically the agent for the seller, the buyer might be wise to ask for the assistance of another real estate agent in that office to review the details of the valuation.
Now that you understand that it is possible to work out a compensation plan prior to home shopping, you see that you can "fix" all three problems identified above! This is huge!
Why have fate determine who you work with when you buy a home? Is that really smart? Is your home buyer's agent merely a chauffeur with a big set of keys?
Why not interview a home buyer's agent the same way you would interview a listing agent for the job of selling your home?
Why not find the best one and use a buyer brokerage agreement to ensure that there is no conflict of interest when they help you buy a home?
C'mon, you are a reader of the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, you have to be smarter than the average homebuyer, right?
Now, the only thing left is to determine which home buyer's agent you should select.
If you are not 100% certain that you have the best qualified, most-able, committed home buyer's agent in your market area, just drop me a note and I will refer you to somebody in my network of top real estate professionals who will take great care of you and work for your best interests.
There is a growing list of people who are seeking house selling advice for out of town homeowners. While the advice is very similar to what a "local" would receive, people who no longer live in the Tallahassee area have additional concerns.
First and foremost, if you are not where you can monitor the home, then you have no idea how well it is being maintained. Of course, you could pay somebody to do that for you ...
And you could pay for management, for repairs, for tenant issues, for taxes, and for a myriad of other expenses. As many people are finding out, owning a home that you no longer want is not for the faint of heart.
Recently, a reader reached out to ask for house selling advice for out of town homeowners, and this is what she wrote:
As many of our long-time readers know, this out of town homeowner is not alone.
My first advice to anybody who is likely upside down in their home is to seek the advice of the real estate expert in the market in which the home is located.
Knowledge is power, and you most likely can get a free consultation on your unique situation and actually be able to speak with the top expert in the area. Don't simply ask somebody you know who is "in real estate," find the short sale expert in the specific market.
Secondly, I would download and read the entire FREE 81 page resource for people who are considering a short sale. It answers all sorts of questions that you may or may not yet have thought about. Get the information you need before you rush to make a decision.
Finally, I would do everything in my power to fix the problem without doing a foreclosure. We are still seeing far more of a negative ramification on credit scores for foreclosures than we are short sales and negotiated settlements, so fight through the paperwork and get rid of your home without destroying your hard-earned credit.
My best house selling advice for out of town homeowners is to try to remember that the bank only sees this as a business decision, so you too should do the same.
The house is an asset that is worth less than the liability attached to it. With you not being available for upkeep and maintenance, it is highly likely that your asset is losing value faster than your local peers.
Any deal you work with the bank that allows you to rid yourself of your real estate in the middle of this depreciating market is better than keeping a home that will be worth less next year than it is worth today. And if you hire the best short sale negotiator to work on your behalf, your "worst case" might be a whole lot prettier than you expected.
Remember, the best house selling advice for out of town homeowners is to get knowledgeable, and then get out!
If you are thinking about retiring and moving to Florida in the next few years, you might want to get the book by Ryan Erisman titled "Florida For Boomers."
I'm sure that every state has its own process, procedures, terminology, and pitfalls to avoid in the real estate market, and Florida is no exception. We have a spotted past when it comes to "luring" northerners to our State for the purpose of retiring, so Mr. Erisman has produced the first real guide to Florida For Boomers.
I saw another review of Florida For Boomers that basically said this book was full of information that can be found from many other free sources, such as real estate agents, builders, city offices, county growth management divisions, and chambers of commerce. But to me, that is kind of the point here.
If you are thinking about making the move to Florida, you probably don't have a cadre of all these people, and certainly you don't have them producing a clear and concise reference material for you that is assembled like the Florida For Boomers book.
Florida For Boomers is a 150 page resource book that addresses most, if not all, of the concerns that I have typically dealt with when working to help somebody choose Tallahassee to retire.
The topics are well covered, but general enough in nature not to make the book read like a government operations manual.
In fact, you will find it reads in a very pleasant manner and can be read in about two hours. But I think it will be a greater value as a reference guide covering such topics as:
Of course, the details that flow from each one of these topics in Florida For Boomers is comprehensive, and I think plunking down a mere $20 before making a decision on where to move is a no-brainer.
I think anybody thinking about retiring in the next ten years could gain a lot from Florida For Boomers. Even if your ultimate destination ends up being outside of the state of Florida, you will have a great guide to gather the information that you need in that ultimate destination.
If you want to see some excerpts from the book, just go to Amazon to preview some pages of Florida For Boomers , you'll be glad you did.
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Serving the Needs of everyone regarding Tallahassee Real Estate and Homes in Tallahassee. The Customer is our primary focus, using technology and Great People to serve your needs. Come check us out!
Century 21 First Realty is in Tallahassee, Florida and serves Leon County and the surrounding markets.
Our Mission:
To establish and maintain an organization whose people, systems, technology and agents provide professional service second to none. We will use our cross-synergies to increase profits to our office, business to our agents, as well as increasing the benefits to our clients. There shall be no better company with whom to buy or sell a home than Century 21 First Realty.
Furthermore, we will establish the premier company of choice for the real estate professional: to create an environment that is positive, professional, cheerful, energetic and productive. We will maintain the best support systems, the best staff, the best technological tools, and the best training programs for our associates. The union of the best office with the best professionals shall result in a profitable relationship to all parties.
Century 21 First Realty is a Lead Generating Machine! Do you need to sell your home? Do you want to expose your property to every potential buyer? Nobody has web presence an international distribution channels like Century 21 First Realty.
Constantly updated Tallahassee information: Real Estate Blog at Real Estate Tallahassee FL
Great Information About Real Estate: Really Better Real Estate Blog
Real Estate Market Reports From All Over: Real Estate Market Reports
My Detailed Profile: Joe Manausa - Profile
The Best Foreclosures Web Site In Tallahassee: Tallahassee Foreclosure Information
Full Service Brokerage From large commercial developments to first time home buyers.
At Century 21 First Realty, we feel that one of the best ways to ensure customer service is to train our Agents. In order to be the best coming selling Tallahassee Real Estate, we feel it is necessary for the Agent and the Company to constantly train, because if you aren't getting better, you are getting worse! We conduct 8 different training sessions each week. Four are focused on our newer associates, and four are focused on advanced training topics. All of our training is taught by Owners or by the General Manager.
The primary intent of the training is to ensure that our agents are providing a high level of service to their customers. The secondary intent for the training is to provide the tools to the Associate to assit them to increase their business to a level that they are happy with. We individually consult with our associates and develop a business plan with them to achieve their goals. We find that no matter how talented a person is, they can always use some coaching. Just ask Tiger Woods
Anybody can claim to have a training program, but you must measure training in terms of the results generated. In a market where the average agent closes five transactions per year, our First Year agents are averaging over 12 transactions. We are selling Tallahassee Real Estate! They are better trained than most of the experienced agents in the market, and their performance shows. If you feel that you could be doing more business, or even if you just want to do more business, come talk to us and let's see if you are a "fit" for our program. You'll be glad you checked us out!
Probably the greatest trait of our company that distinguishes us from the rest of the Real Estate Companies in Tallahassee is our commitment to generating business. This serves a dual purpose. First, it helps us better serve our clients by having a large lead pool of buyers and sellers (a needs and wants list of over 3000 active customers for Tallahassee Real Estate!), and secondly, it allows us to feed our agents' business streams when they feel like they can handle more business. This is truly a win-win for our agents and customers.
Being a full service company also lets us better-serve the investing customer. They can buy properties, sell properties, have us manage their properties, all without having to try to coordinate the varying services among different companies with differing goals and operational procedures. Our investors know that we are constantly seeking to find more properties to acquire, as we service hundreds of investment-property owners already in our portfolio. Knowing that we have a hand in the market and are always finding new properties lets them know that when they are ready to grow their portfolio, we are ready to help. Whether you want a single property or to acquire a portfolio, we can help! Please call us today at (850) 386-2001
Here is a list of some of the Subdivisions in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market that we serve:
7/11/2007
Hello Mr. Peeples (General Manager at Century 21 First Realty),
First of all I wanted to say thanks for meeting with me yesterday. I really enjoyed talking with you. It was nice to have someone talk straight to me about this business. I was emailing you to say that I am not going to be able to make it to the training session today. I have a schedule conflict that I forgot about until today. I know you will be devastated without me there, but the show must go on! Just wanted to let you know that I will not be there today, but I do plan on being there tomorrow. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow and showing you that I'm not a "phantom!"
Sincerely,
Stewart Waters
Please see my Real Estate Blog at http://www.realestateblogtallahassee.com/
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