Sarah Taylor

The urgency is clear and I'm hearing it from all angles - local buyers want to find something FAST before their $8000 tax credit runs out and our neighbors to the north feel that the deals are going to start drying up.
For example, in the past two weeks I have worked with a buyer who is desperate to find a good home and get it closed before he misses the free government money. We've successfully found him something and we're on our way towards closing!

On the other side of the coin I've been getting lots of calls from buyers in NY, NJ, and CT that are consistently stating that they feel that the good deals in South Florida are going to start drying up and they need to act fast. Most of the people that are buying from the North are looking for condos or smaller homes that they can retire to in the near future. Although, recently I've worked with a lovely young family who want to relocate from Connecticut to Tradition or St Lucie West so the mother can work at one of the local schools.

This home-buying frenzy has really impacted my perspective about our economic hardships. When I'm out in the public I somtimes am taken aback by the doom and gloom because all day I'm surrounded by people who are wanting to make a deal happen and find their dream home or retirement home. I think I would consider myself lucky that I am able to make these opportunities available and the constant urgency is what keeps me upbeat about our "down" economy.
I can say that I love to bring smiles to faces when people ask "how's the market" because I always tell them what they didn't expect to hear - that we're doing fantastic and properties are flying off the market.

Current Active Inventory: 2045

Total Number of Single Family Homes Sold for July: 401
Which can be further broken down into
Short Sales: 88
Foreclosures: 139
Total Sales including Condos, Manufactured Homes, Duplex, Townhouses: 430

Median Sales Price: $105,010

Median Days on Market: 73
Median Days on Market for Short Sales: 185

Click here to view my statistics report chart

All real estate is localized, meaning that the numbers for Port St Lucie as a whole don't necessarily translate the same into individual neighborhoods. Up in the Torino area new listings may fly off the market within days whereas other areas may not go so quickly.

If you're looking to buy or sell a property within a particular neighborhood or region I can tell you what's going on in your geo-area and what to anticipate. Start a conversation here.

* Single Family Homes does not include duplex, townhouse, condo, manufactured home, or commercial.
_____________________________________________________
The accuracy and authenticity of this information is not guaranteed.
Source: Regional MLS, Inc.
This report does not include sales sold "By Owner" or those transfered by other means; the report only contains properties within the Regional MLS.
08/15/2009 - Date that "active" inventory was pulled.
Prepared by Sarah Taylor of Re/Max Masterpiece Realty

Report for Port St Lucie, Florida -
Market Statistics > June 2009

The summer is upon us. In certain areas, activity slowed down a bit in June as school let out, the last remaining snow birds traveled home, and families prepared for vacations and 4th of July celebrations.

Port St Lucie boasted 472 residential sales*, 427 of which were single family homes. Compare that to June 2008's 344 residential sales (326 of which were single family homes) and we're up by 37% over last year.

Short Sales Sold in June 2009
So how many of those 472 sales were short sales in June? - 98.
Roughly 21% of our residential sales in June 2009 were Short Sales.
How quickly are these short sales closing? - 172 days is the median for June.

Click here for a better breakdown of sales and inventory.

All real estate is localized, meaning that the numbers for Port St Lucie as a whole don't necessarily translate the same into individual neighborhoods. Up in the Torino area new listings may fly off the market within days whereas other areas may not go so quickly.

If you're looking to buy or sell a property within a particular neighborhood or region I can tell you what's going on in your geo-area and what to anticipate. Start a conversation here.

*Residential Sales equates to Single Family Homes, Townhomes, Villas, Condos, Duplexes, and Manufactured Homes.
_____________________________________________________
The accuracy and authenticity of this information is not guaranteed.
Source: Regional MLS, Inc.
This report does not include sales sold "By Owner" or those transfered by other means; the report only contains properties within the Regional MLS.
07/15/2009 - Date that "active" inventory was pulled.
Prepared by Sarah Taylor of Re/Max Masterpiece Realty

Southbend is special to me because it's the neighborhood that I call home.


While it's not gated, nor does it have a Home Owner's Association, Southbend has the appeal of those types of communities. So for highlighting this area, I can speak from personal experience and knowledge.


Top Reasons Southbend is so desireable:

• Community Park (Jessica Clinton Park) with ball fields, basketball courts, playground, pavilion, soccer field
• Miles of winding sidewalks Great for riding your bike, jogging, walking the dog, and any other types of exercise
• Fishing and Canoeing or Kayaking - there is a bridge at the front entrance with side access to cast a line or launch a canoe I remember putting our boat in at this access area as a kid - but the city has since closed it for boaters
• Shops and Publix There is a beautiful shopping plaza at the corner of Becker Road and Southbend Blvd that has a Publix, restaurants, and other necessary shops
• Access to the Turnpike is near As well as new access to I-95 from Becker Road (July 2009)

Slideshow of some Southbend highlights








For Buyers ~ Ready to move into a neighborhood that has most of the comforts of an "HOA" but without the fees? Prices are low and incredibly affordable. Visit my website to get in touch for a private tour or information on current prices.


For Sellers ~ Have property to sell or rent in this community? I can help you determine what a competitve price will be and then mass-market your property with my unique movies. In addition to using the community photos as you see above, I also make a customized movie of your property that goes in the MLS as well as many other websites. Visit the Sellers section of my website learn more about my marketing expertise.

May 2009

Eric and Sarah had one goal - to escape the cold winters of Maine and spend time in sunny south Florida. As avid sailors, they had been to Stuart twice and knew that this town was the place for them - the closer to the water the better.

We hit it off well from the beginning and had a great time over two seperate weekends touring condos, duplexes, and townhomes that were within their price range.

The moment we drove down the street to one duplex that was on our tour list to see, they knew it was "the one." There was no picture of the property on the MLS so we were a little concerned that it wasn't in good condition but we quickly found that it was everything that they needed.

The bonus? It came with a boat slip on the St Lucie River!! This duplex was about 4 houses in from the river and came with a slip right on the end - big enough to house their sailboat. The duplexes on this street don't go up for sale often and we were lucky enough that this one was an estate sale so we were working with a regular seller and not the short sale or foreclosure process.

Eric and Sarah aren't planning on moving down right away but the big success - to me - is that we became great friends and we've already broken the home in with margaritas when they were down a month after closing.

Cheers to Eric and Sarah!

Are you looking to purchase a property?
Click here for articles to help you with the process.

Brought to you by Sarah Taylor

As with any business, in order to market your product or service - you have to network! Our Realtors Association of St Lucie has a fabulous networking opportunity every Thursday morning ... but it's for Realtors only.


What goes on at this Agent-only pow-wow?


Madness.


Pure Marketing Madness.


Realtors who belong to the St Lucie board meet at 8:30am weekly to mingle, have coffee and pastries, and chat amongst their peers. Then as the clock strikes 9am the madness begins. Each week there is a tour of a particular geographical area. Realtors that have listings in these areas make sure that their homes are "Open" for all of the other agents to tour. After the tour is confirmed and the agents know where they're going, they are allowed to "pitch" one of their listings. For 30 seconds they tell all of the other Realtors why they should bring their buyers to their property to get it sold.


Want to see what the madness looks like - even if you aren't a Realtor? Follow me as I take you through the tour and you get to see what these crazy Realtors do every week.




So what does this mean to a home buyer or seller?


Within the first few months of me becoming an agent I had heard another agent pitch a house in a neighborhood that I had buyers looking in. It's amazing how listening to someone tell you about a listing is a much more enlightening experience than reading about it on the MLS. So I took my buyers there, they made an offer, and they bought it!


For home sellers - you get the benefit of the opposite of the above little story. If your agent attends Marketing Madness they get to tell all the other agents about your home - which can give greater detail than what is shown on the MLS. Also, when the tour comes to your neighborhood once per quarter you get the benefit of having many agents seeing your home all in a short period of time. This is a good time for your agent to ask for price opinions to make sure that his or her peers think that your property is within the market price and is competitive. Other agents generally give feedback on what you could do to make the home "show" better, as well.


If you're thinking about listing your home for sale and you're interviewing different agents, make sure to ask if they attend the Realtor's Marketing Madness.


If you're ready to start searching for homes, or if you have decided that it's time to sell your current property, contact me to talk about your options and find what will work best for you.