In late December there were 121 total listings and 42 homes under contract in FishHawk Ranch and FishHawk Trails, the areas she works in southern Hillsborough County.
Last week there were 281 listings and only 26 under contract. "That is so atypical," she said. "Usually our busiest time is summer, before the kids go back to school."
Says Akers: "There's an overabundance of inventory everywhere, and investor homes have flooded the market."
The buyers coming through the doors of the Homes by Towne sales center at Greenbrook Preserve at Greenbrook Village in Lakewood Ranch told sales agent Amber Malzan it's a buyer's market.
"People are coming in expecting incentives," she said. "They're aware that most if not all builders are offering something at this time. They want to feel they're getting a deal."
Her buyers have shopped the other builders, she said, know what they're offering and are asking, "Can you match that?"
What a difference a few months make. It wasn't long ago that sales agents were telling buyers: If you like this house, make an offer on it now. It won't be here tomorrow.
Not so now. "A good home in good condition in a good neighborhood offered at a fair price will still sell in a reasonable amount of time," said Jim Knetsch, owner of Re/Max Realty Associates in Carrollwood. If you like that house, so will others, so don't drag your feet. But the breakneck "now or never" pace of yesteryear is over.
That's because there are "many more choices available," Knetsch said, "and likewise, the sellers are more realistic. They know there are many more homes available on the market than a year ago."
So how can buyers turn this "buyer's market" to their advantage? And what can sellers do to distinguish their home from all that inventory out there?
The incentives offered by builders and sellers are like a bounteous buffet table. What do you like? What will it take to close this deal? Among the offerings cited by agents around Tampa Bay:
* Paying homeowners association or Community Development District fees for up to two years.
* Paying the buyer's home insurance for up to a year.
* Bonuses to the buyer's agent.
* "Buying down" the mortgage rate by a percentage point or two to lower the buyer's monthly payment.
* Paying closing costs.
* Free granite countertops, hard- wood floors or other desirable up-grades.
* Free cars and trips to the sales agents.
* Price reductions on homes and homesites.
* Free pools and pool cages.
* Free carts at golf-course communities.
* Free appliances.
* Country club memberships.
"Builders right now are telling us, 'Bring me somebody, let us know what they want,' " said Rose Mays, an agent with New Homes America in Hillsborough. "They're willing to listen."
Much of the advice that agents offer to buyers sounds like the guidance from the good old days, before the big runup in prices and values.
* Get preapproved by a lender so you know how much you can afford and are ready to move ahead promptly.
* Decide where you want to live: Narrow your search geographically and focus on one or two areas.
* Come up with a list of needs and wants: square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, must-have features (fireplace? three-car garage? pool?).
But in this market, agents offer these additional tips:
* Get over your sticker shock about insurance. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it may be hard to get. It's the new normal in Florida, like it or not.
* Ditto about property taxes, especially if you're moving from an existing home, where the "Save Our Homes" provision kept your taxes from rising more than 3 percent per year. You're about to face the harsh reality of market-rate taxes. This too is the new normal.
* Study the market, know what the prices are like these days. It may be a buyer's market, but builders aren't giving those homes away.
* Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. Maybe the builder's ads are offering free granite countertops or $10,000 off the price. But if there's something else you particularly want, speak up. A fireplace? Assistance with financing? If you don't ask, you won't get.
* Don't shop on price and incentive alone, says Kitty Munroe, sales coach for David Weekley Homes. "Take time to look at the home as opposed to just looking at the sticker price." Is it the right size, the right floor plan? Can you be happy every day cooking in that kitchen? How energy-efficient is the home? What will your monthly utility bills be? Over the years you live in that house, is it worth another $20 or $50 a month to get the bonus room or the fourth bedroom?
* Ask what kind of attention and service you'll get from the builder during construction and the warranty supervisor after the closing. Will they be too busy to return your calls or solve problems?
* Consider the tradeoffs. A builder may be eager to unload the last home or homesite on the block at a good price or with a special commission to the buyer's agent. Maybe it's your second-choice home or location, but a great deal could move it up to first place.
* If your primary goal is to move in quickly, your choices may be limited to a few inventory homes where many of the decisions have already been made (tile, cabinets, colors). On the other hand, you can get into the house soon at a decent price.
A year ago many builders severely limited the number of homes they'd sell in a month so construction could keep up. There were waiting lists and lotteries. Today, sales agents say they're having to create the sense of urgency to buy what a year ago occurred naturally and bordered on hysteria.
"A year ago we could say, 'This is the homesite we have available and we need to know today,' " said Malzan of Homes by Towne. Now, buyers can take more time, they have a choice of homesites and agents are doing more real selling, not just filling in contracts.
"Everybody is trying to get somebody to look at their product," said Leigh Simons of Todd Johnston Homes at Lakewood Ranch. "The buyer is overwhelmed with all the choices. You've got to do something to make yours stand out." |
