In a market that is seeing both record highs for interest rates and insurance premiums in Florida, there is still opportunities for both sellers and buyers with the guidance of a seasoned Realtor.

In today’s information age, everything can be available at the fingertips of buyers. What’s difficult is navigating through all of it! That’s where the guidance of a seasoned Realtor with a successful track record can help greatly.  Look for a Realtor that has successful sales in the area your looking. Homes.com is a good resource to search agents and their sales numbers in relation to location. Now that you have found your Realtor, now it’s time to find the best bang for your buck.

For buyers, maximizing your investment in today’s market is paramount. The right Realtor should be able to pinpoint those properties that can do just that. At KHT (Kraus Home Team), we have seen the best opportunities for buyers in two areas – new construction and re-sales that have been on the market for over 50 days. For new construction, your Realtor should be able to share with you inventory of “Move in Ready” homes, these will have the most incentives from the builder. Those incentives will likely include up to 6% of the purchase price towards closing costs or flex cash that can be used to buy down the rate or even existing debt in cases of VA mortgages. In most cases, closing costs on new builds average around 4% of purchase price, so that leaves about 2% to buy down the rate. With rates hovering in the mid 7’s, that’s a huge help! I have seen in some cases, rates on such properties in the high 4 percentile for interest rate lock. These deals will be more evident at the end of the quarters. We at KHT have great relationships with the area builders and receive inventory lists and buyer incentive packages all the time. This allows us to help our guide our buyers quickly and smoothly.  

As far as re-sales that have been on the market over 50 days, have your Realtor provide a list of these properties. There could be a couple reasons why these properties have been on the market for a while. One, the seller/s overvalued the property and has not reduced at all or enough to generate traction or the seller/s is unrealistic about the value of their property and is unwilling to entertain reducing. Either way, your Realtor should have dialogue with the listing agent to learn more about the seller and if the seller is open to negotiating. We at KHT have found that many of these properties can be purchased for below market value, it just takes a little leg work. We at KHT value the relationships we have with other agents and that allows us to have good professional dialogue that has led to offers accepted.

For sellers looking to drive buyers to their properties. We have seen sucess in promoting a seller/s contribution to closing costs and/or rate buy downs. Creative rate buydown programs as “2-1 Buydown loan” can be provided by seller/s on re-sales. This program allows the buyer to enjoy a lower rate the first year with a slight increase in year two and full rate in year three. By the time year three rolls around, the buyer can refinance at a lower rate; that is the goal. Buyers can request of the seller in the negotiating process and one of the many incentives your Realtor should discuss with you.

 

Hope this article helps you in your real estate journey. Feel free to contact us, we would love to help you.