Vero Beach Florida Homes

Marketing a Vero Beach home to make it attractive to buyers isn’t just about staging the house or putting a For Sale sign up in the yard. In today’s real estate market, it’s important to reach out to a larger audience through various types of media. After all, buying and selling a home in the Hutchinson Island region means tapping into everything that people use on a daily basis: computers, newspapers, magazines, and more traditional real estate routes.

 

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

 

The majority of home buyers in the FL region begin their search online. The Internet is becoming an increasingly viable way to present homes from both an interior and an exterior vantage point. Although Ginny Mitchell will help you to understand the best angles for presenting a photographic display of your house, you can help by pointing out what it is you love best about the home. A great backyard garden, a cozy front porch swing, a spacious kitchen, the tile on your bathroom floor – no matter what it is, use it as a way to entice buyers into contacting your agent for more information.

 

Virtual tours are becoming a very popular way to showcase your home online, as well. Allowing viewers to “walk through” your home gives them a stronger connection to it.

 

Signs and Advertisements

 

The more traditional Florida home selling options include putting up a sign or placing an ad in the newspaper, in your local real estate magazine, or even on direct mailing advertisements. These steps have long been a part of the buying and selling market, regardless of where you live.

 

The truth of the matter is, there’s a reason these actions are relied upon so heavily: no one will know you’re selling your Vero Beach home unless you post it somewhere! While decisions related to where you place the signs and advertisements will most likely be made with the assistance of Ginny Mitchell, you can help by finding additional ways to spread the word of your sale. Online home selling postings for Indian River Shores or Hutchinson Island are fairly common, and oftentimes, simply letting your friends and family know that your Vero Beach home is on the market can go a long way in spreading the word.

 

Rely on Ginny Mitchell

 

Of course, the most important home marketing step you can take is trusting Ginny Mitchell to work hard to sell your home as quickly and efficiently as possible. Like any real business partnership, selling a Florida home is all about finding someone you can trust and working together to get the best possible results.

In the past year, the median price of houses in Indian River County fell from $150,000 to $138,500. This is a drop of just under 9%. This occurred because values decreased in general and because a higher number of small, low-priced homes were sold. As shown in the chart below, in the last 2 years, 2008 and 2009, the median price has dropped from $195,000 to $138,000, which is a drop of 38%. 

 

 

 

By contrast, sales volume is up, inventory is down, and the free fall drop in prices has slowed considerably. Many real state economists believe prices have reached bottom, and the market will now level off and start a slow but steady increase in late 2010.  We are seeing this in Indian River County also. 

Homes on the Island:  Another good month for home sales on the island in Indian River County. In spite of what is typically considered to be the “slow season,” sales continue to stay at record levels for this time of year.  Part of the good news can be attributed to the tax credit program, but in our opinion another major reason for the increased sales is lower prices. December 2009 sales were the best December in 6 years. Prices ranged from 13 houses priced under $500,000 to one house in Johns Island that sold for $8,650,000. However, this home was originally listed for close to $15,000,000 in mid 2008 and has been on the market since April 2007.  A recent price reduction in October created a quick offer and a closing in December. Again, there are buyers out there, and when property is priced competitively, it sells!

 

 

 

 

 

Condos on the island:  Just a “so-so” month for sales of Condos on the island but about average for December over the last 6 years. This category of property may not see the increases that other areas are now seeing. The free spending baby boomers of a few years ago are now saving their money. Most of the condos are second homes or weekend getaways. On the low end, a 1 BR unit on Dahlia sold for $120,000 and a couple sold in Oceanside in the $140s. On the high end, an ocean front villa sold in Baytree for $760,000, but it had been on the market since 12-2007 and sold for 36% less than the listing price.

 

 

 

 

 

Mainland Condos:  Bargains galore on condos on the mainland. Of the 39 condos sold on the mainland, 24 were sold for under $100,000 and only 5 sold for over $200,000 including one in Grand Harbor for $850,000. At the low end, many of the sale prices were 50% of what they were 3 or 4 years ago, and there are still close to 100 units for sale at these great prices.

 

Indian River County Homes:  Wow, sales were up again—best December since 2004 and the median price was up. High sales again are attributed to the tax credit, the price, and the fact that many homes are bank owned, and buyers know banks are motivated sellers and deals can be made quickly. 27% of the sales were bank owned, and 14% were Short Sales. Inventory was reduced by 9% in 2009. On the mainland prices ranged from 58 homes that sold for under $100,000 mostly in the South County in the Highlands and the Oslo road area to only 2 that sold for over $500,000—one in Grand Harbor and one in Vero Isles on a canal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

North Hutchinson Island:  The year went out with a bang. December sales were the highest for December in 6 years and the 2nd highest month since May 2005. Total sales for this year were 92 units, which is the highest yearly total since 97 were sold in 2005. The Median price though continues to move down, which is reflected in the second NHI chart to approximately 55% lower than the 2005 and 2006 highs. Part of the reduction in price is due to lower values and part is due to the fact that higher priced homes are not selling. Sales this month consisted of 2 houses, both distressed sales—one in Queens Cove for $285,000 on a 50 ft lot and a non-waterfront home in Coral Cove  for $125,000. On the condo front ther were 4 oceanfront units that sold in The sands, Ocean Harbour South and Sea Palms for $153,000 to $205,000. At the high end, a unit sold in Altamira on the 11th floor for $660,000. Inventory has come down over the last few years also to a present level of 184 units for sale. However, this does not include approximately 90 units for sale in the 2 new Oceanique buildings.