Opportunities for Buyers & Sellers: The Doors Open

Whether it's a "good" market or a "bad" market there are always opportunities to take advantage of. The opportunities will change, meaning that not every market is the right market for every buyer & seller, but we encourage you to look into these opportunities to see if there is one that's right for you, a friend, or relative. We are including two doors we see open right now: one for buyers and one for sellers to take advantage of.

Buyers: keep in mind that home builders are offering amazing incentives right now to help offset the higher interest rates and lack of buyers. We have seen the door begin to crack and it is starting to swing open for buyers! What do we mean by this? Just months ago we were seeing builders who were offering nothing extra to their buyers and showing less care about the buyer in the process. Even communication took a downturn as sometimes it felt like we were pulling teeth trying to get a closing date moved or even just an update on the project. In this market the new construction tables have finally turned in the buyer's favor. Now, we are seeing home builders offering closing cost assistance, interest rate buydowns, additional features at no cost, and included appliances. The buyers are taking back the power and are able to not only get more for the same home price, but often have a better home-building experience overall. There is opportunity available that simply was not an option before. Before you go to a builder, find an agent that will help you in your home-buying journey! It can be easy to assume that all you are doing is picking off a menu, but that is simply not the case. A skilled agent will be aware of all the possible incentives from local home builders and be able to represent you without the bias of an on-site agent representing the builder. As a buyer, you do not pay the commission, so please make sure to pick an agent and take them to your appointment. They will ensure you are getting the best overall deal, that no incentives are being hidden from you, and that you make it all the way to closing well-represented.

Sellers: as we've seen the average days on market increase over the past few months, you won't want to be working with just any agent to sell your home. Use this market as an opportunity to pick an agent that has strategic partnerships that will help get your home sold at-value quickly. What does it look like for a Realtor to have strategic partnerships? This means they have put in the time in advance to create connections that will drive traffic to your property, and this can be the door of opportunity that suddenly opens to get your property sold! A prime example of this is corporations with employees moving to the area, and we have certainly seen a lot of this in Jacksonville. By choosing an agent with a relationship with these companies, you will be able to drive traffic from extremely motivated buyers relocating from out of state, which can be a huge advantage in this market. However, not every agent is doing this - it takes a lot of time and effort to build these strong relationships. As you interview agents, consider asking them, “Do you have any strategic partnerships?” so you don’t miss out on working with an agent who has those extra connections to help get your home sold.

Is one of these opportunities the right one for you? Give us a call to discuss your options with one of our local market experts.

904.204.9494