Sightseeing a million and over
There's an old, overused expression and probably mostly untrue in the real estate business, "Buyers are liars." Not to put a fine point on it but buyers may not actually be lying. They more than likely don't have a clue what they want. Just watch a few episodes of House Hunters on HGTV and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
For the most part this is just a lack of experience in looking for a property and changes fast once they have a little realtor education under their belts. However, there are buyers among us who aren't really buyers; they are sightseers. The problem is how do you tell the difference?
Experienced real estate professionals become pretty savvy at spotting the sightseers and are particularly careful with the more expensive homes. If a potential buyer shows up at an open house, takes a look around admiring the furniture and decorating then says they'll get back to you, he/she is sightseeing. But if they keep coming back to look at the property and never make an offer, a red flag should go up.
Since Anna Maria Island is awash in luxury properties, the sightseers can't be far behind. And speaking of luxury properties, here's my three month update on million dollar and over properties:
This analysis will be for sales in the months of October, November and December for Cortez and the three cities on Anna Maria Island:
Starting with Cortez, there was only one over million dollar sale in this time period closing for $1,375,000. During the previous three months there were two.
The city of Anna Maria closed six over million dollar sales ranging from $3,950,000 to $1,100,000 during this time. During the previous three months there were eight sales.
Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach had nine over one million dollar properties ranging from $1,650,000 to $1,000,000. During July, August and September of last year, seven properties were closed.
As of this writing, on the market Cortez has seven over one million dollar properties from $1,850,000 to $1,150,000 and one listed for $975,000. During the previous three months there were three.
Anna Maria city has 47 over million dollar properties from $5,495,000 to $1,050,000, and three in the $900,000's from $990,000 to $949,000. During the previous three months there were 40 properties over one million and four above $900,000.
And finally, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach have 79 over one million properties listed from $3,995,000 to $1,049,000, as well as 14 properties ranging from $999,500 to $919,000. During the previous three months, there were 80 properties above one million listed and 16 over $900,000.
I always like to point out the properties just under a million, since this price range is very close to the million mark. The statistics for the closed properties is from the Manatee County Property Appraiser's Office, and the available properties are from realtor.com, which generally reflects what is listed on the local multiple listing service.
The number of closed sales and on the market properties remain consistent, with the exception of Cortez, which has a lot more over million dollar properties available. The true story will be told when the traditional buying season wraps up. In the meantime, watch out for those sightseers; they're the ones with the bright red sunburn and socks.