Bitter sweet success is hard to swallow!

Hi folks. This morning I had another one of my Sellers call today, to let me know, he just received foreclosure papers from his lender. That makes three of my 25 listings that are now in some stage of foreclosure. That sucks!!! I want, so bad, to help these folks and I’m doing everything I can to get their properties sold but it is so hard to sell right now in Poinciana Fl. In fact, for August, there were only 31 closings out of 1,750 listings. If you do the math that means 1.77% of Poinciana’s inventory sold last month! Does it get any worse than that?

I was fortunate that 3 of the 31 closings were mine but that still leaves 25, of my Sellers, that didn’t get “lucky”. For the last couple of months we have been reducing the list prices every 2 weeks to try and find the “sweet spot”. Unfortunately, when only 1.77% of inventory is getting sold, even if the price is right, Venus still has to align with Mars in order to get “lucky” and get a house sold.

So what do I do? Well, my strategy this year has been to get as many “priced right” listings as I can handle. I want about 40 but haven’t made it there yet. The reason is I have been reorganizing my inventory. There are Sellers I have suggested we take their houses off the market and others that I have placed with a management company. If they don’t absolutely need to sell and are not able to price it accordingly then they need to try other options.

I’ve also been increasing my Internet presence. My new point2agent web site http://www.sellingpoinciana.com or http://buypoinciana.com is up and running and has been generating some Buyer traffic. This site is in addition to www.poincianaproperties.com and www.brokerbryant.com. And I have been entering my listings on Craiglist.com and quite a few other sites as well. What I’ve been finding is that more REALTORS® are calling for showings because their Buyer found my listing on the Internet. That’s a good thing.

Some how I have still managed to sell 20 properties this year. In my market, right now, that is outstanding!!!

But…….my heart breaks for these folks that may get foreclosed on. I already lost one to the Court house steps this year and don’t want to lose any more. Unfortunately, I feel I will. And that sucks! It sucks that I feel that way and it sucks that I’m probably right.

All I can do is my best but sometimes my best is not enough. And this is one of those years where this has never been more true. And I fear 2008 is going to be worse. Even though I have personally had success in this market it has been purely due to the numbers. If you have enough listings you will sell houses. My success has been bitter sweet to say the least. Bitter sweet success will keep me full but it is very hard to swallow. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Poinciana market update. It sucks!
June Market Report
Proper pricing is critical!
I never promised you a rose garden.
My Peeps need me!

http://www.brokerbryant.com/000E23

Posted on September 10, 2007 16:24:23 by Broker Bryant

Posted in Broker Bryants opinion

Comment from: Orlando Real Estate [Visitor]

· http://www.orlando-real-estate.biz

Bryant, this is a great post. I also am dealing with a lot of clients in foreclosure. The important thing to remember is that there are solutions available to them.

Short term loans are available.

Many Lenders will work with them right now to help them catch up.

My advice is to first contact some non-profit companies that offer advice on what their options are. Start with:
1.888.995.HOPE

Also, get the advice of an attorney.

There is no need to go through a foreclosure right now. There are so many options available and with the right advice and right actions, many of your clients can either avoid foreclosure altogether or buy enough time for you to sell their properties either through a regular sale or a short sale.

I really like your blog...keep up the great work!

Permalink January 06, 2008 11:04:16