David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

Here's an update on my YouTube channel: Over 400 HD video tours; 80,000+ views; Playlists for homes in Sarasota, Venice, and Lakewood Ranch; Videos cover 2 of the top 4 selling master planned communities in the country. My YouTube channel dashboard Wh y is this important? I'm able to showcase our local real estate markets to the vast majority of potential home buyers who come from long distance to live here. Question: What good is listing with a "luxury broker", when one of them, over the past 90 days, had 7 out of 26 (27%) expired listings on Siesta Key and Longboat Key in our MLS? If you like how I market myself as a Realtor and our market area to attract buyers, you'll love how I market your home or condo for sale. And I don't do any of it with assistants, "buyer's agents", or an unlicensed spouse. A high tech Realtor like myself will attract the right buyer for your home using the latest tools and technology. ...

I've made owner financed properties one of my real estate specialities.  There's a lot of confusion around this subject, especially since the advent of Dodd-Frank financing rules after the real estate crash of 2008. First of all, a property owner offering a single owner financed home for sale during a one-year period does not qualify as a "lender" who would need a mortgage license under Dodd-Frank. Secondly, when you visit davidbarrhomes.com for owner financed properties, I'm able to display listings from our MLS based on the financing offered.  I include lease option homes, because most listing agents aren't familiar with owner financing and don't bring it up to their clients.  With the right offer, a home owner offering a lease purchase option may consider owner financing. Owner financing is not for those with bad credit .  You should expect the home owner will run a credit and background check.  After all, you will be, in a sense, business p...

I'm continuing to see a large number of expired listings in our MLS.  Expired listings mean that the listing contract term between a home owner and a Realtor has lapsed, and the home is off the market. We're supposed to be in a strong reale state market, so what's the cause of this?  It's usually one of these reasons: The listing price was too high; The property was not in proper condition; The property was not staged properly; The listing agent had no marketing plan beyond what their Broker offered. Expired listings in Sarasota from the MLS I want to bring attention to the last bullet point above.  The first question you should ask a Realtor who wants to list your Sarasota home for sale should be "What do you know about SEO and online marketing?".  This is very important. Every major Broker has basically the same marketing plan.  Of course, your home is special, and it should be marketed that way.  SEO means "Search Engine Optimization...

I've posted here earlier about Zillow and how they present misinformation to home buyers and sellers. This morning I was reading a real estate news article about the market nationally, and they quote Zillow as an "expert source".  So I started wondering, where exactly do they get their data? According to Zillow:  "Our data on and appreciation for these reports is based on the Zillow Home Value Index - a valuation index calculated as the median value (Zestimate) of all homes in a particular geographic area. At the national level , this data is then weighted according to population in each area".  That's interesting, since real estate is decidedly a factor of local economics and geographic specifics such as beaches and climate.  Ponder why, if Zillow's methodology is correct, Port Charlotte and Sarasota don't have the same housing prices, since we are geographically similar. In fact, Zillow contradicts themselves as you dig further into the FAQ ...