David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

I get the “Think with Google” newsletters and updates, and it’s the one email I look forward to. Google, like it or leave it, has access to the immediate data and trends of today’s consumers. And let’s face it: being a Realtor means you’ll be spending most of your time marketing to attract new clients, and to market your current client’s property listings. So, today’s Think with Google topic was about authenticity. Millenials are changing the way all of us look at marketing and advertising. For example, is that diamond ethically mined? Is that coffee ecologically sourced and farmed? Does that spaghetti sauce have all natural ingredients? Is that product actually depicted in a way we would use it ourselves? Everything about this trend translates directly to real estate. Is that home description telling me what I need to know about the home, or is it filled with useless adjectives (like charming, cozy, sweet)? Are the photographs realistically depicting the ho...

We're seeing a lot of expired listings in Sarasota and Venice.  That should be disconcerting to you as a home owner, since you were probably expecting that your home would sell in a hot market. Your Sarasota home may have expired in the MLS because of other issues besides price and condition. Technology and real estate marketing are moving quickly beyond the aptitude of low tech Realtors.  One example of this is the ability to understand why and how to make sure your Sarasota property for sale shows up on other Realtor's websites. We have something called IDX, which means internet data exchange.  Brokers who belong to our MLS can agree to allow their listings to be shown on other broker's websites.  It's been a boon to consumers, as you can go to highly ranked and visited real estate websites like mine, davidbarrhomes.com and sarasotadavid.com, and view all the available homes and condos, based on your search parameters. Your Sarasota home for sale may hav...

Today’s topic is especially for you, if your Venice FL home was listed for sale but expired in the MLS. This is one of the reasons why I named this podcast Get Real. The topic of real estate marketing I think is a fuzzy one for many home sellers. You interview real estate agents to tell you how they will market your home for sale and attract a buyer. The flashy graphics showing you the 950 real estate related websites your home will appear on look great, but lets get real. Every major broker does this. I’m here to tell you the straight up truth that the next level of real estate marketing is upon us, and is probably one of the reasons your expired listing didn’t sell. So, let’s get real. I’m a bit of a different Realtor. I sometimes feel like a Martian in my real estate office. I devour anything I can get my hands or eyes on when it comes to online marketing, whether it’s real estate or any other business. I am obsessed with keeping ahead of how consumers are a...

I talk a lot about real estate marketing, because it's changing rapidly and because most Realtors are falling behind the technology curve. Home buyers today are more informed than ever.  Many times, they don't need a Realtor to send them a list of properties from a search request on Zillow or Realtor.com.  In my experience with my own websites, I'm finding many buyers don't want to sign up for listings updates.  They just keep coming back to my website again and again, to check on available properties for condos and neighborhoods they are interested in. That's why, when I take your listing, I market your Venice FL home or condo to the actual buyers, not other Realtors in the area.  Buyers are driving neighborhoods, looking for Open Houses, and using their phones to do it. What if I told you that with my advanced marketing, the best buyer prospects looking for homes in your neighborhood, could find your individual property easily on their mobile device? Th...

So first of all, where is Lake of the Woods? Travel east on Tamiami Trail from Jacaranda, and turn north on Venice East Ave. It’s a huge area with about 800 total homes. Lake of the Woods is the master association but there are four separate neighborhoods: Lake of the Woods, Grassy Oaks, Park Estates, and The Lakes of Jacaranda.   For convenience purposes for home buyers, I have a page on my website listed under Lake of the Woods that includes homes for sale and video from all 4 neighborhoods. You can find that under the neighborhoods tab on the main menu on my Venice website, davidbarrhomes.com Lake of the Woods is considered one of the Venice area’s nicest upscale neighborhoods. The homes sit on large lots and aren’t right on top of each other, and there’s a lot of mature oaks and palms. There are nicely winding streets and lots of lake views.  Most homes here are 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and a good number have private pools. Most h...

The Sarasota luxury real estate market is lagging from a marketing point of view. I've been posting recently about the state of our local luxury market, and it doesn't seem to have the same vibrancy as other areas such as Miami/Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Keys, or Los Angeles.  Why is this?  I have some numbers to back up my suspicions, as well as reasons why luxury home owners should consider other alternatives when it comes to selling their properties in the Sarasota area. So, first the numbers: Luxury Homes Sale Price $1,000,000 and above (all figures median): 1/1/2017-3/31-2017   # Sold: 83  $/Square Foot Sold: $452  Days on Market: 96  LP/SP ratio: 94 1/1/2018-3/31/2017  # Sold: 100  $/Square Foot Sold: $455  Days on Market: 78  LP/SP ratio: 93 The number that jumps out at me is the list price to sales price ratio.  The median sales price of a home priced over $1,000,000 in Sarasota County in 2018 was $1,509...

Luxury real estate. Ah yes, the sweet excitement of getting to list and hopefully sell a million dollar plus property in Sarasota and Venice. That was the subject of a sales seminar I attended this week. And it fell totally flat, at least for me. Did I really need to attend a luxury real estate seminar, only to find out that my car should be clean for clients, and that I should wear nice clothes to meet luxury home owners? No, no, and no! My suspicion before attending the seminar was that the speaker would be a prime example of what Sarasota luxury real estate represents to many agents. Unfortunately, my suspicion was dead on. In short, her message was that we need to look the part and speak the part to connect with you, Mr. and Mrs Luxury Home Owner, as potential clients. Listen to this blog on my podcast:  https://soundcloud.com/david_barr_broker/sarasota-real-estate-luxury-home-marketing None of this superficial BS matters to a potential buyer, ...