An article in The Ledger on June 20 concerning Lakeland real estate was interesting and quite informative. It was about the housing market conditions today.
I have been selling Lakeland and U.S. real estate for the past 60 years. We have seen five economic cycles like this.
I stood on Gary Road in Lakeland for my first Florida real estate auction. I had two people show up at the sale — one couple came around the house and looked at me while standing behind a palm tree. It was like they had never heard an auctioneer before.
Times have changed, and so have the real estate prices. Now, our typical audience at a house sale in Lakeland will be about 30 to 40 people with at least five to 10 registered buyers.
The article also talked about realtors getting more than the listing price. Many more mentioned that they received more than the appraisal on the property. There are two things I would like to point out.
One, I taught certified auctioneers the sale of real estate at auction for 30 years at the University of Indiana. Let me tell you that the auction price of real estate is the appraisal value, regardless of what the appraisers have to say about it.
They are great professionals, but the only guide they have to value is yesterday’s prices. They cannot evaluate today’s or tomorrow’s value. They rely on past comparable prices, yesterday’s value, on a rising market it doesn’t reflect today’s news.
Two, the true value of real estate or any other commodity is what someone is willing to pay, based on the terms and conditions of the sale. That’s what the auction method brings to the market every day. If you have property up for sale, why take what one or two people will offer when we will assemble 10 to 20 prospective buyers at the front door?
Give me a call, and I will gladly give you an estimate of values and sell it with no commission to you as the seller. Our appraisal is free. You can’t beat the price.
See you at the auction!
