305 ≠ 954

I was sitting in one of those tight spaced restaurants with my husband the other week and attempting to mind my own business. You know, the kind where you have your own table but can hear the couple next to you? Anyways, we got to talking and next thing you know, I’m hearing their life story and then their struggles with a home they have had on market for over a year and on their second agent.

Curiosity got the best of me, so looked up the house and did some investigating. One thing he had mentioned was, “At this point, I almost don’t care about the price…I REALLY need to get it off my P&L”. I was surprised to see the house was overpriced by $200,000. So I dug a little deeper and then spotted it…the agent had a 305 area code (Dade County) and the home is located in Broward County. I pulled the agent’s production over the last year and he had a mix of Broward and Dade County listings. Here is what I found....

-36% of the homes he had listed expired with an average of 200 days on the market and every single one was in Broward County.

-The homes he currently has active on the market are averaging 292 days (and climbing), still have not sold and are about ready to expire. 75% of these homes are Broward County properties.

-27% of the homes he had listed did sell and the majority of these homes are located in Dade County, priced right and sold quickly.

And just in case you’re wondering, it’s not that the expired homes were not saleable. In fact, after they expired with him, they went to “954 agents” and sold shortly after taking the listing.

This just goes to show the importance of hiring a local Realtor. Not an agent who moved into town (and we have a lot of those since 2020) but an agent who was born and raised in the county of the home you’re selling, or better yet, the city. Realtors with deep roots, knowledge of consumer trends and knowing how to market and sell in your area is critical. It’s not that a 305 agent isn’t good. Heck, one of the best agents I know is down there. It’s just, most times the 305 ≠ 954 and vice versa.

 So, when interviewing agents, be sure to find out about where they’re from. Were they born and raised here? Is this a family business or recently licensed? And be sure to ask what MLS Board they are with. It’s okay to ask these types of questions because hiring an agent that’s not “in the know” can end up costing you, like in this situation, a lot of time and money.

Remember, who you work with matters. List with Legacy