From the category archives:

Vero Beach Updates

Vero Beach Real Estate Update (October 26, 2009)

by paul-kitchen on October 26, 2009

Paul Kitchen

Educating the Armchair Quarterbacks

I was reminded recently that it had been a couple months since my last update. At that time, we had just moved into our beautiful new office space at 40 Royal Palm Pointe, and were sitting at 25 homes or so sold. A couple of months later, and we’re sitting at over 40 Homes Sold or under contract. We’re rocking and rollin’ to be sure. Also, to date we’ve been known around town as sort of a Buyer’s Central, due to our Internet marketing. Things have started to shift in that department as well, as we now have a number of Vero Beach Listings. Just in the past few weeks, Starfish Real Estate’s mind share seems to be rapidly on the rise. We’ve been told that we seem to be a fresh alternative for local Vero Beach sellers, who are ripe for a new approach to getting their homes sold. And when you think about it, it’s pretty simple. What do Sellers want most? Buyers of course! And where do Buyers go first to research potential homes? The Internet. And who is virtually everywhere you look, for virtually every subdivision, street, and house number? You guessed it: Starfish Real Estate. As our visibility increases, we hope you too will drop by our new office to say hello and see how Starfish Real Estate’s approach to buying and selling homes might help you.

On the local market front, what are we seeing? Well, if I send a blast to my mailing list and say that we’ve passed the bottom, I usually get a stern lecture from those armchair quarterbacks who think they know our market better than we do. That’s OK, and it’s certainly better for our clients who appreciate our expertise, as they’re the ones getting amazing deals today on Vero Beach Real Estate. Just the same, we have certainly passed the bottom at certain price points. If you’ve been dragging your feet, particularly in the lower price ranges, you need to get off the fence immediately and talk to one of my buyers agents. They will tell you about the clients they are currently working with who just can’t find a house in their price range. To purchase one of these great deals, you have to be ready to move quickly, be pre-qualified for a mortgage, have proof of funds for a cash offer, and many times be willing to write an offer on a home you haven’t even seen.

Give us a ring at 1.800.793-7304 to discuss the market anytime and some of the strategies we’re using to get the deal done. Find out how we’re different. You’ll be glad you did!

{ 0 comments }

Exclusive Furnished Model Pool Home in Falcon Trace

by paul-kitchen on July 1, 2009

This is a Starfish Real Estate Exclusive Private Listing!

Seller has well over $500,000.00 invested in this home!

Completely Furnished Majesty Model in Falcon Trace, with every upgrade imaginable (most of which are no longer offered by the builder). Just bring your suitcase!. Shows like a model, and belongs in a magazine.

This beautiful home features a Custom Heated Pool, Spa, Waterfall, Upgraded Tile, Cabinets, Appliances, California Closets, Custom Landscaping and Bermuda Shutters. Completely Furnished! Move right in! Just bring your suitcase!

This gated community features Clubhouse, Pool, Tennis, and Fitness Center. 3BR 2.5BA 2 Car Garage on a great Lake Front lot. 2164 Sq. Ft. Under Air. 10-11 Ft Ceilings. 42″ Kitchen Cabinets. Security System.

Visit the 2380 Old Raven Lane website for more photos and information

Visit the 2380 Old Raven Lane website for more photos and information

Price: $379,000.^₀₀
Fees: $336 per Quarter

Call us at 1-800-793-7304 to buy this home today!

Regards,

Paul Kitchen
Starfish Real Estate
(772) 539-8420
(772) 539-8360 fax
(800) 793-7304 toll free
www.LivingInVero.com

{ 0 comments }

Vero Beach 32962 Real Estate Listings (May 26, 2009)

by paul-kitchen on May 27, 2009

{ 0 comments }

Vero Beach Real Estate Update (May 5, 2009)

by paul-kitchen on May 5, 2009

Paul Kitchen

Where’s My Waiter?

by Paul Kitchen

So, it was pointed out to me recently that we hadn’t sent a Vero Beach Deal of the Week out for a while. I was also informed that I hadn’t done a Vero Beach Real Estate Update since March. Turns out it has been about two months without any updates on either front. Though it’s no excuse, it has been a pretty wild ride here lately, with this years ‘Season’ easily surpassing the previous years. Our web traffic is up an amazing 70% over 2008, and the clients we had in town this year were also up dramatically – nearly 100% over last year. I’m very happy Cheryl Goff is here this year, or we couldn’t have dealt with the demand. And I don’t believe for a second any other agent has shown the number of homes Cheryl has. Ridiculous!

May is looking to be our largest month by far for closings, which is a great sign for our market. Our recent clients have gotten great deals on homes in Pointe West South Village, Caledon Shores, Waterway Village, Falcon Trace, Legend Lakes, Trillium, The Laurels, Sebastian Highlands and Vista Gardens. There is zero chance you can go wrong in this market, particularly if you’re planning on holding your home for a few years.

Now, as many folks know, volume also brings a few crazies out of the woodwork. Have you ever been to a very busy restaurant, and the food and service were great? How about going to a relatively empty restaurant – ever notice that the service is poor and the food takes forever? Point is, when I heard today that a client read Cheryl’s recent blog post about showing nearly 300 homes last month, only to then accuse Cheryl of being too busy to wait on her properly, I just had to laugh. This particular buyer will certainly find that empty restaurant, even if I have to give directions, and I hope she enjoys the service!

To put Starfish Real Estate in a different light, I was talking to an agent with another broker here in Vero Beach, and he informed me that many of the agents at his firm could not even write a contract! So, not only is the restaurant empty, the chef can’t cook! Geez…

Anyway, the update is we’re swamped. The websites are hovering at the top nearly everywhere, for everything, and the clients that are flying in to work with us are leaving very happy and making great purchases. Those prospects sitting at their computers in some part of the world waiting for us to run around and take pictures and deliver gramatically correct double spaced property comparison disertations, all the while promising to not-get-too-busy, are most certainly wondering where their waiter is….

{ 0 comments }

Vero Beach Buyers Agent Update (April 27, 2009)

by cheryl-goff on April 27, 2009

The New Buzz Word

Cheryl Goff

By Cheryl Goff

I’ve got a favorite new word in my vocabulary – BUSY. I have been very busy showing homes and condos in Vero Beach Florida. In the last month, I have showed an average of six to eight buyers a week with the average buyer seeing eight to ten properties. That equates to around 250 properties a month. WOW, no wonder my shoes are looking worn. I wonder how many miles I’ve walked!!

Everyone is looking for the deal. Some buyers are capitalizing on the great deals that exist; others are being very cautious and waiting in the wings until they feel the timing is right.

In meeting my clients, there is a common theme that seems to resonate. They target a particular property on the Internet and they decide that this is going to be the property for them. They have researched it, mapped it, and some have even diagrammed and placed their furniture in it. They have found their new place in the Sun and are ready to make it their own!! They are so excited to see that property and make the deal only to be disappointed when they actually see it and the surrounding location. That’s when the buyers turn to me and seek my advice and expertise in finding another property that will suit their needs. While the Internet is great and you can find most of your answers and information to help you, it does not take the place of actually physically seeing the property and the area around it. No matter how far advanced technology becomes, buyer’s agents are still a much needed commodity to help find that perfect property.

So if you find your dream Vero Beach Real Estate property while surfing the net, let me know and I can assist you in making it a reality!!

{ 1 comment }

Vero Beach Real Estate Update (March 22, 2009)

by paul-kitchen on March 22, 2009

Paul Kitchen

It’s been a few weeks since my last Vero Beach Real Estate update. My lead buyers agent Cheryl Goff has been extremely busy working with a lot of different buyers from all over the place, and we’ve both written offers this week on great properties for sale here. I also won a long standing arbitration case this past week, so the good guy can still win.

As far as the latest Vero Beach Market Statistics, we’ve started to notice that properties we’ve shown recently are no longer available, having gone under contract rather quickly. We’ve even lost a couple deals here lately because it turned out to be a multiple offer situation, and our buyers were out-bid. I agree with what Donald Trump said on CNN last week, that this may turn out to be one of the best times in history to buy real estate. Think about it: The year is 2009, and yet many of our clients are getting 2003 and 2004 pricing on things – it’s ridiculous. Interest rates are lower than in the boom as well. As our web traffic keeps going up, we can’t impress upon folks enough that we are running into multiple offer situations, just like the old days. What does that mean? There are only so many great deals out there, and you must be prepared to move quickly, and make an educated offer, because those that don’t are leaving town empty handed. We’re not making this up. If you follow the weekly Vero Beach Real Estate Sales that I post, the average list to sell ratio is 88% or higher. And some properties sell above asking price.

We’ve also introduced a brand new website: Vero Beach MLS Listings, which now lets you search by street as well as house number. We plugged some of that functionality into Living In Vero as well. Let us know what you think about that. If you can remember the house number, but not the street (or vice versa), it’s pretty cool to be able to drill down and locate something easily.

On a personal note my Dad visited Vero Beach for the fist time a week or so ago, and was really impressed with the place. Some of the things he liked the best were all of the public beaches, public boat ramps, parks, walking trails, free parking, etc. It’s what makes Vero Beach Florida so special…

Paul Kitchen
Broker-Owner
Starfish Real Estate
1705 19th Place Suite C-1
Vero Beach, FL 32960
(772) 539-8420
(772) 539-8360 fax
(800) 793-7304 toll free
Vero Beach Real Estate
Vero Beach Real Estate Blog

{ 0 comments }

Vero Beach Real Estate Update (February 25, 2009)

by paul-kitchen on February 25, 2009

Paul Kitchen

I want to use our new Living in Vero Blog to keep our current and future clients updated on what is going on with our Vero Beach Real Estate market.

First off, it’s been a pretty wild couple of months for me. The best thing that has happened to me in a while turns out to be I was forced to look for new office space late last fall. After much brooding (hey, it’s how I do things!), I finally settled on a great office built by Helmut House Construction. I fought the island vs. mainland issue, and common sense won out. If you look at what is selling in Vero Beach, the bulk of it is on the mainland. So our new spot at 1705 19th Place Suite C-1 is a quick jump to anywhere in Vero. We can be on the island in ten minutes or less, or all the way south to Falcon Trace, or up north to Waterway Village. Our great sign is also now up, so we’re much easier to find than the last place we set up shop.

More importantly, after much wooing…. Cheryl Goff joined Starfish Real Estate a few weeks ago. And she has been great!!! Cheryl is an experienced Vero Beach Buyers Agent, with over six years experience in our market. So how is the move going for her so far? Well, she commented the other day that she has shown more homes in the last two weeks than in the previous six months. I’ll take that as a sign of good things to come.

As I try to shift more into the broker role, I’ve still been quite busy with a few clients. Two of them – a couple from NY, and another couple from Orlando, have been intent on taking advantage of the great opportunities now in Vero Beach for a direct oceanfront single family home. In some cases, prices are MILLIONS less than just a couple years ago. Another couple from Canada have zoned in on Grand Harbor and Tarpon Island Club….

Business wise, our web traffic is up 300% or so. The phones are ringing all the time, and sometimes we even answer them! I’m still on the lookout for extraordinary talent to deal with the demand…(So you snoopy Realtors out there reading this – send me somebody already! And they better be great!).

We’re working on a great promotion for our potential new clients this season. Think of it as Starfish TARP money. Want to know more….login to our site and get in the loop. Till next time..

{ 0 comments }

Vero Beach Buyers Agent Update (February 24, 2009)

by cheryl-goff on February 25, 2009

Cheryl Goff

In the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of working with numerous buyers from all walks of life. I have been introduced to buyers from various locales including Germany, Ontario Canada, Russia, South Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, New York, and Connecticut to name a few.

Each one is intrigued by Vero Beach and its quaintness and ambiance. They are in search of a deal and their price ranges vary from the $70’s to the $700,000’s. Some of their favorite communities are The Moorings, Grand Harbor, Bridgepointe, Laguna, Fairways, Riverside at the Island Club, Old Orchid and Waterway Village. For those looking to move here permanently their choices include Legend Lakes, Arbor Trace, Ansley Park, and Sebastian Highlands.

Offers have been written on various properties in The Moorings, Laguna, and Sebastian Highlands.

Cheryl Goff
Buyer’s Representative
Starfish Real Estate
772-539-8420 office
800-793-7304 toll free
772-713-6178 cell
772-539-8360 fax
cheryl@starfishteam.com
www.livinginvero.com

{ 0 comments }