Advice | Advertise in Fort Myers and Southwest Florida

Real Estate Advertising in SWFL: Starter Home Sales Are Thriving

Written by Larry Julius | Jun 26, 2020 12:39:40 PM

From Marco Island to Punta Gorda (and every point in between), Southwest Florida real estate agents see a robust, post-pandemic market shaping up. Home sales are being driven by record low-interest rates.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate in June is 3.17%, according to Freddie Mac. This is down from 3.99% June of last year. That difference could save a Fort Myers-Naples area home buyer close to $30,000 over the term of a loan.

Data from the Federal Reserve indicates that one of the fast-growing segments of the current real estate market is starter homes. Sales in May for these modest price houses have risen above pre-COVID-19 levels and have hit a three year high.

Feuling the starter home market is demand from millennials. This generation now comprises 37% of all home buyers, says the National Association of Realtors Research Group.

To claim a large share of the market for starter homes, local real estate agents will need to advertise to attract these buyers.  By almost any metric, advertising on Fort Myers radio is the best way to reach millennials planning to buy a house, condo, or co-op over the next year. Every week, reports Nielsen, Fort Myers radio reaches significantly more millennials who plan to purchase a home than all other media. Studies by Nielsen indicate that the reach of an advertising campaign is the media component most responsible for sales lift.

Finding prospective buyers for homes, though, is only part of the job of local real estate agents.  The other component is earning the listing from the selling homeowner.

According to Nielsen, Fort Myers radio reaches 89% of local homeowners who are planning to sell. Again, this reach is superior to all other media.

Mortgage rates are expected to remain low for the foreseeable future which could sustain the demand for starter homes.

“Looking forward, while rates may rise from week to week, we expect the overall trend to be downward, with rates sliding below 3 percent by the end of 2020,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.

Area real estate agents can benefit from advertising on Fort Myers radio to attract both buyers and sellers during this mortgage rate induced real estate boom.

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