Right before the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, one of my oldest and dearest friends called me to list her apartment at 275 NE 18th Street in Miami. She had purchased it almost 10 years ago - in fact, she was one of the first members of our friend group who became a homeowner. Here we are, 10 years later, much older and wiser, and she is ready to sell her apartment and move on to the next chapter of her life.
The pandemic of course put a brake on things. She was eager and motivated to sell, but we wanted to wait to see what happened with the virus and did not want to allow showings during the stay-at-home orders. As it came closer to her move-out date, we decided to list the apartment around April, which would allow me to show the apartment after she had already moved out. Immediately, I got to work taking professional pictures, sending announcement emails to my wide list of realtor and professional contacts, printing a brochure, creating a website for the property, and so on. This time, I also focused on the virtual experience - I took a detailed video tour of the property to send to realtors and prospects, and I hired a photographer to create an interactive 3-D virtual tour that allows viewers to move through the apartment as if they were actually there.
In addition to my marketing, I had also explained to my seller that we are in a very price-driven buyer’s market. Sure, she could “test the market” and list a little higher - but that is not the most effective strategy in today’s market. We had to price it close to her bottom price in order to make it attractive to buyers and get people in the door. We focused on the recent closed sales and priced the unit so that our price per SqFt was lower than any of the competition.
And sure enough, the marketing and pricing strategy paid off! We had an immediate and constant flow of interested buyers. And just a little over a month after listing, we were under contract! And, even better, we were under contract at a price very close to the asking. The cooperating realtor and myself worked hard and collaboratively to make sure the contract went through with ease - making sure every step of the closing process was attended to and met by (or before) deadline. In fact, we were even able to close ahead of time.
It’s always a pleasure to work with friends. I know they already expect the best out of me, but it gives me great joy to have the opportunity to really show them the type of service a realtor should provide.
Furthermore, this was an awesome unit in an amazing building, 1800 Biscayne Plaza. This building is located on the corner of Biscayne Blvd and 18th Street - just one block north of the Publix. Its location is superb - residents get to live in the heart of Edgewater without paying the sometimes exorbitant Edgewater prices. You are a short distance to the bay, Downtown, Wynwood, the highways, and so much more.
I’ll leave you with links to the single-property website and to the 3-D Virtual tour that every property should now feature.
http://www.1800biscayneplaza505.com
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=LPQsUb6tNsv
