Poinciana-proper: Distinguishing Poinciana, Florida, and Lazy Toots

POINCIANA | If you call Poinciana home, take comfort in the fact that our massive inventory of existing homes is finally approaching the 1,000 mark here.  Today, just before the holidays, it stands at about 1,048.  If you're accustomed to seeing this number reported by other realtors at around 1,500, I'm sure you’re wondering why “Poinciana @ Home” would report a smaller number than its competitors.  Plain and simple: It’s because too many local realtors take the Lazy Toots approach.  Those are individuals who pat their own backs as experts while giving you the minimal information.

What the Lazy Toots approach means is that you’re likely to encounter realtors -- actually, quite a few of them -- reporting the total statistic for Poinciana’s two-zip-code stretch: 34758 and 34759; instead of reporting the real statistics.  Easy to do, just enter these two zips into the MLS and Realtor X can give you a number, any number in fact, but one that may or may not accurately represent the condition of homes sales in the area.  “Never mind that the number is most likely inaccurate,” some realtors figure, “It’s just business.”  And never mind that the Lazy Toots approach produces an overinflated number -- by including such communities as Cypress Woods, Solivita, Trafalgar, Doral Woods, or Crescent Lakes – into statistics for Poinciana.  (BTW: Can you name which two of these communities are gated?)  If you live in Poinciana you know that it is inappropriate to compare Poinciana to its communities?  So why do so many realtors in the area do it?

It’s called volume listing, a subject you will find me eventually writing about here on “Poinciana @ Home.”  But in short, it is because they want to “sell you.”  If you call Poinciana home or you sell real estate, you would know that some communities naturally sell faster than others.  So, the way some realtors figure it, wouldn’t you feel good if you thought your home would sell faster than reality.  By including these communities into the numbers they give you, some realtors “sell you” on contracting with their broker. 

For example, the worse selling area today is Trafalgar.  The fastest selling?  Crescent Lakes.  Poinciana is somewhere in the middle; unfortunately, though, these days its numbers are leaning towards Trafalgar’s side.  But as far as Lazy Toots is concerned, yeah, the one who’s trying to “sell you,” it’s all the same.  How would you know that at Price X you house couldn’t possibly sell for 12 months!  But according to “volume listing” rules, this is how to “sell you.”  It’s clearly misleading and, maybe, tantamount to unethical.

Comparing a home in Poinciana-proper with a home in Crescent Lakes is like comparing a Bartlett to an Anjou.  The peeve about these is that the housing bust we’ve all been feeling in the Poinciana area finally turned !  Yeah mon.  But not for Poinciana.  It was for Crescent Lakes !   Hooray for the Lakes !  But for Poinciana?

Prices are still falling.  That’s the real stat.  Today, there is nothing more critical to the sale of a home in Poinciana than price.  By January 2008 that will be changing.  (How do I know?  Watch this blog for more.)  If you are thinking about selling your home, don’t let yourself get caught up with Lazy Toots unless you enjoy disappointment.  And watch my blog, here, for the real numbers on our home, Poinciana . . . properly placed where people, real people, live, work, and play.  Dateline: 12/14/07.

Comments

[sandy]

why are most of the homes in florida poinciana built with garages cant this space be converted to a living space and have the vehicles parked outdoors.what is the crime situation there,i know the weather is good.

From the publisher: Thank you for you comment, Sandy. Many people consider cars parked outdoors an eyesore. If you look at photos of streets with and without cars, you'll find that streets without cars are far more appealing. Another very good reason for using garages for cars, not living space, is crime. With your car inside your garage, you're less likely to suffer vandalism and theft. Crime stats for Poinciana are low, relative to most other suburban communities in Florida, and it’s very family-oriented community. Check out my About Poinciana page to learn more.