Real Estate Agent Sandy Frost- April 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
This is News Radio seventy ten WNTM. Uncle Henry here
once again with my real estate agent, Sandy.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Frost of Roberts Brothers.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
You can find out more about Sandy Frost at any
time by going to Sandyfrost Realtor dot com. That's Sandyfrost
Realtor dot com. You can call Sandy Frost at two
five one six oh four sixty five fourteen. That's two
five one six oh four sixty five fourteen. Sandy Frost,
How have you been?

Speaker 3 (00:35):
I have been awesome. This weather has been interesting but nice.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
You know, interesting but nice. Now you have been you
have been awesome. Have you been busy?

Speaker 4 (00:48):
Very busy?

Speaker 2 (00:48):
All right?

Speaker 4 (00:49):
Makes me happy.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
We love to hear that.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
So before we talk about selling your home, Sandy Frost
likes to bring us the very latest numbers that she
can find all the Lettuce data on what's going on
here on the Gulf Coast involving real estate. Sandy Frost, wait,
can you tell us?

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Well, Unfortunately, the most recent numbers are from February. Okay,
and that's is what it is.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Okay. That still tells the story.

Speaker 4 (01:15):
It does tell a story.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
I wish I had them more current, but Anyway, this
is what February did. And this year has been interesting
because as we came into January, the market picked up,
and usually it waits until after Marty Gris and I
don't even think it slowed down much during Marty Grauers.

Speaker 4 (01:39):
It was still busy.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, we had big changes in the country. It did
at the beginning of the year.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Maybe there's a there's a different psychology with people buying
and selling.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, I think there is. It seemed like the people
kind of leveled out and seemed happier.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Okay, good, we.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
Want a happy population. Yes, So anyway, and Mobile County
in February, Mobile County as a whole, there were two
hundred and eighty four sales, which was a seven point
one increase over the month before. The average price of

(02:16):
those homes was two hundred and forty three thousand to
twenty six which is an increase of four point three percent,
which means more money in people's pockets.

Speaker 4 (02:29):
Over the month before.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
And we came out of the month with one two
hundred and twenty seven houses for sale.

Speaker 4 (02:40):
Which is.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Four months worth of inventory. If nobody else came on
the market, which obviously more houses will come on the market,
but that says we have still have a seller's market.
A balanced market is six months, so it's you know,
it's kind of going to shift into probably a balanced market,

(03:04):
but it's not quite there yet.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Okay, but this is good news though, if you want
to say your house right now.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Absolutely is ok now breaking this down In West Mobile,
excuse me, Wes Mobile had eighty three sales. Those average
two hundred and seventy eight thousand, Midtown had twenty four sales.
Those average two hundred and thirty nine thousand, North Mobile

(03:29):
twenty seven sales, average price two hundred and twenty thousand,
spring Hill had fifteen sales, average price with three hundred
and fifty four thousand. Dauphin Island had three sales, the
average price was seven hundred and forty one thousand, and
South Mobile had sixty sales with an average price of

(03:53):
two hundred and thirteen thousand. In Baldwin County, for February
as a whole, they had four hundred and twenty six sales.
That's a one point two percent increase from the month
before the average price was five hundred and ten thousand

(04:13):
to thirty seven. That price is down two point seven percent.
From the month before, and they came out of the
month with three thousand, two hundred and twenty one houses
to sell, which is seven and a half month's worth

(04:34):
of inventory.

Speaker 4 (04:36):
Oh, so it's.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
It's becoming more of a buyer's market in Baldwin County,
which would be reflected in that average price coming down
because it's more competitive. Okay, and Fair Hope had fifty
nine sales, the average price was six hundred and fifty

(04:59):
five one thousand. Residential Homes at the Beach I had
fifty seven sales. The average price was six hundred and
eighty five thousand, fully eighty sales. The average price was
three hundred and thirty five thousand. Daphne and Spanish fort
ninety three sales. The average price was three hundred and

(05:21):
sixty eight thousand, and Condos at the Beach had fifty
sales with an average price of seven hundred and nine thousand.

Speaker 4 (05:32):
There go.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
Okay, so that's the latest numbers available at the time
that we are having this conversation. And again, if you
just tuned in Sandy Frost, you can find out more
about her at Sandyfrost Realtor dot com. So Sandy is
now a good time to sell my house.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
Well, the market is busy. We had I've talked before
on earlier programs this year that I expected a good
spring because the market really kicked off as we went
into the new year, and it's been it's become progressively busier.

(06:12):
I'm really happy about it. I think we're going to
have a really good spring. But the question is when
is the perfect time to move. I saw an article
this week that I thought was interesting in that that
I could get my head around, and basically what they
said is it's easy to get caught up in the

(06:35):
idea of waiting for the perfect market to make your move,
hoping that mortgage rates will drop or that home prices
will fall. But what you have to realize is trying
to time the market really works because you have no
control over it right.

Speaker 4 (06:57):
When you No matter when you buy.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
They pointed out, there's always some benefit and some sort
of trade off. And the example that they used to
point out what they're talking about is think back to
the last five years in housing.

Speaker 4 (07:16):
Mortgage rates hit a historic low.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
They were two percent, and a ton of buyers rushed
to buy a home and lock in those lower rates. Well,
so that resulted in so few homes left for sale
that bidding wars became the norm and home prices went
through the roof. Those buyers got a great rate, but

(07:39):
they had other things to contend with. So now with
higher rates and higher prices, it's more expensive to buy.
But at the same time, the number of homes for
sale is at the highest point in several years, which
I just talked about. That more options, You have more

(08:01):
options to choose from, and you're less likely to find
yourself in a bidding war. Pull out all the stops craziness.
So if you have a reason to move and can
afford to do so, you've got to take advantage of
the factors that work in your favor.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Now that makes a lot of sense, absolutely does There
They are all kinds of trade offs there.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
There's always a trade off, right.

Speaker 4 (08:31):
There is.

Speaker 3 (08:33):
I mean, no market is perfect because it depends on
supply and demand. Right, So if you have one, probably
the other is in a different place.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
Absolutely, absolutely, Again you're listening to Sandy Frost. You can
call Sandy A two five one six oh four sixty
five fourteen. That's two five one six oh four sixty
five fourteen to call Sandy Frost. If you are looking
at making that move and selling that home, and you
just told us Mobile County still a seller's market, well it.

Speaker 4 (09:09):
Is, you know.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
And if you know, you asked me if now's the
time to make a move.

Speaker 4 (09:15):
If let me give you an example, if you.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
Were a seller who had a home to sell in
order to buy, and none you wanted to buy, so
you know, both sides of the coin would affect you right. Well,
based on these February stats that I gave you, you know,
the sales in February were seven percent higher than the

(09:40):
month before. Well, so that shows you that more buyers
are coming into the market. Because there were seven percent
more sales. The average price was two hundred and forty
three thousand dollars. Well, that was four point three percent
higher than the month before. So if you had sold

(10:02):
your house at that time, you would have and that
was the price of your house, you have put ten
thousand dollars more in your pocket.

Speaker 4 (10:11):
I would suspect that.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
We're a little beyond the February market now, and I
see it being busier and busier, and I hear other
agents saying the same thing. So my take on that is,
were the sales are increasing and the prices are increasing,

(10:33):
and the inventory is increasing as well. You know, we
have way more inventory than we had five years ago,
and you know, people aren't complaining because they can't find
anything right. So I think that based on that, this
is a good time to get yourself into the market

(10:54):
and move forward with your plans.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
Now, you the listener, me refer to Sandy Frost as
my realistate agent, Sandy Frost of Roberts Brothers. And that
is because years ago, when I wanted to buy a home,
called up Sandy because I didn't want to overpay. I
was very concerned about buying a home and I wasn't
familiar with a lot of the neighborhoods in town, and

(11:19):
I just I didn't have the confidence. I wanted somebody
to help me make sure that I didn't pay too
much for the house, and so I called Sandy. Sandy
did one of the things that you do best, which
is all the research. You just looking at all the numbers, comparing,
and so you were able to help me find a
home that was priced right at the market value.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
And then years went by and.

Speaker 1 (11:43):
I wanted to sell and Sandy once again got the
phone call and helped me sell the house, and even
though the house had a few things that needed to
be done with the house, still got top dollar for
the house.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
Very very happy with this situation.

Speaker 1 (12:00):
Sandy's going to be my real estate agent as long
as she's practicing in real estate. Now, I know you've
got lots of stories like this and lots of people.
I just talked to a man in the last few
weeks that Sandy Frost, he called you to help him
buy a house and sell a house in twenty twenty five.
And I think you helped him seventeen years ago. I did.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
I mean it was those the relationships last.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
You must have done a really good job seventeen years
ago to get the call seventeen years later.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
And I got a call from him before that, seventeen
years Yes, and I sold the first house for it.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yes, Yes, indeed, so Sandy Frost. Everybody talks about Sandy's
work ethic. So Sandy, for people that have not heard
us talk about it before, let's talk about what happens
when somebody calls you. If I were to call you
and say now's the time I want to go ahead
and sell this spring, how would we go about.

Speaker 3 (12:58):
This all right, Well, I would make an appointment to
come out and look at the house. I don't want
to talk about the price at that point because I
don't know.

Speaker 1 (13:10):
Okay, Now this means you're going to come and look
at my house. You're not going to turn to me
after you look at the house and say, you know what,
we're going to ask three point fifty for this.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
You don't do that.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
No, I'm going to I'm going to go back and
analyze the market based on your house, and then I'm
going to come back with all the information and sit
down with you and any any other people that are
involved in the decision making, and they're going to figure
out what we're going.

Speaker 4 (13:39):
To price it at.

Speaker 3 (13:40):
Okay, and that pricing is, in my mind, the most
important thing we do. If it's too high, you're being
compared against the wrong houses and it won't sell. And
I certainly don't want you to lose money if it's
too low. So it's important to find what they I

(14:01):
guess they call in baseball the sweet spot.

Speaker 1 (14:04):
Well, yeah, well you're finding the you're getting as close
as you can to the actual real world market value
that you can. Yes, and that's going to change probably
every day because the market, I mean it's such a
fluid thing. You're trying to get as close as you
can the sweet.

Speaker 3 (14:19):
Spot exactly, so that when people are looking at your
house and you have to assume that that's not the
only one they're looking at, oh yeah, that it will compare,
that it will stand out against the other houses that
they're looking at because it's price.

Speaker 1 (14:38):
Well, okay, so the first appointment you look at the
house as if you were buying it yourself.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yes, Then you go and you do all the.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
Research, and then there's the second appointment where you say,
this is what I found and this is the price
I think that we ought to go with. But really,
the seller. You don't determine the price the seller. You
just give the seller the info and they use the
info as they see fit exactly.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
You know, the market determines your price. I don't determine
your price, and basically the market and the sales before
you determine your price.

Speaker 1 (15:18):
Now, Sandy, when you're on that second appointment and you're
talking about price and go into market with the house,
do some of your clients ask you if they should
remodel anything. Do they ask you if they need to
do something to the house to get more money for it.

Speaker 3 (15:33):
Well, I am not gonna recommend someone get into remodeling
right when they're trying to make a spring market, okay,
because they're just not gonna, you know, take too long.

Speaker 4 (15:46):
It's going to take too long.

Speaker 3 (15:48):
And they're not gonna see a dollar in a dollar
ten back, okay, so to speak. But there are smaller
fixes you can do. Okay, you know, just changing the
hardware on hardware on kitchen cabinets can make a whole
lot of difference. Updating like fixtures to something that's more

(16:09):
modern can make a big difference.

Speaker 4 (16:13):
Putting in new.

Speaker 3 (16:14):
Countertops that creates a whole new look in your kitchen.

Speaker 4 (16:19):
I just had a guy that he did it himself.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
He painted the kitchen cabinets white, and they made a
huge difference to the kitchen obviously. And uh, you know,
the kitchen is probably the most important room that really
helped sell the house. So if I were going to
put my attention to one thing, it would be that.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
Okay, I've read an article a month or two ago
about things that are supposed to bring value to your
house almost automatically, and whoever the expert was says, kitchen
number one is a no brainer. Bathrooms, Uh, that's also
a no brainer. Yes, And they said one thing you
shouldn't ignore is, uh, people do want to relax in

(17:10):
the backyard, So don't don't have.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
A horrible backyard.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
At least at least make the backyard presentable because people
people want to be spending time out there.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
You know, I'm about to list a home that's in
midtown and it has a wonderful front porch. Okay, yeah,
so I told my client was a past client that
and they have toddlers. I said that that porch needs
to speak of people being able to sit out there

(17:39):
and talk to their neighbors.

Speaker 2 (17:40):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (17:42):
He built a beautiful deck in the backyard a couple
of years ago, and you know, the porch and the
deck are probably going to be the main focus of
that house because people like to spend time outdoors.

Speaker 1 (17:56):
They like to entertain outdoors, especially in this part of
the country. So once we so, once we have the
first appointment where you've you've you've taken a look at
the house, then you come back for the second appointment
and everything is discussed, price is discussed, and everybody decides
to move forward. What happens next before the sign goes

(18:18):
in the yard.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
I send my photographer to take pictures. Now, next to
the price, the pictures are the other most important thing
that I consider to do because that's your first Uh,
that's your first appointment with the buyer is when they
see you online. If the pictures aren't great, then they're

(18:43):
just going to say next and they'll never.

Speaker 4 (18:46):
See your house. So the pictures are.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
Critical, critical, more critical as each day goes by, because
more and more people I think are doing exactly what
you said. They they're not even going to go look
at the house if they don't like.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
To pick no that they just they go on and
look at something else, and you've missed your opportunities. So
I think a professional photographer is important.

Speaker 1 (19:13):
So we get the We get the professional pictures. They
go online and through you and Roberts Brothers, they're all
over the internet.

Speaker 2 (19:21):
And then what happens. How often do I hear from
you while we're trying to sell the house.

Speaker 3 (19:24):
Well, he's probably gonna be sick of me by the time.

Speaker 4 (19:28):
We get done.

Speaker 3 (19:29):
But uh, I follow up on all the showings because
I want to know what the agent thought and what
the buyer thought. If you know, I try to look
at the house through a buyer's eyes, but it's easy
enough for me to miss something because I'm not that buyer,

(19:50):
and so that gives me really good information. And sometimes
this is stuff you can fix. You know, they didn't like,
you know, a particular color. People get hung up on colors.
A lot of the majority of buyers can't see beyond
a bad color for a room in their mind.

Speaker 1 (20:12):
Or they can't get past whatever their first impression was.
I mean just that for whatever reason, it sticks.

Speaker 3 (20:19):
You know, if the house is cluttered and they can't
really see it well right, it's hard for them to
picture living there. So some things you can fix so that,
you know, maybe you can get them back if they
if they didn't already buy another house, or the next

(20:42):
buyer may not have the same objection if you've been
able to fix it.

Speaker 1 (20:46):
Okay, Sandy, we are almost out of time here. I
just am curious. You've been doing this for a long time,
been doing real estate and mobile for quite a while.
Are you still passionate about selling real estate?

Speaker 4 (21:00):
I absolutely am.

Speaker 3 (21:01):
I love what I do and I think I have
the best job in the world because I get to
make people happy and help them achieve their their dreams.
I just put a first home buying couple in their
first home, and that is oh man, that's a high.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
I'm sure it is.

Speaker 4 (21:23):
I'm sure it is, and I love it.

Speaker 3 (21:27):
When people call and ask me questions about real estate.
My approach to buying and selling is pretty simple. I'm
here to help you make a wise decision. I don't
care about the dollar signs. I care about your interests
and your goals, and that mindset has really caused my
business to flourish.

Speaker 4 (21:47):
The way I work is I.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
Supply you with all the information on the on the
buying or selling process so you can make a well
informed decision, just like I did with you. I'm both
both transactions and I'm not here for the one time sale.
I want your relationship. Relationships in real estate are what

(22:09):
determined the success or failure of an agent's business. My
business is ninety percent referrals and repeat business. So just
know that when I look out for your best interest.
This is my business model. When I do well with you, you
tell all this about me. We might even become friends,

(22:32):
because that happens a lot.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
It does happen a lot, and I've watched it happen.
We're about to conclude our conversation here on WNTM. And
when we're finished, Sandy's got to go talk to one
of my coworkers who I have no clue how many
houses you have?

Speaker 2 (22:50):
You have? How many houses has it been?

Speaker 4 (22:53):
I think about thirteen.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
You've got through that one.

Speaker 1 (22:56):
God that because friends and family, well he's had a
couple himself to three or four, maybe two or three
with him, and then all these other friends and family
there is referred to you. See, that has got to
make you feel great. That is what a compliment that is.
He recommended you to his children.

Speaker 3 (23:12):
He did, and that makes you feel very humble.

Speaker 1 (23:15):
All right, Well, and I recommend Sandy to you. Not
that I'm saying that you, the listener, are my child.
I'm just saying I recommend her. I'm recommending you to
recommending Sandy to you because she said, done such a
great job for me. Uh and we'll probably do a
good job for me in the future. All right, out
of time, you can get in touch with Sandy Frost

(23:35):
by calling or called Sandy Frost two five to one,
six oh four sixty five fourteen. That's two five one,
six oh four sixty five fourteen and you can find
info at any time online at Sandyfrost Realtor dot com.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
Sandy.

Speaker 4 (23:48):
Great to see you again, Thanks Uncle Henry. I enjoyed
being here,