Wonder what $200,000 buys in Sarasota?

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SARASOTA COUNTY -- Joe Murphy's clients have him logging more miles these days, but he has little choice.Finding a house around $250,000 is forcing the real estate agent south into North Port and Englewood. If his home-seekers don't mind older houses, he'll add Bradenton, Palmetto and northern Sarasota, near the airport, to his list. Even then, he has to hurry because they won't stay on the market for long.A couple of years ago, Murphy didn't have to drive so far to find such houses, mostly for first-time home buyers.The Coldwell Banker agent could call up 20 to 30 listings in Lakewood Ranch. Some even with pools."It's insane," he says. "Two years ago, the hot price range was $100,000 to $150,000. Then it was $150,000 to $200,000, and then it was $200,000 to $250,000. Now ... I have first-time home buyers paying $325,000."Murphy and other agents say just finding entry-level houses is tougher because escalating prices keep pushing up the low end, sometimes from one month to the next.The situation has Murphy constantly expanding his search area and rethinking what constitutes a bargain. Nowadays, he says, a good deal is anything less than $250,000.He insists those homes exist, but finding them is another matter.A recent study by the Florida Association of Realtors shows that in March, the median price for an existing single-family house in Sarasota-Bradenton hit $305,400 -- meaning half of all houses sold last month fell below that price point.That median price is an all-time high and 26 percent more than the same month last year, when the median stood at $224,100.Murphy and other agents agree that houses are skirting the median all the time, but they caution that what constitutes entry-level isn't what it was a year ago.At www.realtor.com, a Web site that culls listings from the Multiple Listing Service, the database used by Sarasota and Manatee Realtors, only one single-family house in Sarasota County lists for less than $125,000.It's a 556-square-foot, two-bedroom bungalow in Sarasota's Newtown Heights section. It's 43 years old, and it lists for $114,000.Just three more list for less than $150,000 -- Murphy's entry threshold two years ago -- and eight list from $150,000 to $200,000, most in southern Sarasota County but also a couple north of the city.The pickings improve from $200,000 to $250,000, today's entry point, but buyers shouldn't expect a windfall.Just 42 houses show up at that price range and of those, many hail from the 1950s, '60s and '70s. The newest houses are a 30-minute or more commute in North Port, Englewood and other points south.Bargains are elusiveJohn Mabardi of Horizon Realty in Sarasota says he has a hard time staying interested when out-of-state buyers inquire about bargains in Sarasota. Their idea of a bargain is around $150,000, he said.On Tuesday, he scanned the Sarasota-Bradenton MLS and turned up only a handful near that price."Here's one built in 1925. It looks like a wooden cabin. It's so old I'm almost afraid to give it out," he says."Here's another one, a rancher built in 1936, $129,777, 910 square feet, near Gillespie Park, but it's freshly painted," he adds, chuckling."It's being sold as is. That means, 'Don't bother inspecting because we won't do anything.' "At the $100,000 to $150,000 range, location becomes an indicator of whether the house is a tear-down, fixer-upper or a good buy, in many cases meaning a newer house with a remote address.The entry level showing the most promise for buyers seems to be $200,000 to $250,000. Again, age comes into play, but at that range the houses generally run from 20 years to just a few years old, not necessarily from the 1950s or older.Bradenton, Palmetto, southwest Manatee County and southern and northern Sarasota County provide the most examples."You can find something in Sarasota between $200,000 and $250,000, but the majority I have here is in North Port," says Mabardi.Just like Murphy and his six agents, the hunt for bargains keeps his clients on their toes.When price is an issue, he suggests they personally visit areas known for bargains to decide whether they could live there. Then he puts their names on waiting lists. Anything less than $300,000 sells quickly, sometimes within hours."You have to move fast, and I insist everybody be pre-qualified (for a mortgage)," he said. "They won't even talk to you unless you're pre-qualified."Mike Holderness, who owns a house in Manatee's Whitfield area, just across the Sarasota County line, knows just how fast properties in the 200s can move.By 2 p.m. Tuesday, the day after he listed his house at $239,900, three agents had toured it and he was expecting to sign a deal today.At 1,355 square feet, the house isn't tiny. Plus, appliances, garage door and tile are fairly new. The house itself is 28 years old.That doesn't worry Holderness, not in this market."You can't find anything for that price," he says. "As long as the rates are down and there's no inventory, that's going to be the situation."