And the condos keep on coming

There is one planned condo unit for every 19 people in Sarasota. But does that constitute a glut?

By MICHAEL BRAGA
michael.braga@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- Miami is often held out as the most condominium-crazed town in the nation. But looking at it in proportion, Sarasota is even crazier.

Developers have plans for 25,000 units in Miami's city center, or one for every 24 of its 600,000 residents. Sarasota -- population 55,000 -- gets you one planned condo for every 19.

Understandably, the big question on the minds of market players and observers is whether Sarasota's torrid condo construction will eclipse demand and drive the city's upward-spiraling prices back to earth. It is another aspect of the much broader debate about whether Southwest Florida and the nation are in a real estate bubble.

The fact that real estate agents have been having trouble selling Sarasota condos priced at $1 million or more for some time is a good indication that the high-end market is overbuilt.

The rest of the article is here:
http://www.sarasotaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051106/BUSINESS/51106001

They quoted me in this article:

Marc Rasmussen, a Re/Max agent, worries that prices of those units have been bid up so high by speculators in the pre-construction phase that potential long-term buyers will be limited.

"Demand for downtown property is still pretty hot, but it's getting very expensive. Even though there are plenty of people coming here with money, it will take a while before all the units get absorbed," Rasmussen said.

I also made a comment about how Sarasota might seem expensive when compared to price levels a few years ago but if you compare our market to other high end markets in Florida, such as Boca Raton, Palm Beach, and Naples, we are priced well.