Marc in the news

You can see the Sarasota Herald Newspaper article about me here:

http://www.sarasotaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051219/BUSINESS/512190328

Sarasota Luxury Home Buyers

Here is an article from the Sarasota Herald Tribune questioning whether higher end home buyers will show up to buy in the new River Strand development on the Manatee River. River Strand is the newest community within Heritage Harbour, just off State Road 64 in Bradenton.

I believe higher end buyers coming to Florida will now look at Sarasota as one of the more sought after destinations in the state. We are now being compared to areas such as Naples, Palm Beach and Boca Raton. This was not always the case. In the past, many of the luxury home buyers passed Sarasota for Naples.

To read the article go here:
http://www.sarasotaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051217/NEWS/512170400

Siesta Key revitalization

County Commission agrees to help Siesta's revitalization

BY HEATHER ALLEN

SIESTA KEY -- Siesta Key is on its way to becoming another refined beach on Florida's west coast.

A plan to bury power cables and spruce up public streets is the first sign that the Siesta Key Village of the future will have a cleaner decor that's a little less tiki bar.

Mark Smith, president of the Village Association, summed up the prevailing feeling about Siesta as the group pushes for a more polished look.

"It's tired," Smith said. "Aesthetics are huge."The County Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to fund 60 percent of an estimated $5.2 million revitalization and beautification project that will affect 68 parcels.

Read the rest of the aticle here: http://www.sarasotaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/NEWS/512150525

I hope Siesta Key keeps it's laid back atmosphere. The great thing about Sarasota is that it appeals to so many personalities and lifestyles. For example, if you liked the more polished, manicured look then you will like Longboat Key. If you enjoy the more laid back, less manicured look than you will like Siesta Key. Hopefully, any revitalizing efforts will retain the current feel of Siesta Key.

Is the Sarasota real estate market picking up again?

Like other Realtors and people involved in the Sarasota real estate market I have been a little slow lately. Actually, I think the slow down is nationally. I have spoken with agents in California and Florida and they all complained of being slow. However, I have picked up a little bit within the last 2 weeks. I sold a new construction in Lakewood Ranch. Within the last 2 weeks I have been contacted by someone looking for a condo on Longboat Key, a couple looking to buy a starter home under $350,000, an existing client/investor who is looking to buy property in Sarasota and Manatee counties, a woman from Belgium looking for a small inexpensive condo, a gentleman who is staying on Anna Maria Island during Christmas week and wants to purchase in Manatee county, an existing client that I have been sending property emails to that wants to step up his search for ranch property, a family looking to move to Sarasota from Bradenton, and another couple visiting in January who are looking for a higher end condo in downtown Sarasota. There have been more but these are the more serious inquiries.

It looks like the season is finally here. It will be interesting to see how much the real estate market picks up over the next 4 months.

Lakewood Ranch Wins FAR's 2005 ENVY Award

Lakewood Ranch, a master-planned conservation community located on 7,000 acres spanning Sarasota and Manatee counties, has won the 19th Residential Environmental Award from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). The award, popularly known as the ENVY, was presented recently at FAR’s 89th annual Convention and Trade Expo in Lake Buena Vista. The ENVY award recognizes the residential and/or commercial developer who makes a significant contribution toward building in harmony with Florida’s sensitive environment.

As the 2005 ENVY winner in the residential category, Lakewood Ranch now has the distinction of being the only development to win FAR's ENVY awards in both the commercial and residential categories. It won the commercial ENVY award in 1999.


Read the rest of the article here: Florida Association of Realtors

Lakewood Ranch is a gorgeous community. Through this website I get alot of out of town people moving to Sarasota and 2nd home buyers. I find that many people love Lakewood Ranch for the great homes, community feel and well planned design. Other people prefer to be closer to Sarasota and the beaches.

Homes Resales' Median Price Rises 28 Percent in October

In Sarasota, the median sales price for a single-family home in October 2005 was $365,000, compared to $285,000 in October 2004. The number of single-family homes sold in October 2005 was 427, compared to 505 in October 2004.

Home sales statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR) show that home prices continued to rise but the number of sales fell in October, notably in southern areas directly impacted by Hurricane Wilma's march across the state.

Read the rest of the article here: Florida Association of Realtors

A real estate forecast less gloomy

In a region where real estate is king, economist John Tuccillo has good news.
The king is not dead.

"There is no bubble in the real estate market because there is no 'the real estate market,'" Tuccillo told a group of developers Wednesday at Fleming's restaurant in Sarasota. "There are hundreds of thousands of real estate markets," separated by location and price, and the underlying economy is key to the health of each of them.

"The most vulnerable market is Detroit," said Tuccillo, a Sarasota resident who is former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. All those nasty General Motors job cuts will make Rust Belt real estate even cheaper, but not affordable. Even cheap real estate, he said, is not affordable for those who don't have jobs.

Read the rest of the article here:
http://www.sarasotaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051203/COLUMNIST10/512030573/1201/REALESTATE

It is good to see the local newspaper print something positive about the Sarasota real estate market. I could be mistaken, but it seemed as if the Sarasota Herald Tribune was trying to scare the public with negative articles about the real estate market.

I am in the newspaper again.

I was quoted in the newspaper again. You can see the article here: http://www.sarasotaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/BUSINESS/512080374

Other real estate agents in my office thought I came off as negative on the Sarasota real estate market. It may have sounded that way but I am really not negative on this market. I still think this is a great market. However, it is a changing market. I don't think we will see appreciation rates above 30% anymore.

My comment was about the recent slow down in activity. Everyone knows the market has slowed down. It is a national trend. In my humble opinion it needed to slow down. How many years can you have appreciation rates above 30%? If we see some prices go sideways to slightly up I think we will be primed for another move to the upside.

I also was quoted in saying that the investor participation was totally gone. What I really said was that the number of investors/flippers has decreased. I am still getting contacted by investors who want to buy with a longer time horizon.

Housing slowdown may claim 800,000 jobs in 2006

BY ALEX VEIGA
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES -- A sustained decline will hit the U.S. housing market next year, costing the nation as many as 800,000 jobs, according to a new economic report released Wednesday.

The slowdown is likely to last several years, with as many as 500,000 construction jobs and 300,000 financial sector positions lost, the quarterly Anderson Forecast predicted.

"We expect housing to start slowing the economy this quarter or the next," said Edward Leamer, director of the study done at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.sarasotaherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051207/BREAKING/51207008

Sarasota Real Estate Market - current conditions

More homes are listed, but sales and prices are dropping
Agents agree market is improving for buyers

By MICHAEL POLLICK
michael.pollick@heraldtribune.com

Sarasota-Bradenton real estate agents sold 19 percent fewer homes in October than they did a year earlier, but agents report prices are softening in the face of listing inventories three times that of fall 2004.

The softening is a phenomenon that has yet to wind its way into the monthly reports released by the Florida Association of Realtors.

In fact, the association's report Monday showed something of the opposite, with the October median sales price hitting $340,700, about $6,700 off the Sarasota-Bradenton market's all-time high of $347,400 set in August.

The October price was a remarkable 32 percent higher than during the same month in 2004. In fact, the lowest price for the past six months was still solidly above $300,000.

But for real estate agents surveyed Monday, the market sentiment definitely appears to have changed from a pure seller's market into one in which buyers have a much better chance of negotiating a price below what is asked.

In the Sarasota market alone, buyers had 4,346 listings to choose from at the end of October, compared with only 1,465 a year ago.

You can read the rest of the article here:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051129/BUSINESS/511290615/-1/ARCHIVES30

The Sarasota real estate market has definitely slowed down. I am still getting calls from people who are planning on buying within the next 3-6 months. However, these people are end users and not investors. I suspect most of the investors/flippers are on the sidelines waiting to see what happens to the market or have decided to look into other investments.

Buyers definitely have more leverage now. This looks like a good time to purchase since sellers are more motivated and more apt to lower their price and you have much more to choose from. Months ago you might have settled on something just because the market was hot and you wanted to get in. Now, you can be a little more choosy.