Home sales continue to cool

Listings are up across the region, but prices appear to be holding steady for now.

By MICHAEL POLLICK and STEPHEN FRATER
michael.pollick@heraldtribune.com
stephen.frater@heraldtribune.com

A national cooldown in the housing market made itself felt in Southwest Florida, pushing sales down 16 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton market and down 6 percent in Charlotte County-North Port during 2005.

The weakness was even more pronounced during December, with sales dropping 42 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton market and 25 percent in Charlotte County-North Port compared with the same time last year.

Meanwhile, listings in the region have been skyrocketing.

In the most up-to-date snapshot for Sarasota, for example, there were 5,369 homes on the market. That compares with 3,525 at the end of November, the Sarasota Association of Realtors reports.

Industry insiders blame the shift in the local market in part on the flight of speculators and investors, estimated to have been as much as one-third of real estate players in recent years.

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The slowdown was coming and we all knew it was inevitable. It does not make sense for the real estate markets across the county to continue to go up 20-40% a year. I am happy it has slowed down. It is now a more balanced market. The Sarasota real estate market is only taking a breather. This will allow us to eventually move to higher ground. Remember the fundamentals - a large group of people are retiring and planning a purchase in the warmer states.