Isles at Palmer Ranch

There is another exciting new development on Palmer Ranch. This 215 acre master planned community has 674 residences made up of villas, townhouses and single family homes. Most of them will border a lake or preserve providing wonderful views.

The Isles at Palmer Ranch will also have an amenity center with 11,000 square feet of under-air space, including meeting rooms, a service kitchen, fitness center and community post office.

So if you are looking for a new home or condo within a few minutes to the beach you should consider The Isles at Palmer Ranch. Contact me at 941-308-6766 if you would like a list of new homes/condos for sale in Sarasota.

Caravan at RE/MAX Properties

RE/MAX Properties agents recently started caravaning new listings every week after the Tuesday morning sales meetings. This allows numerous top producing Sarasota Realtors to view some of the new listings. Sarasota Herald Tribune wrote a little blurb about it.

Selling your home in a cooling market

Here is an good article from Smart Money about how to sell your home in a cooling real estate market. There is nothing new here but a good reminder of the necessary steps to selling your home. If you are thinking of selling your home or have tried unsuccessfully give me a call. I might be able to help. 308-6766

http://finance.comcast.net/personalfinance/view.html?x=consumer/20030924&cvqh=finance_homes

How are the Sarasota luxury homes selling?

I heard from another Realtor recently that the Sarasota luxury homes market is the healthiest segment of our market. I was curious to see if this was true. Quite often real estate agents, mortgage brokers and others in the real estate industry just loosely throw around facts, figures and opinions. So I went to the MLS system and checked to see how many homes, not condos, that have sold so far this year in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and the barrier islands in various price ranges and also how many were still for sale. Here are the numbers:

Sarasota Homes

$0 - $300,000
658 homes sold
908 homes currently for sale.
Roughly a 12.5 month supply

$300,001 - $500,000
654 homes sold
1,477 homes currently for sale
Roughly a 20 month supply

$500,001 - $1,000,000
457 homes sold
1,262 homes currently for sale
Roughly a 25 month supply

$1,000,001 - $2,000,000
119 homes sold
463 homes currently for sale
Roughly a 33 month supply

Above $2,000,000
69 homes sold
332 homes currently for sale.
Roughly a 44 month supply


I don't think there is anything suprising from these figures. Looking at the supply numbers it does not look like the luxury home market in Sarasota is the most active. Perhaps the sales in the luxury home price range have not dropped off as much as the lower price ranges. That would be an interesting study for another day.

The supply numbers are a rough estimate since it is 23rd of the month and many closings are held at the end of the month. The supply figures also assume that no more homes will come on the market and demand will stay constant. Of course, these are unrealistic assumptions.

Desperate sellers turning to auctions

Desperate sellers turning to auctions
Eager to unload property, sellers hope for bids

By MICHAEL POLLICK
michael.pollick@heraldtribune.com

Back in December 2004, when David Holland paid $315,700 for a new home in an east Venice Centex subdivision, the granite-and-tile beauty looked like an easy flip.

But as Centex's sales slowed down, his property turned into a flop.

Last week, Holland cut his losses. He put his house up for an "absolute auction," meaning no minimum and no reserve. Once the auction company advertised the house that way, Holland had no choice but to let the property go to the highest bidder.

He walked away with $255,000, a painful reminder that real properties, like stocks, do not always go up.

Read the rest of the article here:
http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060821/BUSINESS/608210570/1448

August 17th Inventory Statistics

Inventory levels are fairly stagnant. It is positive to see a small decline in the number of homes and condos for sale in Sarasota. If you need a home to live in or a 2nd home for enjoyment then I feel this is a good time to buy. Give me a call if you need help.

August 17th
4,450 single family homes for sale - 36 fewer homes for sale than July 22nd
3,051 condominiums for sale - 11 fewer condos for sale that July 22nd

July 22nd
4,486 single family homes for sale
3,062 condominiums for sale

I searched Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Siesta Key, Bird Key, Casey Key, Nokomis and Osprey for these numbers. MLS data is believed to be accurate but not guaranteed.

Sarasota Neighborhoods

Here is a page that you might find useful: Sarasota Neighborhoods. I compiled information on various neighborhoods and areas around Sarasota that you might find useful in case you are looking to buy or sell in these areas. Take a look and see what you think. If you want me to add a page on a particular area or neighborhood let me know.

Federal reserve does not raise rates

Fed leaves key interest rate unchanged

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday left a key interest rate unchanged, marking at least a temporary pause in what had been the longest unbroken stretch of Fed rate increases in recent history.

The Fed's rate-setting committee voted 9 to 1 to leave the federal funds rate, the interest banks charge on overnight loans, at 5.25 percent. It was the first time the Fed had met and not raised rates in more than two years.

Read the rest of the article here.

This is another good piece of news for the market.

Forecasters lower hurricane predictions

By JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press Writer

MIAMI - The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season should be slightly less active than originally predicted, federal forecasters said Tuesday.

Forecasters now expect there to be 12 to 15 named storms and seven to nine hurricanes, the National Hurricane Center and other National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agencies said.

Read the rest of the article here.

This should help the Sarasota real estate market.

Benedict estate on Longboat Key sold

One of the last few beachfront parcels on Longboat Key recently sold for $18,000,000. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune a developer from Tampa has purchased the property and plans to build 30 townhomes on the 5 acres. There was even a quote from me in the article. ;-)

To read the article go here: http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060801/BUSINESS/608010615

Fewer Atlantic Hurricanes Predicted

Forecaster WSI sees fewer Atlantic hurricanes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season will not be as active as initially projected, due in part to a cooling of ocean temperatures this summer, private forecaster WSI Corp. said in its updated tropical weather outlook on Monday.

Some 14 named storms will form this year, with four of them becoming major hurricanes with winds over 111 miles per hour, WSI said.

The rest of the article can be read here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060731/sc_nm/energy_hurricanes_wsi_dc