Just Sold on Siesta Key!

This stunning home on Roberts Point Road on Siesta Key just closed on the 18th of this month for $3,950,000. This beautiful bay front John Cannon home is located in the exclusive private enclave of Roberts Point on the north end of Siesta Key. It has exceptional design, expansive bay views and an open and spacious floor plan make this amazing residence the perfect place to live and entertain. The home has floor-to-ceiling windows showcase an infinity-edge pool, generous outdoor patio, private dock and panoramic views of Sarasota bay. The home was listed by SKY Sotheby's International Realty.

SKY Sotheby's Luxury Property Auction

I just added a list of properties for sale in the SKY Sotheby's Auction held at The Longboat Key Club on November 16th, 2007. Take a look to see if you find anything interesting. We will auction off luxury homes and condos at various price points and locations. Many of the propertes will be sold absolute. Call me at 941-308-6491 or email me to register for the auction.

Forbes magazine rates Sarasota as one of the best cities for job growth

Florida isn't just for vacationers and retirees anymore. The Sunshine state is also a popular destination for employers and businesses eager to expand.

Forbes.com recently released its annual list of the 200 Best Places for Businesses and Careers. Five Florida cities ranked in the top 10 with the highest job growth. Sarasota, Florida ranked 4th on the list behind Naples, Florida. 3 of the top 5 cities are in Southwest Florida. Cape Coral took the number 1 spot.

Now that home prices have come down about 30% I imagine it will be easier to attract workers to Sarasota. Property taxes and insurance reform will also make it more affordable to live in Florida. Lawmakers are working diligently on lowering property taxes. It will be interesting to see what ison the January ballot.

Sarasota MLS

Looking for your next dream home? Search through thousands of properties using my Sarasota MLS listing search. This is not the actual multiple listing service that Realtors use. This search does show almost all of the properties for sale on the Sarasota multiple listing service (Sarasota MLS). Although, my domain name is thesarasotamls.com. My website is obviously not the Sarasota MLS system.

SKY Sotheby's Luxury Property Auction

Read the article in today's Sarasota Herald Tribune about our upcoming luxury property auction on November 16th. We have assembled a diverse group of luxury homes and condominiums in Sarasota and Manatee counties for the auction. Nearly $1 million has been invested into marketing the event with advertisements in local newspapers, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine and others.

Properties in the auction range from $500,000 to $20 million. If you have been looking to purchase a home or condo in Sarasota this may be the perfect opportunity for you. Contact me at 941-308-6491 to attend the auction.

Local investor/author John Schaub talks about the Sarasota real estate market

Here is an interesting podcast from Harold Bubil and local real estate investor and author John Schaub. John talks about the current market conditions and why he feels it is a great time to be buyer in Sarasota if you are a long term investor or end user. John has been in the real estate business a long time and is very knowledgable about this market.

Best Places to Retire: Venice, Florida

U.S. News and World Report recently named Venice, Florida as one of the best places to retire.

"Coming into downtown Venice, Fla., feels a bit like slipping back to an older
America, where once thriving Main Streets sat at the center of quiet,
walkable neighborhoods. It's no accident. Venice was designed to re-create
the atmosphere of a traditional small town, specifically for retirees."

Sarasota, Bradenton and now Venice have all been voted as one of the best places to retire in some form or another.

Stock market rallies to new highs while Citigroup upgrade home builder stocks

Home-builder stocks rose Monday (October 1st, 2007) after a Citigroup analyst raised his stock ratings on several of the sector's largest companies on signs the worst may be behind the the housing industry.

Stock markets rallied into record territory yesterday as investors bought back into the banking and housing sectors, a sign that Wall Street could see an end to the summer’s subprime housing woes and a lower risk of recession.

“The market believes that the crisis is over,” said William Rhodes, the chief investment strategist of Rhodes Analytics, a market research firm. “Whatever problems emerged last quarter are last quarter’s problems. They’re over, that’s it, they’re done. So let’s move onto the next thing.”

“We’re beginning to know what we didn’t know a few weeks ago, and with some uncertainty being removed that gives investors a little more confidence to dip their toe into the market,” said Todd Salamone, director of trading at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

It looks like Wall Street is starting to shake off the credit/mortgage crisis. It will be interesting to see how the next few months play out. Remember, that the sum-prime mortgage markets makes up a very small percentage of total existing mortgages.

With prices down, low mortgage rates, the Federal Reserve actively cutting rates, and so much talk and effort to reform property taxes and insurance the fundamentals are looking much better. Once confidence in the housing market gets better the fence sitters will start buying. We should have a busy winter season.

Contrarian investor - they seek opportunities to profit from situations when the crowd mentality leads to unreasonable valuations for assets, either on the upside or the downside.