Wednesday, February 06, 2008

"You can buy Florida real estate at 50 cents on the dollar"

I am a little tired of reading the doom and gloom articles about the Sarasota Florida real estate market. A client from Canada sent me an article from one of his newspapers about the Florida market. Like so many other articles it talks about how bad it is here. I am not saying these reporters are completely wrong. But some of them are blowing things out of proportion. One of them stated that you can buy real estate here for 50 cents on the dollar.

The reason I bring this up is because I had a client over the weekend who wanted to put in a rediculously low offer on a home that is already priced well. When I checked the recently sold homes in the community the home they were interested in was within 10% of those prices. My client wanted to submit an offer of about 60% of list price. After analyzing the recently sold homes in the community he agreed that there was little chance of getting the home at that price.

The December statistics from the Sarasota Board of Realtors show that the average sales price to list price for sold properties is 90%. In November it was 93%. January numbers should be out soon. Over the last year it is consistently between 90%-93%.

I checked MLS for all of the single family home and condo sales in January for Longboat Key, Siesta Key, Lido Key, Bird Key, Casey Key, Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota. In this specific area there were 247 sold properties (don't confuse these numbers with all of Sarasota county).

Of the 247 properties:

6 properties sold from 66% - 74% of list price
241 properties sold 75% of list price or over
81% of the properties sold for more than 85% of the last asking price
59% of the properties sold for more than 90% of the last asking price
24% of the properties sold for more than 95% of the last asking price

It is not all sunshine and rainbows out there but it is not as grim as some believe. Arm yourself with the facts not the opinions of a reporter spouting doom and gloom in an effort to sell newspapers.

Good news:

Currently there are 468 properties under contract in the area I mentioned above.

There are 697 properties under contract in the Sarasota MLS. Not all of the Manatee county transactions are reported in the Sarasota MLS so this number will actually be larger.

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Saturday, January 26, 2008

Inventory of Sarasota Homes and Condos

I had a request from my blog reader Todd for the latest inventory levels. He requested inventories for October, November and December. Unfortunately, our MLS system does not allow us to go back in time like that so I can only give today's numbers.

If you look at the right side of this page you will see a log of Sarasota home and condo inventory levels. The latest figures from the Sarasota MLS are as follows:

January 25, 2008
Single Family Homes - 5,056
Condominiums - 3,426


I originally displayed the trendgraphix chart of inventory but it was a little skewed as there were a large number of properties that expired the last day of the year. Apparently, most of them have been relisted. I wish we could chart the inventory levels of sellers who were priced within 5%-10% of market value.

While inventories are still high there are pockets with a limited number of properties. Take a look at the condo on Longboat Key that I mentioned in the post below. If you were a buyer for a beach front 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo on the south end of Longboat Key with an unobstructed view of Gulf of Mexico under $1 million dollars you only have about 17 condos in 8 complexes to choose from.

I was out with a client yesterday looking at downtown Sarasota condos. My client wanted a quality newer building, between $1 and $1.5 million, a view of the bay, 2+ bedrooms, 2+ bathrooms. There are only 16 condos that currently fit and I can eliminate most of the 16 units for various reasons. He really did not have much to choose from.

Some friends of mine wanted to purchase a small rental for a long term investment. We started working out the details of our offer when the listing agent called to tell me that they already sold the home that day.

Properly priced homes will see action. People are starting to see value again. I have sold 4 properties since the beginning of the year. All of my buyers needed to get a sense of value before they got off their check book. Those of you trying to sell right now should objectively compare your property to your competition. Make your property the best value by improving it and/or pricing it better.

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Monday, November 26, 2007

October Inventory Levels

Here are the inventory levels for October. Sorry for the blurry chart. The November figures should be out any day now.

Below is the chart for the condominium inventories in Sarasota county.





This chart represents the single family home inventory levels in Sarasota county



The chart below are all single family homes and condominiums for sale in Sarasota county.





Inventories for both single family homes and condominiums inched up in October. The rise in inventories is typical for this time of year because sellers are putting their properties on the market for the busy winter season. Look at the rise in inventories in late 2006.

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Saturday, June 30, 2007

Sarasota Real Estate Facts and Figures





Let me explain these charts since they are a little difficult to read. The general overall trends are most important. Each graph shows the number of homes and condos for sale in Sarasota. The red solid line is the number of properties pending and the smaller bar graph represents the number of sales each month. These numbers come from our Sarasota MLS. The top chart is from November of 2003 to January 2005. Notice how inventories came down and the ratio of sales to inventory. The 2nd chart is from January of 2005 to March of 2006. Starting in the middle of 2005 notice how the inventory levels started to rise. The 3rd chart is from March of 2006 to May of 2007. Hopefully, inventories have peaked. There are still plenty of properties on the market for sale with pie in the sky prices. Common traits of a successful sale are great marketing, easy access, good condition, aggressive pricing that coincides with the properties location/condition and, with some exceptions, properties that are priced 20% or so lower than 2005 prices.

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Thursday, June 07, 2007

Sarasota Inventory Levels

Here are the most recent inventory levels that I pulled from the Sarasota Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Siesta Key, Lido Key, Bird Key, Casey Key, Longboat Key, Osprey and Nokomis make up the figures. I am not using Manatee county, Venice or Charlotte county home and condo inventories. Notice that I added the most recent inventory figures on the right side of my blog.

As you can see inventory levels have not made any major changes either way.

June 7, 2007
5,023 single family homes
3,694 condominiums

February 15, 2007
5,088 single family homes
3,771 condominiums

January 24, 2007
4,919 single family homes
3,659 condominiums

January 1, 2007
4,433 single family homes
3,305 condominiums

December 1, 2006
4,781 single family homes
3,455 condominiums

October 11, 2006
4,445 single family homes
3,147 condominiums

September 24, 2006
4,458 single family homes
3,078 condominiums

September 9, 2006
4,433 single family homes
3,002 condominiums

August 17, 2006
4,450 single family homes
3,051 condominiums

July 22, 2006
4,486 single family homes
3,062 condominiums

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Friday, May 18, 2007

Sarasota property inventory

A reader asked me to update these figures from April 18th.

Sarasota Homes
1,316 under $300k
1,528 from $300k to $500k
805 from $500k to $750k
471 from $750k to $1,000,000
970 over $1,000,000

Sarasota Condominiums
1,553 under $300k
736 from $300k to $500k
725 from $500k to $750k
348 from $750k to $1,000,000
422 over $1,000,000

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Friday, March 02, 2007

Sarasota Home and Condo Inventory Levels - March 2nd






























Inventory levels have not changed much since the middle of Febuary. Hopefully, we are the inventory peak. Most of the sellers who put their property up for sale because of seasonal reasons should have done so already. With properties going under contract and those properties expiring without selling we probably will see some declines in inventory levels as we move towards the middle of the year.

February Statistics
332 single family homes went under contract
189 condominiums went under contract
164 single family homes closed in February
187 condominiums closed in February

The above statistics are for Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bird Key, Siesta Key, Casey Key, Nokomis and Osprey.

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

Sarasota Home and Condo Inventory Levels - February 15th
















Here are the most recent inventory numbers from the Sarasota MLS for Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bird Key, Casey Key and Siesta Key.

February 15, 2007
5088 single family homes
3,771 condominiums

January 24, 2007
4,919 single family homes
3,659 condominiums

January 1, 2007
4,433 single family homes
3,305 condominiums

December 1, 2006
4,781 single family homes
3,455 condominiums

October 11, 2006
4,445 single family homes
3,147 condominiums

September 24, 2006
4,458 single family homes
3,078 condominiums

September 9, 2006
4,433 single family homes
3,002 condominiums

August 17, 2006
4,450 single family homes
3,051 condominiums

July 22, 2006
4,486 single family homes
3,062 condominiums

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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Sarasota Home Inventory Levels for January 24th, 2007

Here are the most recent inventory numbers from the Sarasota MLS for Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bird Key, Casey Key and Siesta Key. You will notice a sizeable increase in single family homes and condos for sale in the area. That is typical this time of year as people put their properties up for sale in the winter season.

January 24, 2007
4,919 single family homes for sale.
3,659 condominiums for sale

January 1, 2007
4,433 single family homes for sale
3,305 condominiums for sale

December 1, 2006
4,781 single family homes for sale
3,455 condominiums for sale

October 11, 2006
4,445 single family homes for sale
3,147 condominiums for sale

September 24, 2006
4,458 single family homes for sale
3,078 condominiums for sale

September 9, 2006
4,433 single family homes for sale
3,002 condominiums for sale

August 17, 2006
4,450 single family homes for sale
3,051 condominiums for sale

July 22, 2006
4,486 single family homes for sale
3,062 condominiums for sale

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Monday, January 01, 2007

Sarasota Inventory Levels for January 1, 2007

Here are the most recent inventory numbers from the Sarasota MLS for Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bird Key, Casey Key and Siesta Key. We had quite a few properties expire in December. We had roughly a 7% drop in single family home and a 4% drop in condominium inventory levels.

January 1, 2007
4,433 single family homes for sale
3,305 condominiums for sale

December 1, 2006
4,781 single family homes for sale
3,455 condominiums for sale

October 11, 2006
4,445 single family homes for sale
3,147 condominiums for sale

September 24, 2006
4,458 single family homes for sale
3,078 condominiums for sale

September 9, 2006
4,433 single family homes for sale
3,002 condominiums for sale

August 17, 2006
4,450 single family homes for sale
3,051 condominiums for sale

July 22, 2006
4,486 single family homes for sale
3,062 condominiums for sale

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Friday, December 01, 2006

Sarasota Inventory Levels for December 1st

Here are the most recent inventory numbers from the Sarasota MLS for Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bird Key, Casey Key and Siesta Key. The inventory of homes rose about 8% while the number of condos went up about 10%. A rise in the number of properties for sale is typical this time of year because of seasonal reasons. Many sellers want to have their property on the market during the busier and more active winter.

December 1st
4,781 single family homes for sale
3,455 condominiums for sale

October 11th
4,445 single family homes for sale
3,147 condominiums for sale

September 24th
4,458 single family homes for sale
3,078 condominiums for sale

September 9th
4,433 single family homes for sale
3,002 condominiums for sale

August 17th
4,450 single family homes for sale
3,051 condominiums for sale

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

MLS data is believed to be accurate but not guaranteed.

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