Featured Real Estate Article
From October 21st to November 20th, experience life in Lakewood Ranch during the annual home tour featuring more than 50 stunning model homes throughout the community. Some of the communities featured are The Lake Club, Country Club East, Bridgewater, Esplanade, Mallory Park, Indigo, Harmony, Arbor Grande (villas), Del Webb (over 55 community) and the Waterfront at Main Street (condos). Even if you’re not in the market for a new home it’s a great way to check out the latest in design and home décor.
The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, Lakewood Ranch Community Activities and Lakewood Ranch will kick off the Tour of Homes on Friday, October 21st at Main Street. This block party will supply lots of family fun. Yesterdayze will fill the air with country, 60’s medley, motown and surf music. The DJ will keep you dancing as they play today’s Top 20 hits. Grace Community Church will supply the kid’s zone. All proceeds will benefit the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, a local non-profit that is focused on building a stronger more successful business community in Lakewood Ranch. Guests are welcome to bring chairs, but please leave coolers at home. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a short leash. For more information visit LWRBA.org. Don’t miss the fun at this FREE event!
The Sarasota Manatee Association of Realtors reports that sales of distressed properties in the two-county area continued to decline in August, down 53.9 percent from the same month last year. Distressed sales in August comprised only 5.8 percent of total sales compared to 12.8 percent last August. Closed sales of single family homes and condos combined are up only slightly, 1.8 percent ahead of last August. But a closer look at traditional sales (non-distressed properties) reveals a 9.9 percent increase over the same month last year.
Pending sales in Manatee and Sarasota showed an improvement from last month. For single family homes, pending sales increased between July and August of this year, reversing the downward trend that started in May in both counties. Ten percent more single family homes went under contract this month compared to July in Sarasota County, and Manatee County experienced a 9.3 percent increase. Pending condo sales, however, continued on a downward trend that started in April after seasonal residents left the area, but were only just under 3 percent lower than July’s pending condo sales.
The inventory of properties for sale is up significantly from last year at this time, about 22 percent. Single family homes in both counties experienced a 17.6 percent increase in inventory, while condos showed a 32.9 percent increase. Sarasota maintains a 5.1 months’ supply of condos, while Manatee
reflects a 3.8 months’ condo supply. As for single family homes, Sarasota has a 4.1 months’ supply and Manatee is at a 4.2 months’ supply. A seller’s market is indicated by this figure remaining under the six month benchmark. Median prices continue to rise from 2015 to 2016.
For the full press release and statistical charts click here.
The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee report that median sale prices for condos and single family homes continue to increase in both counties. Sarasota County single family homes are up 10.5 percent from 2015 to $242,500, while Manatee County experienced an 11.7 percent jump from 2015 to $279,250. Year over year, condo median sales prices rose 7.9 percent from 2015 to $205,000 in Sarasota and 21.9 percent to $185,250 in Manatee.
Over the past year, Manatee County increased in sales from 2015, with a 0.7 percent increase in single family homes and an 11.5 percent increase in condos. Sarasota County single family home sales decreased by 21.7 percent and condos sales are down by 24.6 percent.
Pending sales can be an indicator of potential future closed sales. In 2015, pending sales were strong through August, whereas this year, pending sales started to decline in May. New pending sales for both condos and single family homes in Sarasota and Manatee County are 18.5 percent lower than last July.
To read the full press release and statistical charts click here.
Median sale prices are on the rise for condos and single family homes in both counties. Single family median sales prices are up 7.8 percent in Sarasota County to $248,000, while Manatee County experienced a 12.4 percent jump to $285,000. The Sarasota County condo median sale price rose 4.3 percent to $219,000, and Manatee County also saw an increase of 11.6 percent in condo sales price over last year, to $173,000.
Sales have also been on the rise this year, with more single family sales reported in both Sarasota and Manatee County in June than any other month this year. Sarasota County single family homes jumped to 792, a 5.2 percent increase from May 2016. Manatee County single family homes jumped 1.2 percent from May 2016 to 610. While 2016 doesn’t compare to the record breaking numbers in 2015, this rising trend in 2016 is worth noting.
Compared to last year, however, closed sales for single family homes in Manatee County and Sarasota County are down slightly from June of 2015. Manatee County saw a 2.4 percent decrease and Sarasota a 4.7 percent decrease in single family homes. On the flipside, condos in Sarasota saw a 0.9 percent increase from June of last year. However, condos in Manatee County decreased by 4.4 percent from June of 2015.
New pending sales for both condos and single family homes in Sarasota and Manatee County are 25 percent lower than last June. This year, we are noticing a more typical trend, with pending sales slowing after season’s end, compared to last year’s tapering off in September.
Distressed properties, foreclosures and short sales, continue to decline. In June, 6.3 percent of closed sales were distressed, compared to the 13.4 percent in June of 2015. Distressed sales for single family homes represented 7.1 percent and condos at 4.4 percent in the two-county area.
June data also reveals that inventory numbers continue to rise for the two-county area, likely from more sellers taking advantage of rising prices. For single family homes in Sarasota County, inventory is up 20.4 percent from June 2015, and up 17.2 percent in Manatee County. Condo inventory is also on the rise in Sarasota County, up 35.9 percent, while Manatee County experienced a 16.8 percent increase from last year.
Florida’s economic future is looking bright, according to University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith‘s latest Florida & Metro Forecast. Florida’s economy will outpace the U.S. average in the next four years.
The primary drivers of the Sunshine State’s economic growth are rising job growth and home construction.
“The fundamental underpinnings of the housing market in Florida continue to strengthen,” wrote Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the UCF College of Business Administration, in the report. “Job growth in Florida is forecasted to continue outperforming the U.S. labor market, and more baby boomers continue to reach the end of their working lives.”
Snaith believes the improved outlook will help Floridians get back in the job hunt, attract out-of-state job seekers and lift consumer sentiment and spending.
In fact, the economy is growing so quickly that Florida faces a single-family housing shortage that Snaith said should correct itself as new housing construction begins to grow in the next few years.
See the full report on Florida’s forecast here.
The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee reports that the housing data for May reveals that inventory numbers are rising along with the mercury for the Sarasota and Manatee two-county area, likely the result of sellers taking advantage of rising prices. For single family homes in Sarasota County, inventory is up 15.3 percent from May last year, and up 20.2 percent in Manatee County. Condo inventory is also on the rise in Sarasota County, up 33 percent, while Manatee County experienced a 17.4 percent increase year-over year.
The continued decline in the number of distressed property sales (foreclosures and short sales) really shows the recovery and health of our market. In May, only 5.1 percent of closed sales were distressed, compared to 15.8 percent for the same month last year, fast approaching the historic average of about 2 percent. Distressed sales for single family homes in the two-county area represented only 5.9 percent, and distressed condo sales were only 3.5 percent. At their peak a few years ago, 48 percent of all sales were distressed.
To view the full press release and statistical charts visit Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee
April’s housing statistics show that our current trend is continuing as inventory of available properties rose in both counties. For single family homes in Sarasota County, inventory is up 8 percent from April last year, and up 14.2 percent in Manatee County from last year. Condo inventory is also on the rise in Sarasota County, up 25.5 percent from last year, while Manatee County experienced a 19.8 percent increase year-over-year.
The Realtors Association of Sarasota and Manatee report that the end of 2015 witnessed record breaking sales for both Sarasota and Manatee counties. January sales reflected the expected seasonal dip as a result of reduced buying activity during the holidays, even as median prices continued to rise.
The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee reports that the year 2015 was one for the record books in real estate sales for both Sarasota and Manatee counties, closing out the year with an all-time record of 20,691 in combined closed transactions, 1,302 sales above last year’s numbers.
There were 1,671 combined sales in both counties in December 2015, 28 percent higher than November, but down slightly from December 2014. Median sale prices increased across the board. Single family prices rose 22 percent in Sarasota County to $239,900 and nearly 12 percent to $262,963 in Manatee County. Condo prices were also up 22 percent in Sarasota County, at $217,000, compared to $178,249 for Manatee County, an increase of 6 percent.
Inventory of available properties continued to decline in both counties. For single family homes in Sarasota County, inventory is down 2.8 percent from December last year, and down 3.2 percent in Manatee County. Condo inventory for Sarasota County is down a mere 1 percent, while Manatee County increased 4 percent.
New Pending sales, which reflect new contracts written in the two-county area, were down 11.3 percent for single family homes, and remained unchanged for condo sales year over year. This may be a reflection of the declining inventory of properties for sale, as buyers face the challenge of finding the right property and even then may face a multiple-offer situation, competing against other buyers for the same property.
To view the full press release and statistical charts visit Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee is on pace to record the highest number of sales in its 100‐year history. In 2014, a total of 19,389 properties were sold in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. With 19,020 sales recorded in the first eleven months of 2015, only 370 property sales are needed in December to break the record. Sales have exceeded 1,000 every month this year, so it seems assured that 2015 will be a historic year for real estate sales.
Sales in November were 2.6 percent higher than last November, but were down from October in both counties, a very typical trend. Median sale prices have increased from November 2014 compared to November 2015. Sarasota county saw an 18.5 percent increase in single family home median sale prices; while Manatee County experienced a 14.9 percent increase. In addition, condo median sale prices are up in both counties, Sarasota coming in with a 13.17 percent increase, and Manatee County with 12.8 percent.
To read the full press release and view the statistics visit: Realtors Association of Sarasota and Manatee
