Real Estate Information Archive

Exciting news from the Longboat Observer last week about the sales activity on Longboat and the surrounding keys:

“If the improving real-estate market on Longboat Key and Sarasota’s offshore keys the last five weeks in 2009 and the first five weeks in 2010 is any indication, the future may bode well for our “living industry.”

There were 110 transactions involving $94,985,070 in those 10 weeks. Sixty-two were transacted between Nov. 30, 2009, and the end the year for more than $50.2 million, and 48 were transacted during the first five weeks of 2010 for more than $44.7 million.

The largest sale was the $8.4 million new home sale on New Pass the last week in January to boost the week’s sales to more than $20 million. This compares to the best week of $18 million posted from Nov. 30, 2009, through Dec. 4, 2009.”
 
I’ve participate in many of these sales, including contracting on a $5.4 million Bird Key home, two Sanctuary residences with a combined value over $3 million, and the listing a selling of a $1 million Pierre residence.  Showings have been bit slower in the first two weeks of February, perhaps due to the unseasonably cool weather.  Buyers who are out looking are noticing greatly reduced inventory, particularly prime locations.  That coupled with the threat of rising interest rates will likely continue to drive the market.

It’s hard to believe how much a market can change in a year!  The Sarasota real estate market has been doing extremely well, starting this fall and zooming through the present day.  I personally sold just under $15 million of waterfront properties this fall, and I have already contracted on two Sanctuary residences on Longboat Key ($1,895,000 and $1,795,000) and a lovely Bird Key waterfront home listed at $5.4 million so far this January.  As you can see from the following article, the overall Sarasota market is looking good too.

Click Here To View The Latest Sarasota and Longboat Key Real Estate Trends 

Here we are on the precipice of a new decade, wondering what will be in store for all of us.  Some say good riddance to last year, even to the whole of the past decade.  Tough times, fluctuating markets, world turmoil they say.

I like to look at things differently.  I look around myself, and am thankful each day that I live in a real paradise.   Wonderful weather, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bay.  A culturally rich community which is generous to its citizens.  (Of course it doesn’t hurt that I have a happy, healthy family). 

Fluctuating markets have meant wonderful buying opportunities.  We are much closer to a real estate bottom than the top, and there is light at the end of this tunnel.  Though many consider the past year to have been a real estate disaster, many successful sales closed in 2009, and inventory is declining.  For example:

• Longboat Key active listings - 593       
• Bird Key active listings - 37
• Longboat key pending sales - 51        
• Bird Key pending sales - 7
• 2009 Longboat sales - 330      
• 2009 Bird Key sales - 35

I welcome 2010 and am looking forward to helping many Buyers and Sellers this year.  Times are changing, and we are changing with them.  Watch for my upcoming blogs to read about some of the new technology-based marketing concepts which we will be using in 2010!

With the new year just around the corner I'm getting more and more questions about what I predict the market will do in the coming year.

I suspect the worst of the housing market is past us and the huge price drops we've seen in 2008 and 2009 are a thing of the past. Short sales will likely continue to rise as more homeowners are trying to save their credit by avoiding foreclosure. I wouldn't be surprised to see the government step in and pass legislation that requires banks to make drastic changes to their short sale processes which will streamline the loan modification, short sale, and perhaps even the foreclosure process for homeowners in distress. Those same banks may also begin holding on to more foreclosed properties and "flipping" them themselves to avoid the huge financial losses associated with foreclosing on a property and auctions.

Mortgage rates will most likely spike in March when the government puts an end to mortgage-backed securities. I expect that change will cause rates rates to go from the current 5% mark to around a 6% prime. The refinancing of properties will slow down en suite as the rates being offered will no longer be a substantial improvement for the majority of homeowners. Lenders will likely require significantly better credit scores to qualify for financing. My presage is that FICO scores will probably need to be around 700 for most  lending institutions.

Our local luxury markets will probably see less activity by potential sellers as more homeowners stay put waiting for the market to recover due to the higher mortgage rates compounding their losses. This will effectively cause a market stabilization because the decreased inventory in the Longboat Key and Sarasota communities will leave the buyers with less to choose from and in essence allow sellers to demand higher prices as the competition becomes more sparse.

If you have any questions about buying or selling in the 2010 real estate climate feel free to contact me and I'll be more than happy to speak with you at length about the opportunities available.

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.