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Sarasota Prices
Real Estate Articles - Sarasota' Real Estate Prices Continue to Soar
- May 2005!
May 13, 2005
Home price growth leads U.S.
By
Rich Shopes
Home buyers in Sarasota-Bradenton are fueling the biggest price increase
nationwide.
A report Thursday by the National Association of Realtors shows that the two
markets were tops in price appreciation when first-quarter home sales were
compared with the same period last year.
Bradenton grabbed the No. 1 spot out of 139 markets nationwide. The median price
for an existing single-family house grew 45.6 percent to $275,100 for Bradenton
and Manatee County.
Sarasota ranked second with a 36 percent increase to $326,300. West Palm
Beach/Boca Raton/Delray Beach came in third at 35.9 percent.
Of the 10 markets nationwide that mustered the highest adjustments in price,
seven were Florida communities.
“It seems like you guys are morphing into one big metropolitan area out there on
the West Coast,” NAR spokesman Walter Molony said.
The rapid escalation apparently did little to curb home buyers’ appetites.
A separate report by the Florida Association of Realtors showed sales volume for
the quarter grew 2 percent when Sarasota and Bradenton are viewed as a single
metropolitan market.
That report, also issued on Thursday, said sales volume in Charlotte
County-North Port declined 6 percent, while the median price for houses shot up
32 percent to $197,800. Last year it was $149,600.
Realtors say retirees and low interest rates are fueling sales in
Sarasota-Bradenton.
Increased demand and a view that property here is undervalued compared with some
other Florida cities is pushing up prices.
“Everybody wants a piece of Florida,” said Gulfstream Re/Max Realtor Robin Carr.
“Just the other day I had three people bidding on the same house. Sellers are
getting 98 percent of their asking price, or over their asking price.”
Realtors say they aren’t surprised by the upward push, coming on the heels of 18
months of sharp price adjustments.
Just last month, a report by the Florida Association of Realtors showed the
median price for an existing house in Sarasota-Bradenton exceeded $305,000 for
March — the highest ever for the area.
Michael Saunders & Co. agent John Allaman said buyers are streaming in from
Naples and pricey East Coast destinations because they perceive
Sarasota-Bradenton as relatively affordable yet with comparable amenities.
“I think we have better amenities than Naples and people are finding that out,
and that’s why they’re coming here,” he said.
Other agents cite a nagging shortage of available houses. Sellers frustrated at
high home prices and escalating taxes are staying put rather than trading up to
bigger houses.
At new communities, builders are releasing lots sparingly to avoid getting ahead
of the market.
The resulting shortage is causing prices elsewhere to increase.
Even after months and months of double digit increases in value, Realtors
dismiss talk of a bubble, saying the price increases are bringing
Sarasota-Bradenton into line with other waterfront communities.
FAR’s quarterly report shows four cities statewide eclipse Sarasota-Bradenton in
median price: Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Naples and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton.
Naples, with a median of $377,300, leads Florida.
“I don’t think there’s a bubble,” Allaman said. “There might be some homes out
there that are over-priced by people holding out. Any kind of adjustment in
price is going to be with people coming back to reality.”
The NAR study is far from absolute and differs sharply from a report by its
Florida counterpart.
For one thing, the National Association of Realtors relies on an older
definition of a Metropolitan Statistical Area when calculating home sales. In
the NAR study Bradenton is defined as Manatee County.
The Florida Association of Realtors, however, uses an updated definition that
combines the geographical areas into a single MSA, Sarasota-Bradenton.
In addition, the FAR report includes more data from unincorporated areas of
Manatee and Sarasota counties.
In one example of the inconsistencies, FAR’s report claims that
Sarasota-Bradenton combined posted a 36 percent, first quarter increase in
median price — or the equivalent increase that occurred in West Palm Beach/Boca
Raton, Melbourne/Titusville/Palm Bay, and Fort Pierce/Port St. Lucie.
NAR, meanwhile, says Sarasota posted a 36 percent increase on its own, while
Bradenton’s median shot up 45.6 percent.
Representatives from both groups say the NAR study uses a statistical gathering
method that is older than FAR’s method.
Likely, the NAR study includes Lakewood Ranch and University Park — among the
priciest areas in Southwest Florida — while the Sarasota report includes more
affordable Englewood and North Port.
Also, the number of high-priced sales in Sarasota might be lower than in
Manatee, even though real estate in Sarasota is more expensive.
In addition, neither study looks at new home sales, condominium sales or homes
sold by owner.
Orlando-based economist Hank Fishkind says those differences can skew the
perception of Sarasota-Bradenton housing market.
In April, Fishkind said an analysis that included condo sales, housing starts
and homes sold by owner showed the number of home sales in Southwest Florida
peaked early last summer and has been declining ever since.
Florida's home median price up 22 percent in November
Excerpts from the January 2005 Issue of
Sarasota Realtor® Magazine
"Florida's housing market picked up the pace in
November, shaking off lingering effects from the four hurricanes that
pummeled the state over a six-week period in August and September.
Last month, a total of 17,116 existing single-family homes were sold
statewide for a 9 percent increase over last year's sales activity of 15,757
homes, according to the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR)."
Sarasota Home Prices Soar More Than 20%
As Seen in the June 26, 2003 Issue of Pelican Press
If you’re out pricing new houses these days, prepare yourself for some sticker shock! The Florida Association of Realtors® has released its sales and pricing for April versus a year ago, and Sarasota/Bradenton area prices rose 24 percent, the group claims – the highest increase in Florida and well over twice the state average increase of 11 percent.
Interestingly, that 24 percent is higher than either the Sarasota or Manatee county realtors associations claim, but their numbers are no pikers, either, with Sarasota claiming a 21 percent increase and Manatee 20.49 percent.
Kerry Smith at the Florida Association office explained that his group’s figures are taken directly from the multiple listing services in each county “and then crunched by the University of Florida .” He added that they include all single-family homes sales, but not condominiums.
Smith’s state-wide group reports the total number of single family home sales in the Sarasota/Bradenton market rose to 808 this past April compares to 674 the previous year – an increase of 20 percent. Median prices rose from $152,400 last April to $189,500 this April, an increase of 24 percent, the group said.
Curt Singleton, the CEO of the Sarasota Association of Realtors, said Tuesday, “My numbers are slightly different and show 21 percent increase for April compared to a year ago.” He added that, month-to-month, the percent of change this year “is ranging from 15 to 25 percent, especially in Sarasota .”
Mary Kay Brinkey, executive vice president of the Manatee County Board of Realtors, said her numbers for single family home sales during April indicate an increase in prices of 20.49 percent over a year ago. The number of sales jumped from 290 to 340, Brickey added.
For comparison purposes, the statewide group showed sales in the Naples area for April climbing from 344 last year to 365 this year – an increase of six percent. Median sales prices in Naples rose from $281,000 last year to $299,300 this May, an increase of seven percent.
Ft. Myers/Cape Coral sales rose 18 percent in numbers, from 685 to 806 this year, and pricing there rose 17 percent April 2002 versus April 2003, from $129,500 to $150,900.
By Bob Arden
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