Higher end properties are also actively selling while the principals purchasing those properties recognize the great value of those properties compared to several years ago.   

New Listings for Residential Properties were 343, which increased only 2% from the previous month. New listings for Condo Properties were 175, a decrease of 25% from the previous month.

As of May 31, 2011, the available inventory of Residential Properties was 1,758 properties, a 5.9 month’s supply. For Condo Properties, the available inventory was 1,333 properties, a 7.2 month’s supply. A normal market condition is 6 months of inventory. This inventory level is a far cry from the 36 months of inventory that Sarasota was experiencing several years ago.

I know the national press reports that the Real Estate Market is soft. What we are experiencing in Sarasota, Florida is a far different story. The bargains across all price bands are being purchased, as the inventory continues to decline.

If you are considering a Real Estate purchase in the Sarasota, FL area, now is the time! Call (941) 400-9420 or email us today!

Lakewood Ranch is located on 33,000 acres, approximately 48 square miles, of which 9,000 acres are developed. There are more than 150 miles of intersecting sidewalks and trails as well as its own hospital, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club with 54 holes of golf,   clubhouse, athletic center with fitness equipment, 18 tennis courts, Legacy Golf Club with 18 hole daily fee, 80+ activity groups for different interests, and its own Main Street for shopping, dining and a movie theatre. Lakewood Ranch is the #2 rated Community in Florida and the average age living in the Ranch is late 40′s.

July 2009 sales were only slightly lower than the 610 sales in June 2009, when overall sales rose above the 600 level for only the second time in 26 months. The statistics all continue to point to a market in the initial stages of recovery.

Inventory levels continued to decline. There were 4,067 single family homes for sale at the end of July, down from 4,477 at the end of June. Condos experienced a similar decline, to 2,447 from 2,587. Inventory is now at its lowest point in more than 5 years.

The number of months of inventory – the time it would theoretically take to sell all the current properties on the market – now stands at 9.04 for single family and 16.9 months for condos. This is in stark contrast to last year at this time, when the figures were 26.2 months for single family homes and 35.4 months for condominiums. The trend is downward toward the figure of 6 months, which indicates a market in balance (anything below 6 months indicates a return to a seller’s market).

Prices have also returned to more realistic, sustainable levels, with the median sale price for single family homes at $185,000 in July 2009, compared to $190,000 in June and $250,000 a year ago. The median sale price for condos was $212,000 in July, compared to $250,000 the previous month and $252,500 a year ago.

Pending sales also remained at very high levels, with 802 properties going under contract in July 2009. Pending sales have dropped off slightly from the 929 reported in May 2009 and the near record 981 pending sales reported in April 2009. But the total of 802 was still 37 percent higher than the 584 pending sales reported in July 2008. Pending sales have now exceeded the 500 level for the 19th consecutive month, and the 800 level for the fifth straight month. Generally, pendings trend downward during the summer months, the slower sales season in our market.

The statistic is a strong indicator for the next two or three months of sales, when many of these pendings will become closed sales. Pending sales reflect contracts executed by buyers and sellers during the month.

“Our local market is maintaining an encouraging level of sales volume and lower inventories,” said 2009 SAR President Bill Geller. “As we enter the traditionally slower season, we can expect some drop off in activity. But we still have the first-time home buyer tax credit of $8,000 on the table, and that expires on Nov. 30, 2009. We strongly encourage local Realtors® to keep their clients informed about this and get them started in the real estate buying process in order to close the sales prior to the expiration date.”

Geller noted that as the national economy appears to be emerging from recession, according to most leading economists and the Federal Reserve Board, the local real estate market appears to be a leader in the recovery process.

“I’m very optimistic about our local real estate market, because we’ve always emerged strongly from down times in the past,” explained Geller. “We have it all here – great weather, beautiful beaches and green spaces, amazing cultural amenities, and an incredible selection of homes and condos. There are very few places in the nation that have all that we have to offer.”

The median price of all single family homes sold in the last 12 months was $172,000, compared to a median of $260,000 for the 12 months ending in August 2008. For condominiums sold in the last 12 months, the median sales price was $212,010, compared to last year’s figure of $332,000. *

*A 12-month rolling median price is not as susceptible to the volatility that can occur within any particular month, which sometimes results in drastic statistical swings up or down from one month to the next.

A question and answer period after Vern’s presentation, high lighted the frustration many Realtors are feeling in attempting to get their short sales sold. Each person who spoke about short sales, said the banks were real barriers to closing their sales. A former V.P. of a mortgage bank said that the problem is not the bank but rather Freddie and Fannie who have control over the decisions in negotiating a lower sale price. Vern asked how many loans in the area are backed by Fannie and Freddie and the V.P. said that he thought about 70% to 75%. Vern said that he would get answers and work to resolve this problem.