Archives for June 2018

Sarasota Ranked No. 2 on Florida List of Places to Buy

June 13, 2018 by

places to buyIn a market seemingly awash in million-dollar sales, a national consulting company lists Sarasota-Bradenton the second metro area in Florida in terms of best places to buy a home versus renting.

Smart Asset, a financial technology company, ranks Sarasota 24th nationally on a list of break-even points for renting vs. buying. Cape Coral-Fort Myers came out on top in Florida.

Smart Asset looked at an average rent of about $1,500 for the area and an average mortgage payment on a typical home (4.5% interest, 20% down) of about $1,110 and determined it would take about two years, three months for renting to become more costly than buying.

Gary, Indiana was the nation’s top market, with break-even point at 1 year, four months. Washington, Nevada and California were the only states in whole deemed better for renters than buyers by the study.

Sarasota is in the midst of an upswing in sales and price appreciation, according to Michael Molton, a certified resident specialist broker-associate with Michael Saunders & Company, who writes a monthly report on the local market.

According to his most recent report:

  • The 2018 monthly year to date average for sold properties is 1,040 whereas the 2017 monthly average was 978 for the year and in 2016 the monthly average was 952.
  • The number of properties sold in April including both single family and condominiums in the Sarasota area was 1,200, which was 20 less than March and 26 more than a year ago.
  • In April, Sarasota’s single-family homes were sold at a median price of $285,000 vs. $272,500 a year ago, a 5% increase.
  • Condominium median sale price was $235,000 in April vs. $215,000 in April 2017.
  • Overall properties sold for 95% of the list price, a consistent ratio on a regular basis. The 2017 average for all properties sold was 95.6% of list price at the time of contract vs. the original list price.

Sarasota Observer June 13, 2018

Filed Under: Florida Real Estate Market, Sarasota Real Estate Market News Tagged With: , ,

April Home Sales Rise Despite Inventory Challenges

June 5, 2018 by

April Home SalesIn April 2018, Sarasota and Manatee housing inventory levels dropped again, with pressure from rising median sales prices. Overall, April showed an increase in sales across the two counties, as well as an increase in new listings.

April reported 2,014 total sales which is a 3.3 percent increase from last year. Sarasota condo sales increased by 17.8 percent and Manatee condo sales increased by 2.5 percent. As for single family homes, Manatee sales increased by 5.8 percent, while Sarasota decreased by 5.3 percent.

Inventory
Overall, inventory is down compared to this time last year. For single-family homes, the number of properties listed decreased by 10.3 percent. As for condos, inventory decreased by 8.9 percent in the two-county area.

“Sarasota and Manatee counties are following the national trend of lower inventory and higher prices,” said Greg Owens, 2018 President of the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee. “This home shortage is a main factor in limiting sales growth.”

Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), commented on this trend in his recent 2018 midyear forecast presentation at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. Yun indicated that a stronger economy, wage growth and improving job market is expected to raise sales and prices. However, low inventory and the challenging affordability for the next generation of home buyers may temper growth. Overall, he predicts a moderate and multiyear increase in home sales ahead.

Median
Median sales prices continue to rise in Sarasota and Manatee. Manatee single-family home prices increased by 5.4 percent to $311,000 and Sarasota increased by 4.6 percent to $285,000. Condo median prices in Sarasota increased by 9.3 percent to $235,000 and Manatee increased by 23.1 percent to $209,950.

“These trends should encourage homeowners who were thinking of putting their property on the market to do so,” added Owens. “The traditional snowbird season has ended in our area, but property sales have not. Contact your local REALTOR® to find the best move for you and your family.”

A seller’s market remains, indicated by the decreased month’s supply of inventory. Manatee condos represent a 4.5-month supply and Sarasota condos are at a 4.6 month-supply. Manatee single-family homes are at a 3.9-month supply and Sarasota single-family homes are at a 4.1- month supply.

The median time to contract for Sarasota single-family homes is down by 11.1 percent to 40 days, while Manatee increased by 2.2 percent to 47 days from April 2017. For Sarasota condos, the time to contract is down by 6.5 percent to 43 days, while Manatee condos are down by 24 percent is to 38 days on the market. With tighter inventory, properties are spending less time on the market.

Pending Sales
Overall pending sales, or the number of properties that went under contract in April, decreased from last month. This is an indication that sales are tapering off the traditional snowbird season. Compared to 2017, the condo market experienced more pending sales with a 22.1 percent increase in Manatee and a 1.7 percent increase in Sarasota. Single-family homes, however, experienced a drop in pending sales. Sarasota single-family homes decreased by 13.1 percent and Manatee by 16.1 percent.

The REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee, May 24, 2018

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Florida Real Estate Market, Sarasota Buyers, Sarasota Real Estate Market News Tagged With: , ,

Work Begins on Sarasota Quay – Downtown Sarasota Real Estate

June 2, 2018 by

A new Sarasota Quay is underway. Finally.

Long-awaited bayfront development of residential, hotel and business units breaks ground.

Sarasota Quay

The developer’s goal is creating a place that will please the public and engage the waterfront. Those are some of the intangible goals of GreenPointe Communities LLC.

On Wednesday afternoon under mostly blue skies, the Jacksonville-based company staged an infrastructure groundbreaking ceremony at the 15-acre Quay Sarasota Waterfront District site with city commissioners and the mayor, Planning Board members, Booker High School students and others.

Before GreenPointe president Grady Miars addressed the gathering, he described the project in a Herald-Tribune interview.

The renovation and repurposing of the historic 1925 Belle Haven Apartment building on the site is a pivotal piece of the project, which is entitled to 695 residential units, 175 hotel rooms, 38,972 square feet of office space and 189,050 square feet of commercial space. The overall project represents a $1 billion investment from GreenPointe and other investors.

The Belle Haven, Miars said, is “considered to be the crown jewel of the development.”

“Right now, we’ve been actively working on the interior components, making sure that it’s suitable and stable, and then we’re going to refurbish it,” he said.

Sarasota City Manager Tom Barwin called the Belle Haven “one of the greatest buildings that has ever graced the bayfront.”

Initially, GreenPointe offices will be in the refurbished Belle Haven. Ultimately, though, the idea is to turn the structure into the central piece of the Quay, Miars said, “so it will be part of our placemaking effort.”

The project also calls for a public park leading to the waterfront, where docks will be available.

“What you’ll see in our development and in our infrastructure is it’s going to invite the public in to be able to utilize not only our central Quay and the facilities there, the retail, and also engage to the waterfront,” Miars said. “We feel that is very important.”

Rick Harcrow, GreenPointe’s regional president, said, “We dedicated ourselves to creating a special place.”

The company is coordinating plans with The Bay project directly to the north, the Sasaki design team and city officials. “We’re very much in support of what’s happening to our north,” he said of the bayfront redevelopment effort. “What’s happening around us has really evolved and has come a long way.”

Barwin appreciates the fact that the two major projects are coming to life together. “We’re especially excited it’s (the Quay) moving in tandem with the Bay,” he said.

Vertical construction is scheduled to begin this fall on a 73-unit, 18-story condominium tower called The Grande — complete with a restaurant. That work is expected to last two years.

If the national economy continues to perform well, Miars anticipates a five- to seven-year construction schedule for the entire project.

“Our expectations for the project is really what we set out for when we started in 2014,” Miars said, “to acquire a piece of land in the city of Sarasota in an area ripe for redevelopment and be able to intertwine ourselves into the fabric of Sarasota. Sarasota has so many great things that are going on, from the arts, the culture and the waterfront.

“This is one of those opportunities where we can seamlessly bridge in between those — and ultimately into downtown.”

City Commissioner Shelli Freeland Eddie applauded GreenPointe for seeking “community input at all stages of the project.”

She proposed that the company incorporate nearby Booker High School engineering and art students into the project in a shadowing program. Executives agreed immediately, she said in another interview. The collaboration will lead to job opportunities, she said. “We want to keep our best and brightest in our community.”

Pride plays a role, too. When those participating students drive by the Quay Sarasota in the future, they can say, “I had a part in that,” Freeland Eddie said.

Redevelopment plans for the 15-acre bayfront property began some 15 years ago. A few years after acquiring the land, the Irish investors leveled the old Sarasota Quay condo building in 2007. Bankruptcy and legal wrangling ended that effort and the site sat empty for years.

GreenPointe purchased the property in 2014 and now the first groundbreaking has occurred. Another will be held just ahead of vertical construction.

Sarasota Herald Tribune, May 23, 2018

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Condos, Downtown Sarasota Construction, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Sarasota New Construction Tagged With: , , , ,