Do you want expert advice from a 20-year mortgage broker? If you are planning to buy real estate and use a mortgage to fund it you will need a mortgage pre-approval.
Using a locally known broker like Gulfside Mortgage will add a lot of credibility to your offer. Call Dawn Gorill for fast, friendly, accurate service
How much do you know about the current real estate trends in your community? Are you curious about the latest prices or the pace of sales compared with last year? If you’re planning to buy or sell in the near future, or just looking to remain informed about the changing marketability of your home, you’ll appreciate the enclosed neighborhood update created specifically for your community. If you've thought of selling, you've probably struggled with receiving a fair price, and selling your home quickly. Regardless of what you’ve heard, you can sell your home quickly, and for a fair price, even in this challenging market. And while nobody can predict the future, I can provide you with a candid and objective overview of historical trends to help you make the most informed decisions about the sale of your home. Here are just a few things I do with every client:
I prepare a comprehensive and objective analysis of sales in your neighborhood over the past year, separating distressed and non-distressed properties. Then, I patiently review the most important statistics and trends affecting the value of your home, and the speed at which it can be sold.
Most importantly, I WILL ALWAYS LISTEN CAREFULLY to your goals and priorities, and never forget your short and long-term objectives. If you'd like to learn more about how your home can be sold quickly and for a fair price, I welcome your call for a private consultation. I assure you of complete confidentiality, and promise you total objectivity. I specialize in the representation of homeowners from your community, and whether you are looking to sell your home now, or in the future, my singular goal is to help you achieve the best outcome.
https://original.newsbreak.com/@real-estate-nate-1592661/2622460892846-heat-map-the-hottest-real-estate-markets-in-2022
$600,000 iS now A mIDDLE PRICEd home and a $1,000,000 sale is not a big deal
Not long ago $600,000 was a very nice sale and $1MM got applause at the weekly sales meeting.
no more! $600,000 IS NOW just A MIDDLE PRICED HOME AND A $1,000,000 SALE IS NOT A BIG DEAL
Link to Sarasota Housing Market Ranked # 3
By Kim Doleatto April 27, 2022
A Sarasota home
IMAGE: KIM DOLEATTO
Many cities that count as vacation destinations with plenty of outdoor activities to offer, like North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, topped The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index in the second quarter of 2022. The report looked at the largest 300 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area came in second on the list last year.
This time around, Rapid City, South Dakota, topped the list, followed by Santa Cruz-Watsonville, VA, while North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton came in at No. 3. Other Florida metro areas in the top 20 list are Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island at No. 5, Cape Coral-Fort Myers at No. 15. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is second to last.
With growing housing demand and insufficient supply, median list prices hit a new record high in March, both nationally, at $405,000 and locally, reaching $500,000.
In the face of the rising costs of living, and a sudden surge in mortgage interest rates, affordability was a major driver for home shoppers. The typical 30-year loan rate went from 3.1 percent at the end of 2021 to 5 percent by early April, adding hundreds of dollars to the typical monthly mortgage payment, leading to a scramble to buy before rates continue to ascend.
Out-of-state buyers aren’t dampened by soaring housing costs, though. Based on the report, several cities in the top 20 list experienced a significant share of out-of-state homebuyers, with markets including Sarasota seeing its share of out-of-state online visitors reach 50 percent and higher.
As interest rates compound the high cost of living in more expensive cities, interest in relatively affordable markets like Sarasota continues driving home-buying activity.
The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index identifies the top metro areas for homebuyers seeking an appreciating housing market and appealing lifestyle amenities. Read the full report here.
Bill Garrison, Realtor, RE/MAX in Venice, Florida, says you might feel resistant to home improvements when it's time to sell. But that decision can sometimes be more costly than the loss you’ll incur on any home-improvement projects. It can mean the difference between receiving no serious offers and multiple serious offers. If you move before you sell your Venice, Florida home, the longer you're home stays on the market, the longer you’ll likely be paying your mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and other costs. If you aren’t sure which upgrades would generate the greatest buyer interest for the smallest investment, I would be happy to share my knowledge and expertise with you. Following are six of the features buyers want most in a home, with approximate budgets for each: Exterior Lighting: $20 to $250 per fixture. According to the National Association of Home Builders, exterior lighting is the most-wanted outdoor feature. A Venice, Florida home with attractive lighting will grab a potential buyer’s attention before they even step out of their car. Wall lanterns, illuminated walkways, and accented landscape lights make a strong first impression, provide a sense of security, and have instant curb appeal. Energy-efficient Windows: $270 - $800 per window (Including installation). In some polls, as many as 90 percent of homeowners had energy -efficient windows on their home-buying checklists. They not only look great, but Energy Star qualified windows to feature sturdier weather stripping and improved framing materials, reducing undesirable heat gain and loss, and saving as much as 15 percent on energy bills. Eat-in Kitchen: $1,000 and up for installation. Eat-in kitchens are essential for most Venice, Florida home buyers, especially families with children. The kitchen is the heart of your Venice, Florida home, and although the cost of this project can vary greatly, depending on the amount of work involved, it is a feature that can truly give you a step up on the competition for convenience and function. Stainless Steel Appliances: $1,300 - $4,000 for full kitchen packages. While still a topic of constant debate, Stainless Steel is always a safe bet. It’s rust-proof, stain-resistant, bacteria-resistant, and aesthetically pleasing. Most importantly, it’s still in demand as a home feature by many buyers. Home Technology: A multitude of options in a wide price range. Smart Home Technology is high on potential buyers’ lists because of its convenience, efficiency, safety, and energy savings. Thermostats you can control with your smartphone, lights which adapt to your living habits, and state-of-the-art security systems are just a few of the tech products that can increase your home’s value. Hardwood Floors: $2,500 to $6,500 on average (according to homeadvisor.com). Hardwood flooring has a lasting appeal and is a huge selling point for many buyers. It is easy to clean, has long-term durability, provides better room acoustics, and promotes a healthier indoor air quality. My real estate experience in Venice, Florida can ensure the successful sale of your home. If you’d like to know more about how to make your home competitive with other homes for sale in your community or anything else regarding the sale of your home, please contact me and I’d be happy to discuss it with you. If you require the services of a real estate professional in the future, please allow me to outline how I can exceed your greatest expectations.
Setting your Venice, FL home up for a quick sale involves many factors. Bill Garrison RE/MAX Realtor says setting the correct price
is essential to attracting buyers, but what else can you do to sell your Venice, FL home in the shortest amount of time? Bill Garrison
will be happy to enclose his Venice, FL sales activity in your community, and would like to help you sell your Venice, FL
home both quickly and for the highest price. Here is a list of steps you can take to help ensure a speedy sale.
1. Price It Right From the Start! - A proper CMA can help you maximize the realistic asking price for your home without
scaring off potential buyers. Bill Garrison's knowledge of your community in Venice, FL can help you find the ideal price.
2. Enhance Your Venice, FL Home’s Curb Appeal - Sod, beautiful flowers, and a newly painted front door will grab
buyers’ attention. Curb appeal is everything when it comes to first impressions and a fast sale.
3. Update your home. - Keep things current so you don’t fall behind. New fixtures, fresh paint, and new landscaping are
easy, affordable, and keep you on par with comparable homes in your neighborhood. Bill Garrison can provide you with insight
as to which projects will benefit the sale of your home the most.
4. Clean and Declutter - Prospective Venice, FL buyers should be able to envision their family in the house, not yours.
The less clutter around your home, the easier this will be, leading to a quick and easy fast sale.
5. Stage Your Venice, FL Home to Showcase Its Possibilities - Give roles to rooms that don’t have an ‘obvious’ use. Home
staging is the best tool to accomplish this goal. Bill garrison will provide you with professional staging advice that will
make a lasting first impression on potential buyers.
6. Make Your Venice, Fl Property Easy to Show - Buyers want to discuss your home while on a walkthrough, Bill Garrison
will give them the perfect tour. They don’t want to do it with you standing behind them. Pre-plan where you’re going to
spend most of your time when your home is on the market, so you have morning, evening, and weekend times available for
interested buyers to tour your home.
7. Remove Your Pets! - A potential Venice, FL buyer might not share your feelings for Spot and Kitty. Pet hair and odor can
be a huge turn-off for most buyers. Have a place for your pets to stay when buyers are scheduled to tour your home.
8. Make Sure Your Venice, FL Listing is Prominently & Professionally Displayed on All of the Major Websites - With today’s
technology, many buyers want to view your home and neighborhood from the comfort of their living room. Bill Garrison will
market your home to thousands of potential buyers on nearly every outlet used by today’s buyers. I will also ensure the
content displayed is both professional and attractive to generate the highest number of interested buyers.
9. Bill Garrison Insists on Professional Photos For Listing Your Venice, FL Home - Potential buyers will probably see your
home in a picture before they see it in person. I can have professional photographs taken which highlight all of your home’s
most attractive features for a quick and easy fast sale
10. Showcase What’s Great About Your Venice, FL Neighborhood - Your neighborhood is often a big selling point with
prospective buyers. Amenities, schools, and other features can turn an interested buyer into a contract.
Bill Garrison specializes in the representation of homeowners from your community and believes his knowledge of the local
market can ensure the successful sale of your home. If you require the services of a real estate professional in the
future, please allow me to outline how I can exceed your greatest expectations.
A common question these days is. " what's the value of my home" or " what's my home really worth" Most commonly people ask when getting ready to list a home or condo. Homeowners also ask what tuneups they need to sell my home and to know what it will take to sell my home fast. Bill Garrison, Venice Florida Realtor is an expert in real estate valuations spending many years at Remax Platinum in the real estate business
RED-HOT NEIGHBORHOODS
By Ilene Denton Published in the October-November 2021 issue of Sarasota Magazine
A luxury home on Casey Key sold for $16.5 million this spring.
IMAGE: COURTESY PHOTO
Like everybody else, I’ve been following the local real estate headlines the past year with amazement—and some worry.
But nothing prepared me for the sale of a perfectly pleasant, 2,300-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath 1962-era Florida ranch home on an OK lot in a neighborhood near mine that sold late last summer for $1.2 million—23 percent over ask—in just one day. (The asking price alone was an eye-popping $975,000, as it had previously sold in late 2019 for $650,000.)
Sarasota and Manatee counties are facing record high local home prices and record low inventory. Buyers are fleeing high-income, high-tax states to relocate to what U.S. News & World Report calls one of the top 10 places to live in America, and they’re snapping up homes at prices that are making the rest of us dizzy. Bidding wars, open houses planned and then pulled because the homes have sold in a day, and properties that go under contract before they even get to MLS are the regular order of the real estate business these days.
In this red-hot real estate environment, any part of town with a home for sale can be considered red hot. Just 905 single-family homes were on the MLS on July 1 in the entire two-county area. That’s a two-week supply of listings; a normal balanced supply is in the four- to six-month range. Compare that with 4,702 single-family homes on July 1, 2019, and 3,275 on July 1, 2020. (A slight uptick in mid-September—1,083 homes for sale—perhaps portends a return to something slightly more normal.
Here’s our top 10 list of neighborhoods where sales are sizzling.
Bird Key has an unbeatable waterfront location close to downtown and Lido Beach.
IMAGE: RINAT SKIDAR/COLDWELL BANKER
That tsunami of new buyers from New York, New Jersey, California and even Washington state has raised the bar of what defines luxury in the Sarasota area, says Craig Cerreta, managing broker at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. It’s “an unimaginable demand-driven market,” he says.
“We used to say luxury was a million-plus, then 2-million-plus,” says Cerreta. “Now we take listings at $5 million, $9 million, $14 million every month.” To those new buyers, “We’re a bargain.”
Take Casey Key. For years, that tropical barrier island of grand Gulf-to-bay estates near Osprey had little turnover. “Now it’s boom, boom, boom,” says Cerreta. Sale prices are multiplying. The $16.5 million sale of a Casey Key beachfront estate in April—a tie for the highest residential sale in Sarasota County history (the other was Serenissima, an estate behind the gates of the Longboat Key Club, last November)—proves his point. The property had sat on the market since 2012 before its owner switched real estate companies last spring, and it sold in a couple of months. That wasn’t through any fault of the previous listing agent, Cerreta is quick to say. “The timing is just different now.”
At the end of July, there was one lonely listing on the manicured, in-town island of Bird Key, a 16-year-old garden residence (that’s what they call homes that aren’t on canals or direct bayfront) priced at a smidge over $3 million. Located off the Ringling Causeway and prized for its proximity to both downtown Sarasota and the beaches, “Bird Key is smoking hot,” says Cerreta. “If I did a search in my deleted email file, I’d come up with a few dozen emails from agents asking, ‘Anybody got anything on Bird Key?’ There’s nothing to show them.”
Prices have gone through the roof. Last summer, Rinat Sikdar of Coldwell Banker sold the most expensive canal-front sale in Bird Key history, at $4.25 million. “It went on the market in December and closed in April,” Sikdar says. “The buyer never saw it in person.” Sikdar’s other big Bird Key sale this summer was a 7,200-square-foot bayfront home, which sold for $5.7 million. The new owners are tearing it down to build something even grander.
North Siesta Key has been active, especially around Shell Road and Higel Avenue, where buyers are seeking beachfront estate-size lots. Sikdar sold two adjacent parcels on 2.4 acres last spring for a combined $8.4 million. An enclave of two to four $10 million-plus homes called Siesta Key Estates is planned. And last fall, a 1.3-acre vacant lot with a private beach on Higel sold for its asking price of $5 million; at the time the highest-priced residential land sale in either county in 2020. “People have been obsessed with Harbor Acres [that exclusive mainland waterfront neighborhood West of the Trail], but the lots are smaller there,” says Sikdar. “On north Siesta Key, you can be on the sand and on the mainland [over the Siesta Key bridge] in two minutes.”
Prices at Sage Longboat Key Residences range from the mid-$4 millions to $6.9 million.
Not in any one neighborhood, but too hot to ignore is the area’s brand-new crop of luxury condominiums. In July, just seven months after its launch, all 16 beachfront units at Sage Longboat Key Residences went under contract at prices ranging from mid-$4 million to $6.9 million. That’s a year earlier than expected, says Cerreta. (Premier Sotheby’s was the development’s exclusive sales team.)
A rendering of the St. Regis Hotel and Residences on Longboat Key
Farther south on Longboat, it took just a year for the developer of the St. Regis Hotel and Residences to sell 57 of the 69 planned units, at asking prices between $2 million and $12 million, says Georgia Kopelousos of Michael Saunders & Company, whose company is repping the development, “although I just got off the phone with someone, and that number may be 58 by the end of the day,” she says. (Two of those units are being combined for one buyer at a price of nearly $20 million). The 18-acre Gulf-front site, the former home of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, will have all kinds of resort amenities befitting the St. Regis brand.
A rendering of downtown Sarasota’s Bayso
Demand for those sleek new downtown condos hasn’t cooled, either. In the Quay Sarasota Waterfront District under redevelopment between Boulevard of the Arts and the old Ritz-Carlton, Bayso launched in the fall of 2020 and by mid-summer 2021 was already two-thirds sold. That’s 110 units out of a total 149 at an average price of $1.2 million, says Cerreta. Bayso joins the new Ritz-Carlton Residences as the first two condo towers planned for the Quay. “The downtown condos are still hot,” says Cerreta. “We see people selling condos in the old Ritz to move into the new Ritz.”
A tree-lined street in Arlington Park
IMAGE: EVERETT DENNISON
A neighborhood doesn’t have to be sexy to be red-hot. Arlington Park, that leafy old neighborhood of some 1,500 houses east of Tamiami Trail between Bahia Vista and Webber, is particularly in demand these days. Buyers, mostly families but empty nesters, too, are drawn to its central location near both downtown Sarasota and Sarasota Memorial Hospital and city-owned Arlington Park itself, with its shaded walking trails, dog park, basketball and pickleball courts, and public swimming pool.
Whether you like it or not (and everybody has an opinion), Arlington Park is a neighborhood very much in transition, as many older, affordable homes have been razed to make way for modern white boxes and large traditional-style residences. Premier Sotheby’s realtor Carolyn Collins and her husband built a Craftsman-style home on Hawthorne Street in 2019 and sold it this summer for $1.15 million. “It really was a labor of love, and we weren’t planning to sell, but we said in the market if we didn’t try, we’d be silly,” says Collins. “The first person who saw it came in and bought it.”
A home in Arlington Park
In the first half of 2021, 64 homes sold here at a range of $200,000 (most likely as a tear-down), to $1.64 million—a price unheard of a few years ago. By early August, only 17 homes were on the market. “I’ve been in this business over 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Collins. “It’s a shame there are so many buyers and not to have the properties [to sell them].”
A little farther south is Oyster Bay Estates, which winds along Sarasota Bay between Pine Bay Drive and Field Road, bisected by the oak-lined residential boulevard Camino Real. Full of estate-sized homes on oversized lots, it’s probably where your banker or lawyer or doctor, or maybe all three, have lived at one time or another.
Kim Ogilvie of Michael Saunders & Company sold her own home there in 2018, a beautifully updated residence on a large lakefront lot, for $1.85 million. What a difference a few years makes. In early August, Ogilvie tells us, the few active listings here ranged from $3,126,000 to $3,985,000—at $688 to $988 per square foot. “Two years ago, those were our bayfront averages; these are our landlocked prices,” Ogilvie says.Those sky-high list prices are taking their toll. Only eight Oyster Bay homes sold between Jan. 1 and Aug. 9 this year, versus 10 homes last year. But the number of days on the market has increased—averaging 75 days this year versus 35 days in 2020. Ogilvie thinks that’s due to “aspirational pricing” on the part of sellers. “I think that’s where we’re going to find our balance in the market,” she says. “Homeowners are beginning to see symptoms of aspirational pricing. I had some buyers say to me, ‘We are willing to purchase at 10 percent over market, but we’re not paying over that.’” The canary in the coal mine? Maybe.
North River Ranch
IMAGE: ROB HARRIS
North of the Manatee River in Manatee County, where a head-spinning 24,000-plus new homes have been permitted for construction, the former farming community of Parrish is a magnet for buyers from Bradenton to St. Pete. And in Parrish, there’s no development hotter than North River Ranch. The mammoth, 2,600-acre master-planned community, being developed by Neal Land & Neighborhoods, is slated for an eventual 6,000 homes. In the couple of years since the first shovelfuls of dirt were flung, a thousand lots have been developed in its initial Brightwood and Riverfield neighborhoods. A mix of national and local builders is offering single-family homes and townhomes from the high $200,000s to $500,000. Residences are rising, people are moving in, playgrounds and community pools are open, new nearby public schools are filling up, and 25 miles of trails are beckoning walkers and bicyclers who can take advantage of the new Neal community bike share program. “People see the vision,” says a company spokesman. “They get it.” Next up: 400 homesites in the Wildleaf neighborhood, coming online in early 2022. Additional phases are expected in the next 20 years.
Wellen Park
Sleepy no longer, Sarasota County from Osprey southward reached a tipping point a few years ago, surpassing the population of north Sarasota. The hottest hotspots are North Venice and the mega master-planned community of Wellen Park.
More than 4,000 homes are planned for North Venice, primarily north of Border Road. Together, Neal Communities and Neal Signature Homes are developing Cielo, Vicenza, Aria and Milano, with 1,380 homes at build-out. A mile east of I-75 off the Laurel Road exit, Emerald Homes’ Toscana Isles will have 967 homes at build-out.
Coming soon to 80 acres along Border Road and Jacaranda Boulevard is D.R. Horton’s Palencia, with 203 planned homes. Nearby, Meritages Homes and Toll Brothers are building 263 homes in Venice Woodlands. And two additional developments are permitted: the 1,000-residence Rustic Road, on 318 acres just east of I-75 off Knights Trail Road (no builders have been announced to date); and a rental community of 239 units called Generation at Venice nearby.
In unincorporated Sarasota County abutting North Venice, DiVosta is scraping acres a half-mile south of S.R. 681 for the 926 homesites planned for Talon Preserve on Palmer Ranch. And along the former farmlands flanking State Road 681, Taylor Morrison is building 320 homes in Palmero. Whew!
A model in IslandWalk in Wellen Park.
Wellen Park continues to grow. Named the fourth top-selling master-planned community in the U.S. in both 2019 and 2020, the south Sarasota County community is already home to nine large-scale developments, and an additional 7,000 acres of undeveloped land are slated for development in the future. At build-out some 15 years down the road, 60,000 people will call Wellen Park home. Phase one of Downtown Wellen is expected to open in late 2022; its 175 lakefront acres eventually will include waterfront dining, a town hall, children’s playground and splash pad, food truck kiosk area and an outfitter who will rent e-bikes, paddle boards and kayaks. A 250-unit luxury rental complex called Tropia at Wellen Park to be built in Downtown Wellen was announced last summer; it’s the first rental complex to be located here.
Rendering of Waterside Place, a lakefront town center at Waterside.
No surprise, Lakewood Ranch is once again making headlines, and this time not because Mick Jagger bought a home there for his girlfriend last December. Lakewood Ranch was named the best-selling master-planned community in the nation, with 1,535 new home sales in the first half of 2021 alone. That’s an 83 percent leapfrog over last year.
Much of the action this year has been in Waterside, where Pulte’s Shoreview neighborhood, launched in 2017, is going gangbusters. (Also currently building here is Homes by Towne.) Pulte won’t divulge exact numbers, but “our sales are 135 percent over last year,” says Josh Graeve, vice president of sales for the Southwest Florida market. Shoreview single-family homes are marketed from the $700,000s to $1.5 million.
The Camelot model at Waterside
Shoreview is one of the closest communities to the soon-to-open Waterside Place town center. Located on a 36-acre peninsula, Waterside Place will have shops, restaurants, office space and the future Players Centre for Performing Arts. A regular farmers market and community events are planned. Two rental projects, the Botanic Waterside apartments and Waterside Place townhomes, are almost at capacity within months of completion, says a Lakewood Ranch spokesman. “Our residents are very excited about the ability to walk, drive a golf cart or ride a bicycle to Waterside Place,” says Graeve.And beyond Waterside, Lakewood Ranch continues to sizzle. Two new villages, Star Farms and Sweetwater, with a combined 3,000 planned residences, will be under construction by the end of 2021, joining the 21 villages that already encompass the master-planned community.
Curb Appeal
Are you interested in putting your home on the market, but wonder what repairs and touch-ups to do? And then there's bankrolling the work, not to mention sacrificing
weekends to get it done. Slow down. Get a grip. There are some no-cost/low-cost ways to get your home in showing shape and help you put your best foot, er... house, forward to
prospective buyers. When real estate agents and buyers refer to curb appeal, it means the initial impact the home makes when the buyer first views it. Visualize a buyer driving up
to your curb. What would he see? Landscaping in need of work? A fence in need of paint? If the outside of the house is in shambles, a buyer may not be motivated to get out of the
car and come inside! So what things are important to fix up and replace before you sell? Let's cover them as the buyer sees them, from the outside, in. Walk across the street from
your home and pretend you're a buyer, viewing the home for the first time. From the parking area, glance around the front yard. Note hedges and trees that need to be trimmed.
Are they cut back away from the front door, the windows, and the porch area? This is not only for aesthetics but for safety reasons as well (a big priority with buyers today.) A safe
home is one that has a clear view of the parking area and walkways, free of obstructions and overgrown foliage. What about paint trim near the front door and on the eaves?
Could it use a new coat? Make sure your front door is in good repair, too - including the screen door, if applicable. Buyers' impressions as they enter the home set the stage for the
rest of the showing. Let's go inside the house. The cardinal rule before putting your home on the market is making sure it's clean. In a competitive sales market, why would an
eager buyer waste time viewing a house that needed elbow grease? And a less than spic and span house could also signal that another maintenance in the house hasn't been kept
up - like plumbing that leaks and furnace systems in need of cleaning or repair. Don't forget that a house that doesn't show well will often take longer to sell, costing you money in
the long run.
REAL ESTATE
By Staff January 27, 2022
Wonder why the roads seem extra crowded this year? It's because we topped The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to new data. Naples was the highest-ranked market in Q4, followed by North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton at No. 2. Rounding out the top five were Kahului, Hawaii; San Luis Obispo, California; and San Jose, California. Cape Coral, Punta Gorda and Sebastian also ranked in the top 20.
The Sarasota real estate market saw unprecedented growth in 2021, with record home sales and prices. In December 2021, the median price for a single-family home in Sarasota County was $435,788; in Manatee County, it was $460,000. According to The Wall Street Journal, home sales rose to a 15-year high nationally as employees opted to work remotely and were willing to move for a chance to live somewhere with a lower cost of living or different lifestyle. Florida, and Sarasota in particular, has seen a major influx in new residents because of this.
It’s no surprise that we’ve seen strong demand for Venice, Florida homeownership in recent years, and more so during the pandemic. With increased demand, comes increased home prices, where the hottest markets in December 2021 saw an average 25.5% higher listing price. Plus, an overall national increased median home sales price to $346,000, which is up 16.9% from 2020 – the highest on record going back to 1999.2
With all of this, Venice, Florida real estate has been rated for the eighth year in a row, as the best long-term investment. Venice, Florida real estate is an investment in your client’s future and would be considered a stable and secure asset that can grow. Not to mention, it’s more than just a house, it’s a home for your client’s family, loved ones, memories and I think we all were reminded in the last two years, how important home is.
Buyers are motivated to have Venice, Florida properties of their own and maybe speed up their house hunt. It’s been reported that home buyers have viewed an average of eight homes before purchasing, the lowest number on record. Three of those eight homes were viewed with the help of virtual open houses and video tours.
Seems like yesterdays' Sarasota $200,000 homes are now $350,000-$400,000. This price point is popular because with lower interest rates many purchase for rental making it possible for the rental income to pay the monthly payments. It's also a very desirable price for snow birds' winter homes. Always in huge demand with limited supply, this price range is the most requested and heavily shopped in Sarasota County.
Are you interested in putting your Venice, FL home on the market, but wonder what repairs and touch-ups to do? And then there's bankrolling the work, not to mention sacrificing
weekends to get it done. Slow down. Get a grip. There are some no-cost/low-cost ways to get your home in showing the shape and help you put your best foot, er... house, forward
to prospective buyers. When Realtors and buyers refer to curb appeal, it means the initial impact the home makes when the buyer first views it. Visualize a buyer driving up to
your curb. What would he see? Landscaping in need of work? Many buyers are moving to Florida for the first time and want or expect tropical landscaping. Adding a few palm
trees and tropical Florida-like plants always helps. So what things are important to fix up and replace before you sell? Let's cover them as the buyer sees them, from the
outside, in. Walk across the street from your home and pretend you're a buyer, viewing the home for the first time. From the parking area, glance around the front yard. Note
hedges and trees that need to be trimmed. Are they cut back away from the front door, the windows, and the porch area? This is not only for aesthetics but for safety reasons as
well (a big priority with buyers today.) A safe home is one that has a clear view of the parking area and walkways, free of obstructions and overgrown foliage. What about paint
trim near the front door and on the eaves? Could it use a new coat? Make sure your front door is in good repair, too - including the screen door, if applicable. Buyers' impressions
as they enter the home set the stage for the rest of the showing. Let's go inside the house. The cardinal rule before putting your home on the market is making sure it's clean. In a
competitive sales market, why would an eager buyer waste time viewing a house that needed elbow grease? And a less than spic and span house could also signal that other
maintenance in the house hasn't been kept up - like plumbing that leaks and furnace systems in need of cleaning or repair. Don't forget that a house that doesn't show well will
often take longer to sell, costing you money in the long run.
SEE >> Kick Out Clause
In this red-hot housing market, some sellers may be tempted to add a kick-out clause when countering an offer on their home. This type of contingency in a purchase agreement would allow a seller to continue to market their home even after they’ve accepted an offer. Buyers may want to proactively add this clause to their offer in order to make it more enticing.
Usually, this clause is added if the buyer has a contingency in their offer, such as needing to sell their current house to complete the home purchase. Essentially, a kick-out clause allows the seller to kick out the initial buyer’s offer if a preferable offer comes along.
“Every contract we negotiate where a buyer has to sell a property to purchase a property will have a kick-out clause or a contingency offer,” Ramona Williams, a real estate professional with Keller Williams Partners in Colorado Springs, Colo., told Clever in a recent article.
A kick-out clause may seem harsh, but some in the real estate industry say that it can benefit both sellers and buyers.
“The kick-out clause is used in both a buyer’s and seller’s market,” Redfin notes at its blog about the pros and cons of these clauses. “A kick-out clause ensures that the seller is not stuck in a drawn-out home sale in a buyer’s market; it keeps the buyer from having to carry two mortgages if they have trouble selling their house.”
The kick-out clause could prevent a buyer from taking on two mortgages if they have a contingency to sell their other home first. But the obvious con to these clauses for buyers is that they could lose out on a home if another buyer with a better offer comes along. Sellers typically must notify the initial buyer in writing if they do receive a more favorable offer—usually giving them a 72-hour window to make a decision. The buyer could choose to remove the kick-out clause and proceed with purchasing the property, or they could agree to forfeit the home. If they forfeit the home, they usually can receive their earnest money back, depending on the terms of the clause.
Also, if the first buyer sells their home within the contingency timeframe, the kick-out clause is void and sellers can no longer market the home to others, Quicken Loans explains about the clauses.
For a seller, these clauses allow them to continue to market their house. It can put them in a strong negotiating position since they already have an accepted offer, Redfin notes. But there are always risks of the second buyer backing out and the seller then losing the original and second offer. Also, houses actively marketed with a kick-out clause may be less attractive to buyers who know the original buyer could have a chance to match their offer, Quicken Loans notes.
Since drafting a kick-out clause can get complicated, a best practice is to have the clause reviewed by a broker or legal counsel before the parties sign the agreement. In addition, be sure that both the seller and buyer fully understand the terms of the kick-out clause, what triggers the clause, and what the parties’ rights are should the clause be activated.
Read more about the nuances of kick-out clauses.
If you've been shopping for a Sarasota home or condo in the past few weeks, you've likely already noticed that the spring housing market is off to a hot start. Typically the time of year when home buyers and sellers get active after a long winter, spring is always busy - but this year is different. Not only is it the first spring market following a year of coronavirus restrictions and mitigation efforts, but a lower-than-normal number of homes for sale has led to some record breaking numbers.Sarasota in March saw the number of days the typical home for sale was on the market dropped to 25 days, a record low. At the same time, the number of homes that sold above list price reached an all-time high. In other words, March saw one of the hottest Sarasota months of housing activity since at least 2012. Homes are selling quickly and competition among buyers means they're selling for more than homeowners are asking. This means Sarasota buyers have to be prepared to act fast and stay flexible when they see a property that fits their needs.
James, this is a Seller's Market and you need professional help. NO, Zillow won't help! Even though you somehow think because you have been in town 3 days, purchased a few homes in the past, and you are from the northeast you know everything. You really know nothing about this market and area and will probably make several stupid and costly mistakes. I'm a local real estate professional and Sarasota County has been my home for 35 years.
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