Summer's Here in Sarasota

SUMMER'S HERE!
As appeared
MichaelSaunders & Company

Our annual summer rainy season kicked in about six weeks earlier than usual this year; but thankfully not a moment too soon. Not the kind of soggy weather that tosses a wet blanket on anyone’s vacation plans, mind you, but the kind of daily rain event that comes and goes quickly leaving our drought-depleted rivers, lakes and reservoirs a little bit fuller than the day before.
Happily, just as our three-year rainfall drought is easing, so is the more than three-year-old drought choking the region’s real estate market. I’m pleased to report that the news from the market has vastly improved of late. Consumer confidence is up, sales are up, pending sales are up; and the number of available homes is gradually being reduced. This morning—in a front-page, above-the-fold headline—the Sarasota Herald-Tribune trumpeted the good news that area home prices bucked the national trend by rebounding 9.5% from March to April. Further, the median sale price has risen again; and is now up about $20,000 from earlier this year.

All this good news may come as a bit of a surprise to people who assume that as the nation goes, so goes Florida; but as everyone active in the business knows all real estate is local. The national picture is gloomier than ours; weighed down by larger markets—such as Houston—that are just beginning to experience the correction in prices that we’ve been contending with for more than three years. The fact of the matter is this: Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice was among the first markets in the U.S. to experience the trending-down in prices, and is now among the first to begin stabilizing. Yet we still have a great deal of our work cut out for us. For even as the under-$300,000 price bracket is positively percolating with activity, we are working every bit as hard to ignite the same level of buyer activity in the higher price tiers.

As several recent sales have amply demonstrated, buyers are present in the market and widely available at every level of pricing—so long as the perception of value is very, VERY real. To capture these buyers—especially in the $1million-plus price range—significant downward adjustments are still urgently needed to bring prices in line with what statistics show they are now willing to pay. This month’s issue of Saunders@Home speaks to these and other issues related to the state of today’s market and the mindset of the consumer.

Needless-to-say, we’re ready for what lies ahead and fully expect a busy and productive summer.

Meanwhile, enjoy your summer vacation! And by the way, if you’re looking for the best beach in the continental U.S. to play on this summer, look no further. In his 2009 ranking, Stephen Leatherman—aka “Dr. Beach”—has named Siesta Beach the best beach in the contiguous 48 states. Only Hanalei Bay in far-off Hawaii received a better rating; and we’ll match our slice of “paradise” against theirs any day of the week.