My New Blog

January 26, 2009

December pending sales rise as market weathers storm

Pending sales rose to 571 in December as reported by members of the Sarasota

Association of Realtors®, topping the 500 level for the 12th month in a row. Pending sales

last month were much higher than the 374 reported in December 2007, which indicates

that local real estate has not mirrored the national downward trend.

Pending sales reflect contracts executed by buyers and sellers. The recent numbers

demonstrate a consistent, steady pattern, which means the national economic slowdown

has not significantly deterred buyers in the Sarasota market.

“We are demonstrating strength in a difficult real estate environment, and that reflects on

this area’s basic attractions,” said 2009 SAR President Bill Geller. “Sarasota still has the

beaches, the cultural life, the great schools and wonderful climate and natural amenities.

This is still paradise, and buyers have been able to take advantage of the lower home

prices to make some amazing deals on quality properties.”

For the year 2008, the Sarasota market had 5,820 sales of homes and condos, just under

the 6,176 reported in 2007. December 2008 saw 406 total sales, compared to 424 in

December 2007. December’s total was higher than November 2008, when 311 sales were

reported, a 30.5 percent increase from the late fall lull. The late summer and early fall

months are traditionally the lowest period of home sales in the Sarasota market, and the

recent upturn indicates the traditional season surge is beginning, even in the face of the

recession and credit crisis.

One reason for this could be the historic interest rate plunge, which has seen the average

30-year fixed rates drop below 5 percent for the first time in decades.

“For customers who can take advantage of these rates, particularly first time home buyers

with decent credit scores, this is an incredible time to purchase real estate,” said Geller.

“With the low rates, in combination with the lower prices, buyers are able to get into their

dream home with very affordable payments. We haven’t seen this convergence of

attractive pricing and low interest rates for years.”

The median sale price for single family homes rose slightly in December, coming in at

$175,000, compared to last month’s median price of $170,000 – a 3 percent increase

from November 2008. Median condominium sales prices have been fluctuating widely

throughout 2008, and settled at $255,000 for December 2008, a 30.8 percent rise over the

$195,000 in November 2008. For the entire year of 2008, the single family home median

sale price was $230,000, while condos were $320,000, both approximately 26 percent

lower than the 2007 figures.

Another important market tracker – the absorption rate of properties on the market –

continues to track lower than last year at this time for both single family homes and

condominiums. Absorption rate is the number of months it would take to sell the entire

remaining listed inventory in a particular category, based upon the sales for that particular

month.

For December 2008, the absorption rate for single family homes stood at 19.1 months,

compared to 35.1 months in December 2007. For condominiums, the absorption rate dropped

to 31.8 months in December 2008, lower than the 37.2 months reported in December 2007,

and much lower than last month’s rate of 41.7 months.

This information is being supplied to help you understand some of the dynamics of the Sarasota-Bradenton Market.  Bank Owned properties and Short Sales lead the list of properties being sold, and the rise in Pending sales is likely due to the typical 6-12 week wait time for many Short Sales to be negotiated and approved by Seller's lien holders.  If you have more questions, or would like to find the best deals on Bank owned and short sale properties, email or contact us at Craig@WilsonHOMETEAM.com  or 941.321.4410. 

In today's challenged economy where doom and gloom seem to be the main news being reported, there are some significant bright spots to get excited about - and that would be the great opportunities that are available for Homes and Condos in SARASOTA-BRADENTON. 

Home prices have fallen in many cases by 40-50-60% from their highest value back in early 2006, and to sweeten the offerings even more, we now have lots of BANK OWNED homes and condos just waiting to be picked up!

How many?  As of today, we have 216 homes and condos  in the Sarasota-Bradenton market and a few multi-family properties that offer some great values.  The main advantages of purchasing a BANK OWNED is the LOW PRICE.  Most of these homes have not been inspected, and are sold AS-IS with RIGHT TO INSPECT.  As a buyer of a Bank Owned property, you have a short period to have the home professionally inspected, and then determine if you are satisfied with the inspection results.

If you're considering a purchase of a vacation home, investment property or a perfect retirement home, please give Brenda or I a call - so we can email you some great homes to consider.  What an awesome place to live - where a "Cold Snap" usually means that it will only get to 60 degrees instead of 75!  Gotta love Sarasota-Bradenton.

Well for our first blog of 2009, we're happy to now offer an interactive mapping MLS Search from our website for Residential listings in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, which also includes Lakewood Ranch (one of our specialty areas) and Siesta Key, Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island properties as well.  We hope you'll enjoy the many links to area amenities including Schools, attractions, Golf Courses, Tennis Courts and a good variety of other helpful information.  More updates coming, but this was a huge upgrade!

The new search seems to be much easier to navigate, allowing a user to search by MLS#, City or Zip code, and then also your can also search by Bedrooms/bathrooms.  Then after clicking SEARCH, the next page will display the first 5 properties that meet your criteria, including an interactive Map that displays the properties and individual info for each property.

With Today's low interest rates - below 5% for most of the conventional programs, and close to 5% for FHA, NOW should be a great time to be purchasing a home or condo, especially if the lower price ranges.  Gas prices here in Florida are averaging about $1.78 per gallon, up about $.15 in past few weeks.

Property Inventory levels seem to be declining slowly for many homes & condos in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, and I'd have to describe the home values - looking much like an accordion Chart, with the lower priced homes under $150-200k range starting to see maximum compression (a firming of the market values), and most properties priced above that are in varied stages of compression with declining values with a number of the price brackets getting close to their likely bottom.  The upper end of the market (over $1 million) seems to have some additional troubles as Buyers seem to be steering into more conservative waters, perhaps not trying to stretch so far into the luxury end.  Also, the lenders have pushed interest rates up on homes over the $417k conforming limits, because of the extra risk for these types of properties for the lender, and the difficulty in reselling them if a Buyer defaults.  3-4 year of inventory in this bracket, compared with under 12 months with most of our other price ranges under $400k...

We are seeing a huge increase in buyer activity for homes under the $200-250k range, and if the new inquires this past month are a good indication of 2009's first quarter, this should be a busy year for real estate.  If you've been on our site looking, give us a call so we can talk about the many Bank Owned and pre foreclosure properties that may offer some fantastic bargains.

Regards,  Craig & Brenda Wilson 1/7/09

None of us has a crystal ball to determine where the market is headed.  However with all the charts and graphs indicating market trends ...we have a more educated guess. 

Currently we feel the market is still depreciating at a rate of 1 to 1.5% per month with probably another 18 to 24 months to go until we reach the bottom.  Once we reach the bottom of the market its anybodies guess as to how long we'll stay there.  We think realistically 1 to 2 years and then a gradual increase of 3 or perhaps as much as 5% appreciation after that.  That is a healthier market than what we've experienced. 

That being said, If you absolutely have to sell your home in today's market, then price your home to sell; and you must be under the curve. 

Picture it like this...You buy stock for $60 a share for XYZ Corporation.  XYZ Corporation goes through a hard time, and their shares hit bottom and now your share is only worth $30.  Do you think someone is going to pay you $50 or $55 for that share?  No, they may be willing to pay the current market price.  Some would even offer you less...take it! It's all about risk, isn't it?  Are you willing to wait for another buyer to come along?  Are you aware of how many months supply of homes are currently on the market? 

If you don't need to sell your home, take it off the market and enjoy your home and your family!  Don't put added stress in your household.