Sarasota Real Estate Blog

As we enter the New Year, I’m hopeful your memories of the past year are happy ones and the upcoming year will be a happy, healthy and successful one for you.

We’re seeing the end of another full year of all the indicators of a changing tide in our Real Estate market.  Once again, the market has demonstrated that the Sarasota area is a destination of choice for many primary and second homebuyers. For 2011, the resurgence in sales was dramatic, and represents a 44 percent increase over the low point of the downturn in 2008.

In a recent Today Show real estate report, Barbara Corcoran noted that Sarasota was one of the top recovering markets in the nation. Corcoran said Sarasota is a “beautiful beachfront community” that offers residents and visitors “a sophisticated, urban cultural experience” that is propelling sales and prices in 2011.

Here are the key indicators that show the Sarasota area is one of the top recovering markets in the nation:

Sarasota area Home Prices are stabilizing: 

The median sales price has been relatively flat since 2009 for single family homes. It continued to decline for condos through 2010 and during 2011 we saw prices flattening out on condos also. This stabilization is what’s bringing buyers back into the market – they’ve been waiting for the signal that prices have hit bottom. 

Sarasota area real estate inventory levels have declined sharply: The inventory of available properties for sale in Sarasota hit a 10-year low of 4,408 in August, and has fluctuated only slightly since that time. At the end of December it was 4,567. At current sales volume, single family homes inventory now stands at 6.3 months and for condos it’s 9.2 months.

Sarasota area unit sales have been strong and steady throughout the year and have risen 3 straight years 

Unit sales in Sarasota are up a full 8.2% year for the year 2011 vs 2010, and hit their highest level in six years. Sales volume has risen in every year since hitting a low in 2008.

The chart to the left shows the annual unit sales for the periods 2000 through 2011 by the Sarasota Association of Realtors.

If you are visiting our area now or planning to come to Sarasota in the near future, I encourage you to call me at 941-232-4053 today or E-Mail Me. I also invite you to visit my Sarasota real estate website to learn more about our area and the many attractive golf course, in-town, and waterfront communities in the Sarasota - Bradenton, Florida area including Lakewood Ranch, Anna Maria Island and our island keys, Longboat, Lido, Siesta and Casey Key.