Sarasota again named "The #1 Best Place to Retire"
Posted by Andree Huffine on
Once again, Sarasota, Florida has earned top honors by being named the “Best Place to Retire in the Country”. This time the honor was given by the TopRetirements.com website.  John Brady, founder of that website pointed out that “the best retirement cities and towns in America have good weather, access to healthcare, low property taxes, and a certain “wow” factor. Sarasota has all of those qualities and more.
The Sarasota area is known as "Florida's Cultural Coast"; home to the renowned the Ringling Art Museum, the Sarasota Orchestra, the Sarasota Ballet, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and the Asolo Center multi-theater complex as well as many art galleries, jazz clubs and local theater groups like the Manatee Players in Bradenton and the Venice…
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In a recent article, Forbes Magazine reviewed a report issued by Trulia.com, an Internet search site frequently used by those searching for a new home. Nearly 90% of people who buy homes begin their searches on the Internet. As a result, Jed Kolko, chief economist and head of analytics at Trulia stated that, “where people are searching for properties is an indicator of which real estate markets are "picking up strength," and where home demand is growing.”
The Sarasota Association of Realtors just released their October results. In it, they reported total home and condo sales for October of 577, essentially unchanged from the September volume of 570. This October total consisted of 412 single-family homes and 165 condos. Last year at this point, there were only 487 home and condo sales. This is more evidence that the slump in Sarasota and Manatee County home sales is coming to an end after 5 long years.Â
I know – just like so many people were convinced during the boom that housing prices would continue to appreciate at 30 – 40% a year forever, many are convinced that the downward trend will continue too. But take a look at the 40 years of history in these 2 graphs and I think logic will tell you otherwise. We can always look in the rear view mirror and say “that’s when I should have bought or sold an asset”. Savvy investors know the best way to time an asset sale or purchase is to look at trends.
Here's an interesting statistic, I found recently. There are 78 million baby boomers in the U.S., and demographic professionals predict that one-sixth of them will spend part of their lives in Florida. That's almost 13 million new residents in Florida by 2023. Those future residents will be looking for the most attractive places in Florida to live. The Sarasota - Manatee County area will be high on their list of "most attractive places".
I've heard it time and again this year from buyers I've worked with. “…we’ve been watching the market for a couple of years, afraid to jump in. This year, we saw that there was less available to choose from. We realized if we wanted to get a Sarasota area home we should do it now, before we can’t find one”…. Here's the most recent update from the Sarasota Association of Realtors, published July 12.
Not since 2005 have we seen the level of home buying activity in the Sarasota – Bradenton real estate market that we have today. A total of 759 properties were sold in April and 796 in May, the highest level in 6 years. Home and condo prices, while still at bargain levels, are also now at their highest level.