August Real Estate Report for Sarasota Florida

  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced this month that existing home sales climbed nationwide by 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.15 million. On the bright side, the pressures that caused home sales to stall last year seem to have eased. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has dropped back to just over 4.1% and home prices are no longer rising at double-digit annual rates.

  Unfortunately, all that positive news aside, the outlook for real estate sales nationwide is also showing some weaknesses. Viewed regionally, July home sales in the Northeast were flat while Midwestern home sales increased by only 1.7% and remain 4.7% below the July, 2013 level. Home sale in the South did rise by 3.4% although the increases were not evenly spread across the whole region and in the West, sales climbed by only 2.6%, still 8.6% below the rate of sales in 2013.

  The S&P/Case Shiller index of 20 metropolitan areas reported in August that single-family home prices in those markets actually declined slightly in the first half of 2014. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, warned that in upcoming months, the affordability of homes will most likely decline as median household incomes continue to lag inflation and the job market, while improving, is doing so only slowly and not evenly across the nation.

  A reputable economic agency reported that across all income levels, incomes have actually lost ground to inflation in the first half of 2014. According to a Rutgers University report, 41% of those surveyed reported that they have less pay and savings now than before the recession began in 2007. Only 7% of respondents say they're better off now. Adding to the downbeat outlook, as the Fed starts allowing interest rates rise in 2015, mortgage rates will inevitably rise making home affordability an even bigger issue. None of these factors bodes well for the housing industry across the United States.

  But then there's the Sarasota Florida “Sun Coast” area including Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, and the barrier islands, Longboat, Lido, Bird and Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island. Here, you'd never know there that the housing market is facing headwinds. To date this year, Sarasota real estate sales volumes have been running at a near record breaking rate. The Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR), reported that property sales in Sarasota County reached almost the 1,000 level for the fifth straight month in July. The year-to-date pace remains at or close to the near-historic level of sales rate in 2013. August sales, while a bit slower because this is the slowest time of the year for home sales, still look healthier than they have in years.

  In Sarasota County, the median sale price for the 12-month period ending in July, a statistic that moderates the effect of monthly swings, was up 11.2% for single-family homes and up 10.6% for condos over last year; a far different scenario than one sees on a nationwide basis. The inventory of homes and condos available for purchase dropped in July by a fairly significant one month decline of 6.7% as buying keep snapping up homes. The month’s supply of inventory for single family homes stood at a 4.4 month supply and for condos only a 3.8 month supply. “The Sarasota real estate market remains a seller’s market, with low inventory and rising prices,” said SAR® President, Peter Crowley. “All the numbers point to a very healthy 2014 for Sarasota County real estate.”

  Part of the reason the Sarasota real estate market is doing so well is clearly the affluence of the area and the real estate market. A higher than normal rate of home sales here are done as all-cash transactions especially for reasonably affluent folks at or approaching retirement.

  But the affluence of the area, alone, doesn't explain why, quite the opposite of the nationwide situation, the Sarasota real estate market continues to grow at a robust rate. Clearly something else is at work here. In fact, the reason so many people of all ages and incomes choose to live, work and retire in Sarasota Florida is not difficult to understand.

  Those who love sunshine and a year-round warm climate who enjoy lounging on the beach, there are 35 miles of beaches in Sarasota County, Florida including world-famous Siesta Key with the softest, whitest sand in the world. And nowhere will you find more gorgeous sunsets to view as you sip a cocktail next to your country club or high rise condo pool than here on Florida's West Coast jewel.

  It's been said that “Sarasota offers all the amenities of a big city with the charm and casual lifestyle of a much smaller community.” With literally scores of galleries, theaters, boutique shops, casual and fine dining restaurants and entertainment venues in downtown Sarasota, at world-famous St Armands Circle and many other spots, there’s always something to do and see. There's a constant flow of public events including live music, art festivals, shows and parades.

  Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Osprey and Venice offer over 80 public, semi-public and private golf courses which will challenge every level of player and those courses are surrounded by communities of golf course homes, villas, and condos in all price ranges.

  Boaters, day-sailors, scuba divers and fishermen love the wide variety Sarasota of private docking facilities, marinas, yacht clubs and the warm, crystal clear waters of Sarasota Bay, the Gulf of Mexico the Manatee River and many smaller lakes and ponds.

  Arts and culture buffs know Sarasota as "Florida's Cultural Coast," home to the Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera, the Van Wezel and Asolo theaters, the Ringling Museum and mansion and many other local venues.

  As for housing options, Sarasota has the widest range of housing styles, prices and locations you can imagine from wonderful golf course and waterfront homes and condos, to historic neighborhoods and more than its share of Sarasota luxury homes and condos.

  And, Sarasota County offers some of the best health care, long term care, and active living facilities for seniors in the nation.

  Perhaps the question you should be asking isn’t "why is the Sarasota Florida area doing so well when other regions of the country are not", but rather "why aren't you living here? "

  My goal as your Sarasota Realtor is to help you find and buy the perfect home or condo in the Sarasota Florida real estate market in the right neighborhood at a right price with a minium of hassle and frustration. I'd be delighted to answer your questions Sarasota itself or about the homes and condos options that might best suit you in Sarasota, itself, or in next door communities of Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton, Osprey and Venice. You may wish to peruse my website dedicated to homes for sale in Sarasota Florida. For an immediate response, though, call me today at 941.266-1799

Sarasota Florida Health Care is Unsurpassed

When you’re considering where to retire, one of the important considerations you need to think about is “how good are the health care facilities and how conveniently are they located?” Certainly you will consider several other attributes of the areas you consider. But clearly, a real important one, at that point in your life, is the quantity and quality of health care services available to you, without having to travel a considerable distance.

The Sarasota Florida area is certainly already on your list of places you are considering. After all, Sarasota has been ranked more than once as “One of the Best Places to Retire.” It has also been deemed “The Best Small City in America” by Money Magazine and “The Best Place to Retire Young” by Money Magazine. Most recently, John Brady, the founder of TopRetirements.com declared Sarasota “The #1 Place to Retire.” You’ll be pleased to learn as you read this article that, with four major hospitals and medical centers, as well as many other health care services available, the Sarasota Florida area also stands above many other locales in the superiority of its health care facilities.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) stands among the largest public health care systems in Florida. SMH has a staff of over 4,000 employees and doctors plus over 1,000 volunteers. Sarasota Memorial, located at 1700 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, is a full-service health care system, with specialized expertise in heart, vascular, orthopedic, cancer, and neuroscience services, as well as a network of outpatient centers, long-term care and rehabilitation programs. The new Orthopedics Floor includes every advanced feature available to ensure patient comfort during recovery from joint and spinal procedures.

Sarasota Memorial is the only hospital in Southwest Florida named in the nation’s” Top 1% of Hospitals” for consistent clinical excellence, earning a spot on HealthGrades’ “America’s 50 Best Hospitals” list.

Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, also located in Sarasota at 5731 Bee Ridge Road, is a 168-bed acute and general care facility serving Sarasota and Manatee County with a 24/7 emergency department staffed by board certified emergency physicians.

In 2012, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota was designated as Sarasota’s first “Breast Imaging Center of Excellence” by the American College of Radiology. Doctor’s Hospital has also been named one of the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” by Thomson Reuters, a leader in information systems to improve the cost and quality of health care.

The Lakewood Ranch Medical Center (LWRMC), at 8330 Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, which opened in 2004, offers patient-focused medicine through the use of advanced technology and equipment. This 120-bed acute-care hospital has a staff of over 400 physicians and health professionals across a wide range of specialties. Next to the medical center is a 60,000 square foot Medical Office building housing primary and specialty care physicians, the Lakewood Ranch Imaging Center and the Lakewood Ranch Blood Center.

LWRMC is one of just 620 hospitals in the U.S. to have earned “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures” designation for its achievement in the areas heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical care.

In Bradenton, Manatee Memorial Hospital, at 206 Second Street East serving Bradenton and Manatee County for over 55 years, is a 319-bed acute care facility. The Manatee Heart and Vascular Center at Manatee Memorial provides a uniquely individualized approach to heart care, including assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention and evaluation. Catheterization, electrophysiology, nuclear medicine, and echocardiography services are offered in addition to a vascular care suite. Surgical services offered at Manatee Memorial include robotic surgery using the da Vinci® Surgical System.

Just north of Sarasota in Tampa, the renowned Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is located on the campus of the University of South Florida.

In addition to its major hospitals and health care facilities, Sarasota is also home to some of the most innovative approaches to aging including the nation’s first “life fulfilling community.” The Glenridge, for example, is a facility that has created a unique and distinctive approach to retirement living focused upon lifelong learning and optimum health coupled with the security of long-term care and rehabilitation services.

If you, like many others, are considering Florida as your retirement home now or at some point in the future, you should definitely give the Sarasota – Bradenton area serious consideration. Nowhere else in Florida will you find the health care facilities and options that you’ll find here in Sunny Sarasota Florida.

Acting as your Buyer’s Agent, I would be delighted to help you find the perfect home or condo in the price range you prefer. Visit my Sarasota real estate website or, for immediate answers to your questions, call me at 941.266.1799