Residential home sales in the Sarasota - Bradenton real
estate markets continue to exhibit strength as we enter 2014. 11,184 homes and condos were sold in the
Sarasota market during 2013, the second highest total ever since sales have
been tracked. And if current trends
continue, it looks as though 2014 will be an even bigger year.
Sarasota Association of Realtors President Peter Crowley
reported that “December was a great month for Sarasota real estate. Many of our
seasonal residents and visitors have turned their attention to buying." This is
attributed by some to recent news of higher mortgage rates coming in 2014 while others have suggested that the huge
improvement in the stock market in 2013 has made more people willing and able
to consider buying a second home in the Sarasota area.
Existing homes are selling well all
over the Sarasota and Bradenton market. In
the huge 17,000 acre Lakewood Ranch cdevelopment, home sales were particularly
strong in Central Park, Country Club East, and in the all-new active-adult
community, Esplanade. Interestingly, of the 573 homes sold in 2013 nearly 350 of them were newly-built
homes. The lack of enough existing homes
for sale has led builders to get aggressive lately in buying up lots and raw
land to meet the expected continued high level of demand for homes in 2014.
Existing luxury homes and condos on
Sarasota’s barrier islands were also being bought at a rapid pace as 2013 closed out. The recovery in the luxury homes
category is occurring predominantly in the $500,000 to $2 million categories
where sales increased in 2013 over 2012 by nearly 40%. Homes and condos in
the $750,000 to $1 million range saw the biggest gains while above the $2
million price, sales continued to be stalled with a few outstanding
exceptions.
In addition to the continued high level of sales in the existing
homes market, there has been a noticeable spurt in new construction just about
everywhere lots and open land are available. Builders and developers spent more than $60 million buying nearly 1,250 acres of raw land and 294 building lots from Bradenton and
Lakewood Ranch to Punta Gorda just in the month of December. Builders buying up land locally include all the major players including Neal Homes, Taylor
Morrison, DR Horton, Ashton Woods and others.
The demand for new homes is not limited to average priced
homes. "And," says Dick Plumb, a respected local Realtor who sells a lot of Bradenton homes for sale, "the demand for homes
is not limited to downtown Sarasota hi-rise and Longboat and Siesta Key condos. Homes in Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch are also selling well."
New homes are in demand
and being built everywhere including luxury homes, for example, in The Lake Club in Lakewood Ranch. "Back in 2006, when that gated,
Tuscan-inspired community opened," Plumb said, "its 10 opulent, estate-sized model homes
carried price tags of $3.5 to $8.0 million, but, during the housing slump of
2008 to 2010 activity slowed to a crawl. But, that has all now
changed. Of the 34
new-construction homes sold in The Lake
Club in 2012 the average price was over $1.2 million. And today,
there are 28 more ultra-luxury
homes in the 7,000+ square foot range being built in The Lake Club, but
not as spec homes; all of them are
already sold."
With all this new demand, Pat Neal of Neal Homes, was quoted as
saying “Land prices are going up. The prices of drywall, framing
labor and concrete have also been going up. And, pretty soon home prices will
be going up too.”
In summary, 2014 looks to be a record breaking year
for Sarasota Florida real estate sales, and with the cost of everything from the land
to labor and materials rising, if you’ve been thinking about buying a home here
on the Sarasota Sun Coast, you need to contact a Realtor like Dick Plumb now and get
involved. The bargain prices of
yesterday are largely gone but there is still time to buy that home or condo of
your dreams before prices rise much further.
If you are in the market for a homes for sale in Sarasota, a golf course condo or a waterfront home or condo, call Dick today at 941.266.2512. He would be delighted to answer your
questions and offer suggestions on where to best meet your needs and desires
for a home or condo here in the sunny Sarasota Florida area.
