NEWSarasota

Good News on the Home Front:

Members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors continued to sell properties at a brisk pace in June

1. The current trend has been the strongest since 2005
2. There were 728 total sales in June (vs 796 in May), marking the fourth month in the last 12 with sales above 700.
3. There were 510 single family homes sold, and 218 condominiums
4. Property inventory dropped from 5,010 to 4,830. Contrast that number with April 2007, when there were 17,089 properties on the market!
5. The estimated "days on the market", or time needed to sell has also declined: it now takes an estimated 5.9 nonths to sell a single family home, and 8.2 months to sell a condominium. The 6 month level is the point that represents equilibrium in the market- at this point there is more competition among buyers, and that can cause prices to escalate.
6. Pending sales dropped to 754, down from 841 in May. There were 1,208 pending sales in March of this year, the highest in 6 years

Our Job Market is Up!

• The bad news: Southwest Florida's unemployment rate, 10.3% in May, remains higher than the national average
• The good news: Since the start of 2011, the three county area of Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota has added on average almost 1,000 jobs each month

Interest Rates are Up and Down

• The 30 year fixed mortgage rate increased to 4.79 percent earlier this week, then fell to 4.51 percent. 
• The 15 year fixed rate increased to 3.9 percent, then fell to 3.65 percent.
• The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was in November, 2008

A Great Place to do Business is  . . . Florida!

In its seventh annual report, Chief Executive magazine ranked Florida number three in its list of best states to do business, up from number six in 2010.  More than 500 CEOs considered a wide range of criteria, from taxation and regulation to workforce quality and living environment. 

Who Wants to Buy a Home? 

Most Americans (72 percent of renters surveyed) still believe that owning a home is a solid financial decision, and a majority aspire to home-ownership as a long-term goal.  They cite the following obstacles to their goal:

• Having enough down payment
• Closing costs
• Confidence in job security

Renters were adamantly against eliminating the mortgage interest deduction. Two thirds of all Americans oppose elimintating the MID; 73 percent believe that eliminating it will have a negative impact on the housing market and the overall economy.

Try Thinking Outside the Box 

Housing experts at CNNMoney say that underpricing a home by 10 percent may help sell it faster.  While sellers may lose out on thousands from the sale, they could save thousands in carrying costs for all the months it remains on the market. Bonus: underpricing may result in more than one buyer making a bid, and this kind of competition can drive up the sale price. 

Parking Trouble in Paradise 

In January 2011, the Sarasota City Commission approved a plan to have 600 parking meters installed in areas of downtown at a cost of $510,000. Once the meters were up and running, turns out they weren't always running.  Dirt and dibris in the air are jamming them so they stop working; then the user gets a ticket because they didn't realize it was broken.  Another problem is that they are way too tricky to use- they are overly complicated and confusing for consumers.  Finally, business owners claim the meters are driving away customers.

Ultimately something had to give!  The Commission voted to suspend the program at least until October. What happens then is anybody's guess.

A Glam New Grocery Store 

The new $8.1 million, 45,00 square foot Publix supermarket is coming to the South Trail (close to the old high school, on the site of the former Herald Tribune).  The 2 story building will contain parking on the ground floor and retail space above.  To enter, shoppers will use a double-wide elevator or an escalator with a shopping cart conveyor.

Row Row Row Your Boat?  Not Here!

In case you haven't heard, Governor Rick Scott vetoed $5 million that the Legislature appropriated for the Nathan Benderson Park Olympic Facility in Sarasota. Did you know:

• There is currently no Olympic-size rowing facility in the U.S. and only nine in the world
• A local rowing facility would draw Olympic hopefulls from across North America
• The last time Nathan Benderson Park hosted the Florida Scholastic Rowing Championship in April 2009, the closest Publix sold out of bread
• The Super Target was stripped of its supply of lawn chairs, blankets, beach umbrellas and coolers
• Hotels within a 5 mile radius sold out
• Restaurants were jammed
• In all, roughly 15,000 athletes, relatives and spectators sank an estimated $1.76 million into the local economy 

Beachy Keen!

Gulf Temperature: 84 degrees F

Heat Index: 96 degrees F