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Posted by John Butzko on July 9, 2009
Visitors from around the world choose Englewood for its unspoiled beaches and some of the richest fishing grounds found in the Gulf of Mexico. Staffed by an exceptional team of area specialists, our Englewood office is strategically located at the intersection of Highway 776 and Beach Road, along the shores of Lemon Bay.
How’s the Market in Englewood?
According to Barbara Fendley Saputo, branch manager of Michael Saunders & Company’s Englewood office, business to date in 2009 has surpassed 2008 in the same timeframe by 27 percent. Every component necessary to make this an opportune time for a buyer is in place:
- Low interest rates
- Reasonable prices
- Favorable exchange rates for foreign buyers (more…)
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Posted by joanerni on May 21, 2009
There have been a number of articles lately addressing the union of bank owned properties and first-time homebuyers. On Friday, May 18th, RIS Media reports:
Value-conscious, first-time buyers have become key to the housing market’s recovery, and they are snapping up priced-right foreclosures despite the warts-and-all, sold-as-is condition of the properties. Half of the sales made in the year’s first quarter were to first-time buyers and almost half of all these sales were distressed properties, the National Association of Realtors reported. Distressed properties include foreclosures and short sales, which are private transactions in which a homeowner sells the property for less than the amount owed on a mortgage.
While experience shows this true to the most part – first time home buyers are the most active market for the REO’s we manage here in the Sarasota area – there is another trend that is not addressed. That is that the bank and corporate owners’ willingness in many cases to stick less stringently to marketing their properties in distressed condition. More than half of the REO properties sold by the Michael Saundes & Company REO division have had some lender required repairs made by the bank/corporate owners to facilitate a sale. (more…)
Posted by Michael Saunders on May 18, 2009
CNNMoney.com today reported that home prices across the U.S. are at their most affordable levels in 18 years:
Nearly 73% of all homes sold in the United States during the first three months of 2009 were considered affordable. That was the highest percentage ever reported by the 18-year-old Housing Opportunity Index, an analysis of markets compiled quarterly by the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo Bank.
While the article does state that the markets for new and existing home sales are still slow, they cite emerging optimism from homebuilders that the improved data – affordability, new homes sales up, pending home sales up – could indicate that the worst is behind us. Please click here for the full article.
As shown in our April Trends report last week, pending home sales for the region for April are up considerably: for Sarasota county, +18.44%; for Manatee count, +19.53%, for Charlotte county, + 16.91%.
Posted by Michael Saunders on May 7, 2009
Any seasoned Realtor will tell you that real estate markets go through cycles. No one can pinpoint the bottom of a real estate cycle but there are signs that indicate that we are on our way out of an almost 4 year decline. One such sign, as reported by the Sarasota Herald Tribune in today’s paper, states that lower priced properties are (again) seeing multiple offers. One property in Manatee county listed for $124,000 had even received 27 offers! Remarkable. Full story here.
