Posts Tagged ‘manatee’
Posted by Michael Saunders on June 23, 2009
NAR’s report for May shows a nationwide uptick in the sale of existing homes and sited favorable affordability conditions and the first time buyer tax credit as the primary reasons:
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million units in May from a downwardly revised level of 4.66 million units in April, but remained 3.6 percent below the 4.95 million-unit pace in May 2008.
Read the full article here.
It is encouraging to see the continued trend – the first nationwide back-to-back monthly gain since September 2005 – and Michael Saunders & Company recently posted our own area trend report for Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Unfortunately, month to month reports only tell a piece of the story. (more…)
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Posted by Michael Saunders on May 19, 2009
Much of the Michael Saunders & Company Reinvent Yourself 09 conference held last week pushed the notion that the fundamentals of the real estate industry, specifically the way we market property is and will be changing drastically over the near future. In fact if there is a bright spot to the housing and economic turmoil it is that it forces these changes to happen all the quicker: in the same way that higher fuel costs prompt more efficient vehicles, the evolved real estate agent is now leaner and smarter when it comes to marketing your home.
Out, are the single property advetisements in the newspapers and magazines – a quick appeasement for a seller, and not much else. Why would a potential home buyer wait until Sunday to look at one property in the newspaper when they can get instant gratification and look at all available properties on the market at once on the web?
In, are the targeted effects of social networking, otherwise known as the larest ongoing cocktail party on earth. Facebook, with over 275 million active users, now has a population greater than the 4th largest country on earth and is trailing only China, India and the United States in citizens. Bob Corcoran of Corcoran Consulting Inc. outlines some great techniques in a recent article on his website: (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%.
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Posted by Michael Saunders on May 12, 2009
Headlines of an article posted online today from the Sarasota Herald Tribune website…
“Sarasota-Bradenton Posts Nation’s 7th Biggest Home Price Drop”
…and what good news it could be for the homebuyer!
Let’s take a closer look at some other “dropping” statistics, but positive ones. In April of 2008, Trendgraphix reported that Sarasota County had a 14.6 month supply of inventory based on current listings and pending properties. April of 2009 showed a drop of that number to a 7 month inventory or a 52% “drop.” What does this mean? It means that buyer confidence in the local real estate market is returning. It means that buyers are moving off that fence. They are taking advantage of pricing that is correcting itself from the runaway inflation of years like 2005 where the annual appreciation of homes exceeded 30% due to a lack of inventory and frenzied investor buying. This is the statistic that we need to be creating the buzz about. This change in inventory is a positive trend that every prospective buyer should know and heed. It is a true sign of a market that is in the process of a healthy correction. (more…)
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Posted by Michael Saunders on May 12, 2009
SARASOTA, Florida—(May, 2009)—“To see these positive trends solidify is an encouraging sign,” said Michael Saunders—founder and CEO of Michael Saunders & Company—referring to the latest TRENDGRAPHIX report on residential real estate sales for Southwest Florida, which shows a strong April following a stronger March; both of which were substantially higher than a respectable February. TRENDGRAPHIX gathers current and historical data from the region’s MLS to produce detailed monthly reports based on actual closed and pending sales.
“We’re by no means out of the woods,” Saunders cautioned. “Buyers are cherry-picking their way through best-priced properties in every price range; but especially those under $350,000. We’re starting to see improved sales in the $350,000 and $1.5 million range; but sales in the $1.5 million and up range remain something of a challenge for all but the most aggressively priced properties. Those that are priced aggressively are selling faster, as evidenced by recent record-breaking sales on Bird Key, in The Oaks and at the Ritz-Carlton, where properties were sold for $4.75 million, $3.175 million and $3.3 million respectively. The common threads uniting these properties are aggressive pricing and the seller’s willingness to negotiate down the stretch.” (more…)
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Posted by Michael Saunders on May 8, 2009
Working your way to the top of the industry is no easy task. Keeping yourself firmly planted in the summit requires a constant drive to enhance your skills and educate yourself on both the demands of market and your clients to stay ahead of the competition.
With this in mind, we at Michael Saunders & Company provide our agents with the educational resources needed to help ensure they are performing at the high level expected by their customers. On Thursday, May 14, our agents are invited to attend the company’s most valuable educational event, where some of the highest-regarded speakers in the real estate industry will present business-enhancing information exclusively to Michael Saunders & Company agents.
Michael Saunders, founder and CEO of the company, opens the event, followed by Matthew Ferrara-a driving force in real estate technology innovation-and Steve Harney-author and sought-after speaker on producing top results in real estate. Additionally, the event includes two Breakout Sessions. The first of which, titled Social Networking, Exploring Your Friendly Future, is moderated by the company’s director of interactive marketing, Matthew Haber. This session is directed by experts from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Michael Saunders & Company, and AtLarge, Inc., to share their experience with today’s most popular networking web sites and how they can benefit our agents.
(more…)
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.
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Posted by Michael Saunders on May 6, 2009
With all the chatter about the difficulties in today’s market, it would seem highly unlikely that anyone could achieve a feat of success and record-breaking significance. However, it is with much delight that we announce the recent momentous sale courtesy of the determined, market savvy Deborah Beacham of our South Longboat Key office. Along with the final closing signatures for the expansive waterfront property she represented at 552 S. Spoonbill Drive on Bird Key, Deborah earned recognition for Sarasota’s highest sale thus far in 2009. At a sold price of $4.75 million, this Bird Key property sits atop the growing mountain of Sarasota area sales we are processing, with many more sure to follow. Congratulations, Deborah!
In researching the true magnitude of this sale, we reflect on the area’s other top highest sales this year in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Each of which, we should mention, have included either the representation or buyer locating of a Michael Saunders & Company agent.
The absolute top sale in Sarasota and Manatee counties thus far for 2009 was sold by Christina Landry of our St. Armands Circle office. This property, located at 5871 Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key (in Manatee county), sold for an impressive $7.125 million. (more…)
Posted by Michael Saunders on May 4, 2009
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported today that their Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose from February to March by 3.2%. This is positive news indicating that potentially, more sales will close in April, further reducing inventory and bringing the overall market to a healthier cycle. Full story here. The report attributes several factors including the near record high of the Housing Affordability Index – which compares the connections between housing prices, mortgage rates and family income – and the ability of first-time buyers (or someone who has not owned a home in the past 3 years) to receive an $8000 tax credit. Even better for our area, regionally, the South outperformed the nation with an increase of 8.5% on the PHSI.
A few weeks ago we reported on the reduction of inventories for closed sales and their impressive 39-month lows. Pending home sales tell a slightly different story and attempt to forecast the future by predicting what will happen if everything comes together as hoped. The following numbers are based off of Trendgraphix data for the Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte county markets and are on a different scale from the PHSI:
Sarasota County Pending Home Sales:
Mar 2009: 1089 (+25%)
Feb 2009: 866
Manatee County Pending Home Sales:
Mar 2009: 602 (+19%)
Feb 2009: 505
Charlotte County Pending Home Sales:
Mar 2009: 579 (+42%)
Feb 2009: 363
A few more months like these are exactly what homeowners and the housing industry needs to correct their course. Keep an eye out next week when we get and analyze our local real estate statistics for April.
Posted by Michael Saunders on May 1, 2009
Two more early indications of a healthier real estate market for the Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties is an increase in activity from our appointment center and on our website, michaelsaunders.com.
The MS&C appointment center, which sets up property showings between other area company’s agents and their buyers and listings represented by Michael Saunders & Company experienced an increased call rate of 30% for the first four months of 2009 (compared to the same period in 2008). Even more promising is that the call rate grew as the year progressed, with a 34% rise in April. More remarkable is the fact that the volume of calls are at levels exceeding any experienced in the company’s history – including the peak selling years of 2004 and 2005.
Likewise, web traffic to michaelsaunders.com rose 37% for the first four months of 2009 over the same period last year. We also saw a big increase of international traffic to the site. Our top visitors outside of the United States came from: Canada up 23%, United Kingdom up 18%, Germany up 26%, Netherlands up 72%, France up 11% and Switzerland up 25%.
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