Manatee's home prices, sales tumble
Today's Herald newspaper ran the following front page article about our Bradenton - Sarasota real estate market.
MANATEE - The Bradenton-Sarasota market saw existing average home prices plunge almost $65,000 in October from the same month last year, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
Bradenton-Sarasota's median existing home price fell to $277,900, down 18 percent from the $340,700 median in 2005. That median price is the lowest it has been since December 2004.
While the sales of existing homes nationwide saw their first gain in eight months, sales throughout Florida remained much lower than where they were last year.
Statewide, single-family home sales fell 22 percent, year-to-year, while home sales in Bradenton-Sarasota fell 24 percent.
Statewide, 10 other markets experienced more substantial slumps in sales than Bradenton-Sarasota, with the largest fall - 35 percent - in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market.
Unlike in Bradenton-Sarasota, the prices in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area stayed level with those of last year.
While the numbers would make it seem as though if prices are falling fast and furiously, that really isn't an accurate depiction of what is really happening, said Scott Sosso, broker/owner of Prudential Palms Realty.
In a high-inventory market, those forced to sell their house often have to price their home below market value in order to set it apart from the other product.
"Prices are still steady; no one has lost value unless they were in a position where they had to sell their house," Sosso said.
Condominiums continued a steeper descent in both sales and prices, with Manatee-Sarasota sales down 51 percent from last October and prices down an average of $78,000.
Condo sales statewide fared far worse than single-family home sales, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
National Association of Realtors officials said the constant fluctuation of the last few months throughout the United States may be coming to an end throughout the United States.
Local agents have found more traffic through October and November than in the previous months, but Marty Garcia, team leader at Keller Williams Realty of Manatee, said it could be difficult to predict what December holds.
Historically, December is a quiet month in real estate with the distraction of the holidays and the travel that sometimes accompanies them. Many are more concerned with buying gifts for loved ones than buying houses.
"Your activity may be down in December, but the people who are looking then are usually serious buyers," said Leland Wallace of Keller Williams Realty of Manatee.
A home listed at a realistic price and easily accessible to interested buyers is a good way to sell a home, but existing homes aren't the only bargains out there as 2006 draws to a close, Sosso said.
He and his agents are keeping an eye on new developments where many builders are trying to sell inventory homes that are at or near completion.
Sosso said one of his agents recently helped a client close on a new home that came to about half of the listing price due to the number of incentives the builder was offering.
Existing home sales are expected to stay at their current level next year, National Association of Realtors chief economist David Lereah said in a press release. If that is the case, 2006 is likely to go down as the third strongest sales year on record nationally.
Sosso expects sales in 2007 will pick up and increase about 10 percent to 15 percent over the final numbers of 2006.
"We've got to get this inventory off the market, and there is still demand here," Sosso said.
Source: The Herald
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Bradenton Real Estate
MANATEE - The Bradenton-Sarasota market saw existing average home prices plunge almost $65,000 in October from the same month last year, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
Bradenton-Sarasota's median existing home price fell to $277,900, down 18 percent from the $340,700 median in 2005. That median price is the lowest it has been since December 2004.
While the sales of existing homes nationwide saw their first gain in eight months, sales throughout Florida remained much lower than where they were last year.
Statewide, single-family home sales fell 22 percent, year-to-year, while home sales in Bradenton-Sarasota fell 24 percent.
Statewide, 10 other markets experienced more substantial slumps in sales than Bradenton-Sarasota, with the largest fall - 35 percent - in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market.
Unlike in Bradenton-Sarasota, the prices in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area stayed level with those of last year.
While the numbers would make it seem as though if prices are falling fast and furiously, that really isn't an accurate depiction of what is really happening, said Scott Sosso, broker/owner of Prudential Palms Realty.
In a high-inventory market, those forced to sell their house often have to price their home below market value in order to set it apart from the other product.
"Prices are still steady; no one has lost value unless they were in a position where they had to sell their house," Sosso said.
Condominiums continued a steeper descent in both sales and prices, with Manatee-Sarasota sales down 51 percent from last October and prices down an average of $78,000.
Condo sales statewide fared far worse than single-family home sales, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
National Association of Realtors officials said the constant fluctuation of the last few months throughout the United States may be coming to an end throughout the United States.
Local agents have found more traffic through October and November than in the previous months, but Marty Garcia, team leader at Keller Williams Realty of Manatee, said it could be difficult to predict what December holds.
Historically, December is a quiet month in real estate with the distraction of the holidays and the travel that sometimes accompanies them. Many are more concerned with buying gifts for loved ones than buying houses.
"Your activity may be down in December, but the people who are looking then are usually serious buyers," said Leland Wallace of Keller Williams Realty of Manatee.
A home listed at a realistic price and easily accessible to interested buyers is a good way to sell a home, but existing homes aren't the only bargains out there as 2006 draws to a close, Sosso said.
He and his agents are keeping an eye on new developments where many builders are trying to sell inventory homes that are at or near completion.
Sosso said one of his agents recently helped a client close on a new home that came to about half of the listing price due to the number of incentives the builder was offering.
Existing home sales are expected to stay at their current level next year, National Association of Realtors chief economist David Lereah said in a press release. If that is the case, 2006 is likely to go down as the third strongest sales year on record nationally.
Sosso expects sales in 2007 will pick up and increase about 10 percent to 15 percent over the final numbers of 2006.
"We've got to get this inventory off the market, and there is still demand here," Sosso said.
Source: The Herald
===============
Bradenton Real Estate
posted by Dan Forbes at
8:33 AM
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