Sarasota : Culture by the Sea

Sarasota has long been considered the cultural center of Southwest Florida. For a city its size, Sarasota has a definite cosmopolitan flair, due in part to its numerous theaters, museums, festivals, public and private art galleries, restaurants and shopping areas.

It's an eclectic town, gathering its inspiration from an international influence. Casual yet discriminating, Sarasota has managed to corner the best of everything while maintaining an outdoorsy, friendly atmosphere.

Much of the credit for Sarasota's commitment to the arts has to go to John Ringling, who first came here in 1912 while searching for a winter headquarters for his circus.

In the mid-1920's Ringling built an ornate 30-room residence complete with marble floors and wrought-iron balconies. Styling it after the Doges Palace in Venice, he named it Ca'd'Zan --House of John.

Ringling traveled the globe searching for art treasures, and built on his property a monumental gallery in which to display them. With its ornamental gardens, fountains and statuary, the gallery resembles a 15th-century Italian villa.

Today these buildings are part of the Ringling Museums complex, which is open to the public and houses a collection of more than 1,000 paintings, as well as hundreds of pieces of sculptures, furniture, coins, clocks, tapestries and musical instruments.

Among the artists represented in the Ringling's collection are such old masters as Rembrandt, Rubens, El Greco, and Gainsborough, as well as a contemporary collection that has been added since Ringling's death.

Also located in Sarasota is the Ringling School of Art and Design, which has a national reputation for training students in the visual arts. It's ranked in the top tier with Pratt, Rhode Island School of Design and some of the other schools in the country. Founded in 1931, the school is the oldest independent institution of art and design in the southeast.

In recent decades, the citizens of Sarasota have built on Ringling's foundations, adding such cultural showcases as the Van Wezel Peforming Arts Hall, an elegant setting for symphony concerts, Broadway musicals and international artists. Sarasota also has its own opera company, which employs world renowned singers, a full orchestra, and performs in its own theater.

For more natural beauty, the Selby Botanical Gardens provide room for a quiet stroll.

Golf was first introduced here in 1885, making Sarasota the birthplace of American golf. Throughout the area are 33 golf courses, including such fine courses as The Concessions, The Founder's Club, University Park Country Club, and Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club.

Sarasota is a water wonderland, offering all kinds of water recreation, including boating, water-skiing and wind surfing. It is definitely a world class paradise to savor a luxury lifestyle of the finest vintage with beautiful sunsets, rippling waters just at your doorstep. The time to come is now since tomorrow might be to late...

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
Direct Line: 1-941-232-3001

Tips for Sellers in a Buyers' Market

House prices are falling in much of the country, and more than 4 million dwellings are on the market. That's bad news for sellers, because buyers feel free to make offers and then just wait.

It's a buyer's market, but don't despair.
You can increase your chances of selling your house in a resonable time following a few good guidelines.

First play the cards you're dealt. A successful home sale begins before the house is listed, when you decide not to expect to make a killing.
All you can do in a falling market, if you have to sell, is have the bet possible product out there at the best price it should be. Not what you wish you could get, not what the neighbor got two years ago, but at the price you should get now. That's reality.

It takes discipline to face that reality. Humility, too. For many sellers, the only disappointment is that their friend, six months or a year ago, got more than they're getting. Ego gets in the way when they're trying to sell. Or a little inflexability should we say.

Second, break though your ego and inflexability by looking at the good deals that your neighbors are offering. The most important thing is to really shop the competition on the market right now. Get out in the car and spend a weekend looking at everything you can. Visit some weekend open houses. Just get a feel for what your buyers are looking at.

Third, make it a turnkey, not a turkey. The word turnkey is used in commercial real estate. It means a property is ready for immediate use. Your house has to be that way when buyers have a cornucopia of houses to choose from. You have to make it 100 percent turnkey situation. Everything has to be ready to roll, because buyers never want to buy a house that needs a lot of work unless it's an absolute bargain. You have to take away all their opportunities to say no.

Fourth, offer incentives. Besides a low price, incentives for buyers include paying discount points to lower the mortgage rate, paying closing costs or providing flexibility about the move-in date.

Consider offerring a premium to the buyer's agent. Add a half-point or a point to the commission, or give the agent a cruise or a big -screen TV. It may not cause the deal to happen, but it can just attract a little more action and make your deal stand out.

Fifth, and most important, price realistically. Don't get greedy, just because it went up to some astronomical value and it went down from there, you have to be realistic that there has been moderation in the market. It takes research, often conducted by a real estate agent, to come up with a realistic price, and discipline to abide by it. It's not enough just to throw out a figure. Using tools on sites such as Zillow, buyers can get an idea of your house market value. You and your agent can't bamboozle buyers because they have so much information about comparable house values.

In a seller's market, sellers typically ask for a 10 percent to 20 percent more than they expect to get. You don't have that luxury in a buyer's market. Normally one would suggest asking for just 3 percent to 5 percent more than you realistically expect to get. Setting an aggressive asking price attracts more prospective buyers to your door, discourages lowball offers and saves negotiating time. You'll know fairly quickly whether they're willing to meet you or not.

In a market where prices are falling, asking prices must fall, too, which is a whole new concept for sellersright now. For example, if the Smiths sold their house early this year for $700,000, you might have to ask just $695,000.

An agent has to have tact to break the news. When we tell our clients this, they think we are the mean guys.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Points of View of the U.S. Economy

"Overall, the U.S. economy seems poised to grow in coming Quarters."

—Ben Bernake
Federal Reserve Chairman

"I think there's going to be a relatively quick correction. I think we're in the process now of bottoming out in the housing market, but I don't expect it to collapse and drag the entire economy down with it like a big whirlpool."

—Brian Wesburg
Chief Economist
First Trust Advisors

I'm very worried about housing and the potential negative impact on overall economic activity... the big question for me is how will that impact consumer spending?"

—Nancy Lazar
Economist
International Stratergy & Investment

"If you go back, there have been many declines in the housing markets. Some have ended in recessions. Some have not."

—Allan Meltzer
Monetary Policy Historian
Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business

The economy has "caught a cold, or has a little case of the flu-but it's not on its deathbed."

—Peter Hooper
Chief Economist
Deutsche Bank

FACTS
Since 1920 there have been three depressions, six sharp recessions and six mild recessions in the U.S. The longest was the depression of 1929-33 which lasted 43 months. The shortest was the 1980 recession, which lasted six months.

The total value of goods and services — including income from abroad — produced per person in the U.S. is about $44,000, according to the World Bank. That ranks seventh in the world behind Luxembourg — $66,000 — and then Norway, Switzerland, Bermuda, Denmark then Iceland.

The highest recorded monthly average pump price in the U.S. was set in March 1981, when gasoline cost $3.12 a gallon in 2005 dollars.

The word "weak" was used 50 times in September Federal Reserve "beige book" — a roundup of regional economic reports — up from 40 in July, according to Merril Lynch. It was used 53 times in January 2001, two months before the last recession began.

Americans spent $1.58 trillion on medical care over the past year — the highest category of personal consumtion expenditure. Americans spent $1.37 trillion on housing and $1.27 trillion on food.

In some luxury areas, housing prices are still climbing. Home sales in Telluride ski resort area in Colorado rose 7% from last year. The average home-sale price in the Vail, Colorado, area was $840,646 in July-up 21% from a year earlier.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

How Long Will This Market Last?

As the market unfolds today, property supply increases and prices fall: That's been the trend for 110 years, since 1890. But since 1997, real home prices have increased by 90 percent. There is no economic fundamental — real income, migration,interest rates, demographics — that can explain this escalation. That means there was a speculative bubble. And now the bubble is bursting.

So how is the Sarasota market poised? I'm personally bullish on the city. I live in Sarasota, and, in the last five years, property values have increased between ±60-120 percent depending on the location of your home (mainland versus waterfront). That exaggerated price appreciation doesn't make sense.

Now there are several devolpments under construction coming to the market in the next one to three years. There's going to be a glut especially in the downtown market with so many condos .

With hundreds of new luxury units coming on the market, the question is: Who going to buy them? The Metropolitan is one development that has not met its goal. It only had 30 reservations when the developers had projected 90 reservations by now. Banks will only lend when you have 60 percent sold in the building.

There's a glut of new condos and it's getting worse. This supply will affect condo prices. A home is a home, and excess supply leads to falling prices.

It's wishful thinking to say that things are becoming more realistic. Sellers have not quite reached that point. While we don't know have hard data yet on what exactly is happening in the market, we do know that prices of homes are sluggish. Some of the price action will come in the next few months when the supply increases even further, and demand is lingering, and the national economy slows down.

Some people say that there is so much wealth here that there will always be buyers for high-end properties. That's nonsense. It's not as if there's infinite wealth. After all this is not the only city in Florida people choose. We are also competing with other parts of Florida.

People who bought years ago are lucky but that does not mean the increase in value of their home make them richer. If I were to sell my home and buy a property that has the same amenities, I would have to pay the same price. So I'm not wealthier, even though my home has gone up in value. What has happened in the past five years is that the real price of my housing service has doubled. I'm paying more to live in that home.

On a positive note there will not be a fire sale in Sarasota. I'd expect that a year from now prices may fall 20-30 percent. The ride for now is over and it will not be soft landing when you had 35-40 percent sales driven by speculators. Like many of us we do prefer people who will live in their homes. It's just like the stock market in all runs in cycles. I remember when the real estate market crashed in California back in 1990 and six years later it soared again. So we need a little patience...

The good news is what prices do in the future shouldn't matter much if you buy a place you love. And that's much easier to do now than in the past four years . So hire the best real estate agent to get that great deal.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Clubbing Around Lakewood Ranch

Lovely lakes, emerald vistas and golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer lure homebuyers east to the Country Club at Lakewood Ranch.

The gated community is comprised of neighborhoods built around 54 holes of golf: 18 at the public Legacy Golf club and 36 at the private Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club, where a handsome clubhouse offers dining, swimming, an athelic center and party rooms.

Residences range from condominiums to detached single-family homes with maintenace-free lawn service to grand estates. Bicyclists, joggers and nature lovers enjoy miles of sidewalks and trails. Nearby, the new Main Street shopping district has specialty boutiques, a barbershop, fine restaurants and a gourmet market.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Housing Prices Are Cooling Off...

Sellers are definitely blinking.

For the second month in a row, the Sarasota-Bradenton market posted a double-digit drop in median sales price.

A single -family home sold for $309,700 during August, down 11 percent drop during July. It is a sure sign that the houses that are moving in a market saturated with listings are the ones most competitively priced. The biggest mistake today is that sellers price their homes off their neighbor's home down the street. We still see a lot of overpriced listings going on the market.

Sales in The Sarasota-Bradenton have dropped 28 percent, from 1,062 to 765.

At the present clip, it would take nearly two years to sell off just the existing inventory, assuming no more homes come onto the market. So far, the listing rate has been growing at about 1,500 or each month. The current rate of sales is comparable to 2002 before the big boom of 2003-2005. We are now returning to a more traditional market.

Condominiums fared worse in terms of sales than houses, but better in terms of price in August. There has been a 55 percent drop in volume, from 454 in August 2005 to 206 last month. The median sales price dropped 14 percent from $280,000 to $240,000.

The good news is we are in a great city. People love the sun and the arts.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Ritz-Carlton Puts Sarasota on World-Class Map

Ritz Carlton Sarasota put our town on the world map for travelers for whom money is no object.

The hotel is included in the Robb Report's annual publication, which hit newstands September 5, includes just one hotel from each of almost 100 cities around the world.

This is great news for the local economy since alongside the Sarasota Ritz, the magazine lists 21 other U.S. hotels — many of them in big cities — putting Sarasota in good company.

Sarasota is definitely the place for cultural activities and is one of the best little cities to live in the USA.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Neal Communities Trends Up

Neal Communities says it exceeded its projections for August, with 18 sales in four neighborhoods.

There were four sold in Wisteria park, four sold in Forest Creek, two sold in Wexford at Lakewood Ranch, and eight at the Harborage for a total volume of $6,531,231, with an average sales price of $362,846 per home, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune (September 18, 2006 Business Weekly).

Neal's take on the housing situation was atypical of the gloom that many builders have talked about .

I say that the real reason that Pat Neal's results exceed other builders' is that he knows what the consumer likes, his products (homes) please the eye and, most of all, he stays in a price range that is close to affordable.

Neal Communities is one of the largest privately owned building and development companies in Southwest Florida.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Don't Make Selling Even More Difficult!

In this admittedly difficult real-estate market, it amazes me how many sellers put roadblocks in front of prospective buyers. For example, when sellers refuse to install a lockbox, they are making their home less accessible to potential buyers. It seems to me that, if you want to sell property, particularly in a competitive market, then you would want to make it easy for possible buyers to take a look.

For a homeowner who wants to sell, all it takes is one person who wants to buy what you've got on the market!

Lockboxes work like a padlock with a cavity inside for a key to your home. Only someone with an electronic key can open the lockbox to reach the key to your home and every access is recorded and reported.

Without a lockbox, agents representing buyers must arrange additional appointments to see your home. Since most homes for sale have lockboxes, the added inconvenience can make a big difference.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Crane Often Cited as Sarasota's Official Bird

Riffing off a recent blog written by Harold Bubil, the popular real-estate editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, I see many indications that there’s a strong pulse in the Sarasota area real-estate market. Bubil cited Bob Steiner, president of Kelly Equipment in St. Pete who said, after a slowdown, he’s getting more inquiries for cranes so the condominium market may be reviving in Florida.

Remember when we called the construction crane the mascot of Sarasota?

I do open houses several days a week for my property listings and I admit that summer has been slower than ever. Some days I would catch up on a week of Wall Street Journal issues! And my cell phone was pretty dead, too.... I’m glad to say that recently I’m seeing more guests drop by open houses and my cell phone traffic is picking up as well. While the prospective buyers may not be as plentiful as during the past season, they seem more serious about their searches. Fewer folks are looking for decorating ideas and more are looking for property to buy.

Let’s hope this trend accelerates!

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001

Traveling Makes the Heart Yearn for Sarasota

I recently returned from Europe with even more enthusiasm for the Sarasota area. No doubt I speak for most people who are fortunate to live in this paradisical region of Florida when I say that there's no place like home when home is on Florida's cultural coast with its world-class beaches and amenities.

Certainly as more people become aware of Sarasota's natural beauty, they will relocate here. I think that these newcomers will help those of us who arrived a little earlier to find better ways to meet the challenges of our growing community.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001