Sarasota Home Sales Up 18% in January

According to recent statistics release by the Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR), January 2009 pending sales jumped up nearly 18%.  Considering the current economic woes across the nation, this is good news indeed for anyone who involved in looking to buy or sell real estate in Sarasota. 

According to SAR President Bill Geller, “But we must also understand that even during downturns, opportunities exist for savvy buyers. The Sarasota market is blessed with tremendous, high quality properties, and the lower prices have made this area a goldmine of opportunity. With the guidance of a well-trained, professional local Realtor®, buyers can be assured that they will find the perfect property in today’s market environment”.

Additional input from many area Realtors indicates that a great number of their sales have involved foreclosures and short-sales.  The result of this increase in foreclosure sales has contributed greatly to bringing the median sales price for a single-family home in Sarasota down to $149,950 (January 2009).  Median home prices were $175,000 in December 2008, making for a 14% decline.

We are also seeing some signs of market correction in terms of Sarasota’s absorption rate of properties.  The absorption rate measures the number of months that it would take to sell off the entire listed inventory in specific categories for a specific period of time.  According to the Sarasota Association of Realtors, in “January 2009, the absorption rate for single family homes stood at 25.3 months, compared to 39.0 months in January 2008. For condominiums, the absorption rate was at 38.4 months in January 2009, substantially lower than the 52.0 months reported in January 2008.”  What this means is that we are seeing a shrinking inventory – increased sales and decreased listings. For certain, we are still in a buyer’s market; but this is a good sign that the market has made significant leaps in correcting itself.

All of the available data indicates that there are some fantastic opportunities to purchase a home in Sarasota at some of the lowest prices in a decade.  Add to this, the extremely low interest rates and this is a great time to buy and invest in real estate in Sarasota.

Ricardo “Ric” Ruiz del Vizo

Licensed Real Estate Agent,

Foreclosure Specialist, and

Buyer’s Representative.

Coffey & Company Realty

Sarasota, Florida

www.SarasotaForeclosuresNow.com

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