All Blog Entries by Jane Ebury

SARASOTA, Fla. (August 24, 2016) - Median sale prices for condos and single family homes continue to increase in both Sarasota and Manatee County. Sarasota County single family homes are up 10.5 percent from 2015 to $242,500, while Manatee County experienced an 11.7 percent jump from 2015 to $279,250. Year over year, condo median sales prices rose 7.9 percent from 2015 to $205,000 in Sarasota and 21.9 percent to $185,250 in Manatee.

"While we continue to see a climb in median sales prices in both counties, I believe we will see this trend level off in the coming months," says Linda Formella, 2016 President of the Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Over the past year, Manatee County increased in sales from 2015, with a 0.7 percent…

As you drive around Sarasota, you can't help but notice the amount of new construction in the area.  Even the former site of the Quay is benefiting from the new "Sarasota look". 

The Scoop

The Sarasota Bayfront 20:20 project downtown encompasses the former site of the Quay which has been purchased by GreenPointe Holdings LLC and 42 acres of the Boulevard of the Arts to Payne Terminal surrounding the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and the G.WIZ building which currently stands empty. The initiative is called 20:20 for a couple of reasons; it is hoped that by the year 2020 Sarasota could see significant results and it will take focused 20:20 clear vision to see this through. For more information on the project click here

The Mark - 1400 State…

SARASOTA, Fla. (May 26, 2016) – April’s housing statistics show that our current trend is continuing as inventory of available properties rose in both counties. For single family homes in Sarasota County, inventory is up 8 percent from April last year, and up 14.2 percent in Manatee County from last year. Condo inventory is also on the rise in Sarasota County, up 25.5 percent from last year, while Manatee County experienced a 19.8 percent increase year-over-year.

The months’ supply of inventory in the two-county area remains in the range of 4.5 to 5.4 months’ inventory this year, compared to a range of 4.2 to 4.5 months at this time last year. This statistic reflects the time it would take to sell all the active listings on the market at…

It appears many people do!  And this guy is not the only one offering this elite service.

Lets go back in time to the real estate boom days when getting a mortgage was “easy”, and very little paperwork was needed to qualify. When you could refinance your home to pay off your credit card debit or use the money to buy the car you always wanted! Remember those days?   Those “good old days” resulted in 22% of loans issued in 2007 resulting in foreclosure. 

Now lets fast forward to todays real estate market and the loan process. A lot different, right?  During the real estate recession, many smaller mortgage lenders went out of business due to delinquent loans. For those that survived, they have stepped up their game, to make sure you not only can afford the loan but you can PROVE it too.

According to Forbes, not matter how much you complain…