What “normal” means, in a market as active and in-demand as ours has been in recent years, is subject to interpretation.  But one could reasonably argue that home prices in the [...]

Recently, a distinguished panel of the industry’s top technology and marketing officers was tasked by Real Trends—a leading real estate publisher and industry analyst—with paring down a list of 750 potential winners to just one. In the end, their choice for the best real estate website in the U.S. was [...]

As recently as last spring, the Sarasota-Manatee metro area was ranked second in the nation for its large percentage of residential homes for sale paid for in cash.  But that trend—which at its peak involved two-thirds of all sales—has begun to ebb. By the second quarter of 2015, a 27% rise in local mortgage originations had propelled [...]

Rarely a week goes by that Southwest Florida doesn’t find itself in the media spotlight for some desirable aspect of its vibrant, multi-faceted lifestyle. Routinely touted for having the most beautiful beaches in the U.S., our region also receives frequent praise for its plethora of cultural and recreational choices; its world-class [...]

While inventories of existing homes and condominiums remain unusually tight in our much-in-demand market, buyers who fancy new construction currently have several superior options.  From luxury condominiums on the Gulf and bay to exciting new infill neighborhoods near downtown Sarasota and Bradenton, buyers wanting new construction [...]

Prosperity is back in bloom throughout Southwest Florida; and its reach extends to the entire Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte Counties region.  For this we can all be enormously thankful. John F. Kennedy often used the adage, “A rising tide lifts all boats,” to suggest that all members of a community benefit when their shared economy [...]

It’s official.  Millennials—or the group of individuals born between 1980 and 2000—finally outnumber Baby Boomers.   Reputedly the two largest generations in history, these two massive groups of consumers have been largely responsible for the historic run on housing that has left our region with a persistent shortage of existing [...]

A few days ago, Marci Rossell—the former chief economist for CNBC—delivered an upbeat, long-term assessment of the U.S. economy to the annual meeting of Michael Saunders & Company.   Rossell is calling 2015 the “Year of Normalization” on three important fronts:

• Labor markets have stabilized and wages are beginning to rise as
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“House flipper.”  What does the term mean to you? Regarded as real estate entrepreneurs by some, dismissed as property profiteers by others, house flippers typically purchase homes at below market value, then sell (or flip) them quickly at a profit, usually in the midst of a market with prices on the rise.    Still, as long as they [...]

While the luxury real estate market throughout the Tampa Bay region is alive and well, our southern side of the bay is doing especially well. Of the ten highest-priced home sales of 2014 in the seven-county Tampa Bay region, nine were in Sarasota County alone, with the highest sale on Siesta Key fetching nearly $12 million.  (Source:  [...]