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Sarasota Real Estate and Community News Blog 
U.S. HOME PRICES HIT SIX-MONTH HIGH!
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 1:55pm. 112 Views, 0 Comments.
According to an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, home prices rose for the sixth month in November, fueled by tax credits for home buyers.
December prices in Sarasota-Bradenton real estate market were up 5 percent from a year ago and up 4.6 percent from November. The median -- the midpoint between the highest and lowest price -- was $167,400 during December.
Rising prices are important to the economic recovery because they make homeowners feel wealthier and lead them to spend more money. Price increases also help restore home equity for the one-in-three homeowners who currently owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
The tax credit for first-time homebuyers had been scheduled to end Nov. 30, but Congress extended the deadline…
SARASOTA/BRADENTON AIRPORT TERMINAL COULD GET A MAJOR RENOVATION!
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 1:54pm. 80 Views, 0 Comments.
According to the Herald Tribune, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport officials plan to spend as much as $22 million to rehabilitate and update the airport's terminal building. The Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority began planning for the upcoming renovation work Tuesday, choosing an overall design scheme featuring terrazzo flooring instead of one using tile. The board debated and left deeper questions unresolved, such as whether the project will be done all at once or in phases; who would design the project; and exactly how it would be paid.
The terminal, which opened in October 1989, now has carpeting that is worn in places, outdated ceiling tiles and a lighting system that is energy inefficient, said Rick Piccolo, SRQ's president and chief…
COULD COSTCO BE COMING TO SARASOTA?
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 2:39pm. 562 Views, 0 Comments.
According to an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, Costco Wholesale Corp. is exploring opening a members discount club in Westfield Sarasota Square Mall, using space Dillard's department store abandoned last year. If the Issaquah, Wash.-based retailer's plans reach fruition, the store would be Costco's only Southwest Florida location. Its next closest stores are in Brandon and Clearwater, according to its Web site.
For Westfield, landing Costco -- the nation's fifth-largest retailer with more than $70 billion in annual sales -- would fill a critical hole. After Dillard's left Sarasota Square amid anemic sales, Westfield acquired the department store's 8201 S. Tamiami Trail space. Westfield officials declined to confirm whether Costco had struck a…
WONDERING WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR FROST-DAMAGED LANDSCAPING IN SARASOTA?
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 2:38pm. 239 Views, 0 Comments.
According to an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, no matter how brown and ugly your landscaping looks after this record-breaking freeze, horticulture experts recommend keeping the pruning shears shelved until spring.
Here are a few tips from Patricia Porchey, urban agriculture extension agent for Sarasota County. Porchey has been growing plants in her Southgate yard for about 12 years.
Q: What should people do now that the freeze is over?
A: "Don't do anything but look," she said. The winter has just begun and more than likely the cold days are not over.
"No matter how ugly it is, you have to get through these two months," Porchey said. "If you prune right now, all those exposed areas that you just now pruned become more vulnerable to cold…
SARASOTA REAL ESTATE PENDINGS BETTER THAN NATION!
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 2:28pm. 98 Views, 0 Comments.
Southwest Florida does not appear to be as hard hit as other parts of the nation regarding pending real estate sales.
Statistics from the Sarasota Association of Realtors show 793 pending sales during November in the territory the organization covers. That was only down 5.48 percent from 839 in October, but roughly flat with 799 in September and it was considerably above November 2008 when there were only 504 pending sales.
That is in comparison to the national statistics from the National Association of Realtors that said its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements fell 16 percent from October to a November reading of 96. It was the first decline following nine straight months of gains and the lowest reading since June.
"Some experts had…
NEW MAJOR THOROUGHFARE IN SARASOTA COMING SOON!
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 10:17am. 166 Views, 0 Comments.
According to an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, fifteen months from now, motorists will be able to travel from University Parkway to State Road 681 on a single road - Honore Avenue.
Work is expected to start this week on the second-to-last segment of Honore Avenue, from Palmer Ranch to S.R. 681. When completed in early 2011, Honore will be just 3.7 miles short of becoming the long-awaited third thoroughfare that would stretch from the north end into southern Sarasota County.
Justin Powell, vice president of Palmer Ranch Holdings, would not be surprised if the final segment were done even before 2012.
Building its segment of the road will open up 900 acres of Palmer Ranch property to future development, Powell said. While there is no development…
STIMULUS MONEY & LOW INTEREST RATES SPUR GROWTH IN COMPANIES IN SARASOTA FL.
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 1:53pm. 154 Views, 0 Comments.
According to an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, a fast-growing local Internet firm plans to add at least 105 jobs in the Sarasota area with help from a federal stimulus program.
Two other companies also will borrow money at low interest rates under the federal economic recovery program. One of them, a planned Hilton Garden Inn in Nokomis, stalled during the recession but became viable again because of the low rates.
The three projects account for 165 jobs and $23 million of the $28 million made available to Sarasota County in federal recovery zone bonds. Besides the permanent jobs, the projects are expected to create hundreds of temporary construction jobs. Statewide, businesses that would not usually have access to this cheap source of money are…
THIS IS THE TIME TO BUY AND SELL REAL ESTATE! EXTENDED HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT INFO!
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 1:52pm. 126 Views, 0 Comments.
Looking to buy or sell in the Sarasota real estate market? Hopefully, the extended home buyer tax credit will help may people buy the homes that they have been dreaming about. As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that:
- Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.
- Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, as long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to…
PENDING HOME SALES RISE FOR NINTH STRAIGHT MONTH!
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 2:23pm. 164 Views, 0 Comments.
According to an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the number of home buyers who signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose for the ninth straight month as buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time owners before its original expiration at the end of November.
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose 3.7 percent from September 2009 to October 2009. It was the highest reading since March 2006 and almost 32% above a year ago.
The Sarasota real estate market has seen pending sales hover at the 800 level for 3 of 10 months this year.
Last month, Congress extended and expanded a tax credit that helped boost sales during the summer. Buyers who have owned…
OCTOBER 2009 HOME SALES UP 50 PERCENT IN THE SARASOTA REAL ESTATE MARKET!
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 9:30am. 96 Views, 0 Comments.
According to an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, during October ,2009, buyers in the Sarasota real estate market feasted on distressed properties and other homes that had undergone big price cuts, driving sales up 50 percent.
The months-long extension of the tax credit -- which now includes $6,500 for existing homeowners looking to buy a new primary residence will help the Sarasota real estate market move. The credit is helping properties up north sell, allowing baby boomers to leave Michigan, Illinois, New York and other key states that drive the Sarasota real estate industry.
Prices suffered in all the activity, though the median in the Sarasota real estate remains $10,500, or 7.3 percent, above the low point of 2009 -- a median of $144,000…
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