If you’ve paid as close attention as I do to the Sarasota real estate market, you may have noticed the reappearance of an incredible phenomenon here in Sarasota – the open house. The amount of time that a property has been on the market has gone from maybe minutes or hours to at least a couple of days – allowing a slightly longer window for potential buyers to consider a property. And here on Longboat Key this Sunday, at this gulf front estate at 3475 Gulf of Mexico Drive, there will be just that- an open house!!
I don’t know how long this phenomenon may last. The month of September, which is hot and humid, is typically a little quieter real estate-wise. There are still less than a thousand properties for sale currently in the entirety of Sarasota County. With car carriers and early snowbirds now returning, we definitely feel there’s more momentum back in the market as we transition from September to October. In fact, just yesterday a beachfront condo was listed on Lido, and we just received notice that it is the highest and best offer situation with all offers due today at 5 pm.
Our list of clients looking to buy property in Sarasota is robust and growing. Most Sarasota property owners are not transitioning to sellers as many haven’t found a suitable location outside Sarasota — because they like being here.
I can only hypothesize that there MAY be another natural wave of potential sellers when BAYSO – the 149 residence condo currently under construction in The Quay in downtown Sarasota – is ready for occupancy in the 2nd half of 2023. I have to qualify this with sharing that we don’t actually know how many of those buying into this new construction project are locals vs how many are first time Sarasota property owners.
Let’s review the numbers for the 3rd quarter of 2021:
- Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2020 sales are down 8.8%. I attribute this to low inventory- there are just not enough of the right choices for the buyers circulating. And homeowners don’t want to become sellers because they don’t know where they could go.
- The luxury market (properties listed for 1M or above) saw an increase of 25% to the same period a year ago.
- The distressed market is negligible. This is because there is a tremendous amount of equity that’s been created in properties, as well as a lot of government programs due to the pandemic.
- 70% of our market is under $500k. This portion has shrunk over time.
Buying or Selling in this market takes a certain finesse. We are committed to providing you with an extraordinary and fully customized level of service to successfully navigate this unique real estate market, please give me a call @ 941.587.0740.
