Bradenton Real Estate Market (Finally) Normalizing; Starting To Favor Buyers

The Bradenton Herald has good news for prospective home buyers: You could be the major beneficiaries of a changing real estate market.

Compared to a year earlier, home sales dropped 34 percent in the Bradenton-Sarasota market in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The median sales price rose 30 percent to a whopping $342,700 during that time, however, keeping Bradenton-Sarasota among the five most expensive areas in Florida, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. But with more properties on the market, sellers will have to be more realistic in their pricing going forward. This is a true sign of a buyer’s market.

“Artificial prices seemed to outdistance buyers’ desires… We’re not in the frenzied market we were in a few months back,” said Richard Taylor, owner of Taylor Realty Group and president of the Manatee Association of Realtors. “Real estate is more of a longer-term picture than the numbers show.”

Manatee is still a prime destination, and while home prices and sales may taper off, local experts say the market is reasonably healthy and that Manatee County is still flush with investment opportunities. Agents have seen business pick back up since the slow fourth quarter, and some firms are using the slowdown as a good chance to get on top of their games.

“We’re using this time to catch our breath a bit and doing some extensive training,” said Dave Eckel, owner of Wagner Realty in Bradenton, who sees the lull as temporary. “It’s going to pick up - and we’re going to be prepared,” Eckel said.

Eckel’s agents have achieved success in January and February after a slow holiday season. Local experts think turn in the market has stabilized prices, and that is healthy step for the community. Floridians can only handle double-digit annual appreciation for so long. A more traditional market, in which buyers have the opportunity to take their time and make careful decisions without engaging in all-out bidding wars, should lead to legions of satisfied owners.

Statewide, despite rising Florida home loan rates and signs of slowing economic growth, homes increased 29 percent in median price to $246,300 in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The interest rates of conventional U.S. mortgages have since risen even more, and are currently averaging 6.37 percent. A decline in single-family home sales is consistent with rising Florida mortgage rates and a pause in overall U.S. growth, according to David Scott, director of the Dr. Phillips Institute for the Study of American Business Activity and professor of finance at the University of Central Florida.