According to the 2007 Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index, Sarasota is an affordable housing market. (more…)

Hank Fishkind, noted Orlando economist, recently described the Southwest Florida condominium market as “Ugly, ugly.” (more…)

After a year’s worth of reports about the Florida real estate slump, the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office released what sounded like surprising news Thursday:

Property values are up. Significantly. (more…)

The Manatee County housing market continued to be among Florida’s most expensive in 2005, even less affordable than Sarasota County, the Bradenton Herald reports.

(more…)

Different houses, in different locations throughout Manatee County, with different owners, all had one thing in common: They officially fell into foreclosure Monday, continuing a record-setting surge.

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Florida mortgage demand is slowing and home sales are way down. But that hasn’t swayed a local real estate brokerage, which is growing by 14 real estate agents.

(more…)

A state House council Wednesday supported a measure to keep property taxes low for some Florida homeowners, earning praise from Manatee County leaders trying to offer more affordable housing in the area.

Rep. Keith Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota), pushed his bill - which may greatly help those in need of affordable Florida mortgage loan financing - through the Government Efficiency and Accountability Council by unanimous vote.

The proposal would ensure that homes built on community land trusts, which are designed to provide permanent low-cost housing, are not subject to the kind of rising property taxes plaguing other state homeowners.

When moving into homes set up by a community land trust, people are buying only the building with their Florida mortgages, not the land. The houses are relatively inexpensive, but to make sure they stay that way, the land trust limits how much owners can ask for them if they move.

Fitzgerald’s bill creates a framework for taxing the land-trust homes at rates reflecting that resale limit, instead of their fair market value.

By keeping the homes’ property tax rates low, Fitzgerald said, his proposal would pave the way for more Floridians to become homeowners.

“Working people, young people, people on fixed incomes are having a very difficult time finding places to live, and it affects the entire economy,” Fitzgerald said.

The Manatee Chamber of Commerce is also backing new affordable housing measures, hoping they can help attract workers wary of home costs in the Southwest Florida housing market.

As of December, the median price for a Manatee County home was more than $240,000, said Robert Bartz, president of the chamber. At the same time, the median household income for the county hovers just under $45,000.

“To us, that’s a very sad state,” he said.

Chamber officials have been keeping in touch with the area’s legislative delegation to make affordable housing a top priority, Bartz said.

“I think whatever they’re doing in Tallahassee right now, it’s admirable,” he said.

Fitzgerald’s bill, which has a companion measure in the Senate, has to be heard in one more council before reaching the House floor.

“It’s a big challenge,” Fitzgerald said. “Anything we can do to help them keep housing stock in the affordable category is very important.”

What’s next?

The bill has to clear the House Policy and Budget Council before it can be heard by the entire House. A similar Senate bill must then advance through the Senate’s committees on Community Affairs, Finance and Tax and General Government Appropriations. The Senate bill is still waiting to be heard for the first time.

Hopefully, this measure achieves success and will allow for greater Florida mortgage affordability for residents of Southwest Florida.

SOURCE: Bradenton Herald

Condo buyers are getting a warm welcome these days with 2,246 condos actively listed for sale in the Manatee County housing market.

A caveat might be: If you’re selling Florida condos, you’d better have them competitively priced or they won’t sell, according to developers and real estate sales agents.

“Builders are putting the brakes on, not pushing forward with more to be built, working hard to get rid of their inventory,” said Patrick McGuire, sales manager and broker associate at Buccaneer Realty, based in Bradenton. “Some are not willing to do new contracts until they’ve sold all those in the pipeline.”

Some are offering hefty incentives, such as larger commissions for sales agents, decreased interest rates for buyers and even closing costs thrown in, he said.

But whether condos are selling or not also depends on the project.

“It’s really location-specific. There’s some complexes that seem to be doing well, others seem to be somewhat stagnant,” McGuire explained.

At Palma Sola Bay Club, developer Evelyn Treworgy said sales are “looking very promising.” Her firm has sold three or four over the last five weeks or so. The 201 units, which sell for $429,000 and up, are set to go up at 3400 75th St. W.

“We’re really happy with our price points and our product,” Treworgy said.

Although potential Florida mortgage borrowers are not looking in droves, the ones that do turn up are highly-qualified people who have done their homework, she said. “We’re looking for an incredible April,” she added.

Conversely, a Florida home loan broker who sells waterfront condos and single- family homes on Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key was unenthused Monday about the market.

“All of the listings are coming down in price. They’re not even moving even though they’re coming down,” said Phillip Saadi, a broker for First in Real Estate, based in New Tampa. “Why? I don’t know.”

The 2,246 condos actively listed for sale in Manatee County represent a dollar volume of $806 million based on numbers McGuire pulled from the Manatee Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service.

The average number of days a condo remained on the market was 131 days, with the median price at $258,150, he said. The least expensive condo was selling for $49,500 and the most expensive was listed at $3.49 million, McGuire said.

One of the more high-profile condo projects in Bradenton is the Riverpark Grande Condominiums, 309 10th St. W. The project involves 40 units, part of a $15 million renovation of the historic 1920s-era former Riverpark Hotel.

A sales launch event March 8 drew more than 200 brokers and Realtors, according to Valentina Pippen,  broker associate of Sky Sotheby’s International Realty.

“They’re very excited about the project, it’s really a one-of-a-kind,” she said. However, because the developer is still putting together the finishing details, she has not yet begun to sell any of the condos, she said.

“It’s up to the developer,” Pippen said. “I imagine it will be the beginning part of April.”

SOURCE: The Bradenton Herald

Good luck.

Finding an apartment in one of the rental communities in Manatee County is becoming an increasingly difficult task, the Bradenton Herald reports.

The occupancy of developments with 50 or more units was 97.38 percent during the third quarter of 2006, recent research shows.

“The whole Florida rental market is doing better than ever,” said Michael Slater, president of Triad Research & Consulting.

Since the first quarter of 1998, Manatee County’s occupancy rate hasn’t fallen below 95 percent. Triad Research & Consulting tracks the number of rental communities with 50 or more units in Manatee County. As of the third quarter, there were 54 developments that met that criteria.

There are 10,981 rental units available in those 54 developments, an increase of almost 2,000 units since 2000. In those six years, Manatee County has grown considerably, along with the rest of the Florida population. An estimated 10,805 people moved to Manatee County in that time period.

From just mid-2004 to mid-2005, the population of Manatee County grew by almost one person per rental unit, according the U.S. Census Bureau.

Several other contributing factors have led to the increases in rentals.

While at first, skyrocketing price tags on homes priced many first-time buyers out of the market, condo conversions also took a chunk out of the number of units available for rent.

The slowdown in residential construction is also a factor. While Florida mortgage costs remain modest, the area’s home prices have shot up so far that the demand for home purchases has waned considerably this year. In turn, many builders are content to sit tight.

As demand for rentals throughout the Sunshine State remains solid, 2006 has shown the demand for buying homes doesn’t have the same stability. Now, investors who got stuck with homes they can’t sell have turned to renting them out in order to make the Florida home mortgage loan payments.

“We’re flooded with homes that have been taken out of the sales pool,” said Sharone Martinelli of Wagner Realty.

Much like those who listed their homes as the Southwest Florida housing market settled, some people who have turned to leasing their properties instead set unrealistic expectations in 2006.

• Historically, investors have been able to get about 1 percent of the home’s value as a monthly rent. Now home owners are lucky to get a half percent.
• For instance, a $300,000 property that might have fetched $3,000 a month in rent is now lucky to get $1,500 a month.
• Of course, owners are better off taking $1,500 a month this year in a tepid rental market than not seeing any income from the property at all.

However, some homeowners’ expectations are what is holding people back from renting them. A young couple could buy something for $2,000 a month, and although it might not be the same size as what they could rent for the same price, they would be building home equity and investing in their future.

That didn’t stop the number of rentals from soaring as many waited for prices to fall to levels within their price range. When residential properties start moving at a more normal pace, rent will escalate as well, experts believe.

That, coupled with the fact that Florida home loans will also climb when sales start to pick back up, will hopefully be enough catalysts to bring new buyers to the table. The early arrival of cold weather in the North has brought some of the seasonal visitors back a little early. While some purchased second homes during the boom, many are content to rent.

In Manatee County, home sales are marching to their own drummer, compared to much of the rest of the state and country, the Bradenton Herald says.

Nationally, the median price for new homes was $217,100 in September, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. That’s a 9.7 percent drop from Sept. 2005, the lowest median home price in two years, and the sharpest year-over-year decline since December 1970.

Manatee’s home sales in September offer a distinct contrast to the national figures. Home prices continued to climb, according to a collection of numbers released by the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office.

“Unless there is a downturn in the last three months, annual appreciation for 2006 will be between 12-14 percent, or comparable to levels in 2003,” Dale Friedley of the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office said in a statement earlier this month.

Annual numbers through September show an appreciation of home costs at about 11.2 percent, with condo appreciation right behind at 9.8 percent.

“We are basically a $1 million market, and I don’t think it’s going to go backwards,” said Mark P. Riley of Mark P. Riley Luxury Real Estate Group.

The median price in Manatee County in September was $309,000, according to the property appraiser’s office. Some Manatee builders continue to offer incentives to encourage people to purchase, including little to no money down Florida mortgages, cars and other amenities.

In contrast to local new home prices, which are holding steady, the median prices of existing home sales fell statewide in Florida in September. The median home price fell 1 percent in September in the Sunshine State, while the number of sales fell 34 percent, according to Florida Association of Realtors data.

Sales figures for Manatee County were not available, but Sarasota County reported a 16 percent decline in median price to $290,000. Manatee and Sarasota share the same Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The often-drastic and highly-debated slowdown in the housing market follows an extended boom in which the lowest Florida mortgage rates in four decades powered sales of both new and existing homes to records for five straight years, helping support the state’s economy.

Analysts say further price declines are probable for both new and existing homes, even as Florida mortgage loan costs remain relatively low.