Sunday, September 28, 2008

There really is no place like home

Recently I took a trip to Vancouver B.C.

I went via Seattle.

I looked around and realized there really is no place like home in Manatee County.

What I saw was there is nothing compared to the beaches around Anna Maria Island or the small town atmosphere of downtown Palmetto or the beauty of the Manatee River in the morning sunlight as I drive to work.

Both Seattle and Vancouver are friendly places and don't get me wrong and I'm enjoying my visit and the change of scenery.

Yep, Washington State may have mountains, British Columbia tall trees, but I'll take the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico any day of the week.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Inventory is sliding downwards

Gut instinct is one thing. Facts and trends are another.

A combination of both helps keep the astute buyer's on top of the market.

That being said the latest market report from Trendsgraphix is out for Manatee County home sales.

Taking a broader view there is an interesting trend. The amount of single family homes on the market for resale is slowly declining.

During the height of the market at around May of 2005 there was a 2.2 month supply of homes for sale with 1,400 houses for sale. An extremely strong sellers market.

Rocket ahead to January of 2007 and there was 8,700 houses on the market and more than 37 month supply based on closed sales.

Now in August of this year there are 4,708 single family homes on the market with just slightly over a 20 month supply based on closed sales.

It is still a strong buyer's market but the trend is definitely downward. If the trend continues we will be closer to a neutral (five to seven months of inventory) by this time next year.

What it means for the home buyer is prices could start inching upwards by the end of next year as the supply tightens up.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Tropical sunsets are for everyone

A few of the restuarants along the Gulf of Mexio on Anna Maria Island have a sunset ceremony.

They bang a gong or give away something to the person who guesses the time when the sun goes down.

I just never get tired of watching the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.

Some people are fortunate enough that they can see the sunset unobstructed from their backyard or condominium balcony.

Others can just sit out on the old bridge in Palmetto right beside business 41. They can watch it from the Riverside Cafe or Mattison's across the Manatee River.

Whenever I feel a little overwhelmed I just watch that sundown and the beauty of it makes everything worthwhile.

There may be a thousand different reasons people continue to flock to our community and that sunset is probably high on the list.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

They're back....

August I must say was not my busiest month for selling real estate.

Now the kick off of the Labor Day weekend it was a whole other story.

The e-mails are coming in, people are logging in to our Web site, they are calling off our signs, clients are booking flights to get down here and look at houses.

Did someone turn the spigot on? If so I would like to personally thank them.

I took a client out on the weekend to see houses in the Palmetto, Parrish area in Manatee County.

Your typical three to four bedroom two car garage with a pool kind of stuff under $250k.

A couple of months ago you couldn't go down a block without find one in great shape at a good price.

Out of the 10 that we targeted, five had gone under contract.

Only a couple of the remaining five were anywhere close to being well priced, well maintained and in a desirable location.

Yes, there is lots of inventory out there. The lesson is that the inventory in the well priced well maintained category is not so abundant.

And if this past weekend is any indication we are beginning a whole new season.

Let the buying begin.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com