New Year Wish List

It may be a little late but here is my wish list for Manatee and Sarasota real estate for 2010.

Lenders need to cut through the red tape and start make a real push to keep people in their homes. Yes, this may mean they have to right down the value of the mortgage but in the long run it might be much cheaper than having to foreclose.

Lenders need to cut through the red tape and get the short sale process down to a couple of months. Some are getting there but many of the financial institutions are still taking at least three to five months if not more to give a yea or nay on a short sale.

Let the stabilization trend continue. Prices have started to hit a rock bottom. If we can keep this trend going maybe home owners may even see a little rise in prices by the end of the year.

Last but not least let everyone in the real estate market realize we live in a beautiful community in Manatee and Sarasota we can believe in. A positive mindset can set all things we wish for in motion.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com
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A tale of two communities

If you are looking around Palmetto, Parrish, Bradenton and Sarasota you might think that short sales and foreclosures have taken over the market.

Not so.

The distress sales do make up almost half of recent sales but by a thin margin regular equity sellers still make up the more than 50 percent of the home sales in these areas.

You will also find that often some areas have been hit much harder than others.

For example River Plantation in Parrish was pretty hard hit by foreclosures and short sales. It was a bargain hunters paradise.

Not to far up the road on the other hand River Woods has very few distress sales and a healthy number of homes being sold.

One of the major differences is River Woods has a number of home sellers who bought before the real estate boom and didn't use their home as a check book via credit lines.

That means that homes can be sold at current market value and the homeowners still can walk away with a reasonable amount of return on their investment.

River Plantation is a relatively new community where the homeowners may have been stretched with their mortgage payments or may have been hoping to sell their homes quickly to make a profit.

The market turn around meant a number of the homes in River Plantation ended up as short sale or going back to lenders and on the market as foreclosures.

You can see this same situation all over Manatee and Sarasota counties. One community is hit hard by the turnaround and a similar one not far away can be relatively unscathed.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

The shifting market

The bargain finders coming Manatee and Sarasota are quickly finding out what looks like a steal often is not.

The vast majority of buyers these days find their selection of homes on the Internet.

Often they will see homes that look great with amazing prices on the web and then come here to find out the homes that the location is no where near where they wanted to be.

As the old axiom goes. If it seems to good to be true... (it probably isn't).

Think of this, Manatee and Sarasota for the most part are coastal communities, with white sand beaches and all the amenities. The land values reflect that.

Some buyers get sticker shock when they see a home under 200k that they thought would be one of those great bargains.

Yes, it is a bargain these days because the same home cost twice that much a few years ago during the real estate boom.

It is probably safe to say you are not going to get a beach front mansion or even across the road from the beach for under 200k in this area any time soon or in the near future.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Waterfront wonders

Again in our area from Palmetto to Sarasota Bay waterfront is hot, hot, hot again.

It seems a day doesn't go by when someone is asking about purchasing a waterfront home.

If you are in the hunt for waterfront here a couple of things to consider in Manatee and Sarasota counties.

If your dream home is on a canal find out the depth of the canal.

Canals fill in over time. So that dream yacht you might want to dock behind your home you may only be able to get in our out during high tide.

Ask your agent specific questions about the water in the area you are buying.

You may find the area has a lot of shoals before you can maneuver to open water or a marked channel.

If the home is on open water check to make sure there is a channel that in front that will handle your boat depth. Open water doesn't necessarily mean deep water.

Boating can be great fun around here and a little research can help you get the best out of it.

All the best
Greg Owens P.A.
Keller Williams On The Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com