View to the future

Our team recently took on several builder and private listings in the Terra Ceia Bay Club.

I very much enjoy this area. No, not just because we got the listings. But because this is truly a remarkable community.

Nestled just away from downtown Palmetto this is a gated community with a golf course right on Terra Ceia Bay.

It features some of the premier nature trails in our area.

From the condo complex you have views of Terra Ceia Bay, Tampa Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, Anna Maria Island, Egmont Key, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

And those incredible sunsets.

OK, we had a boom and then a bust in real estate. But real estate prices overall have climbed over the past 10 years. Take out the boom and bust and a lot of people did pretty good.

The reason I mention this is clients asking if buying now is right.

Here is what I see, beautiful sunsets in a golf course community with brand new units, low interest rates and units not costing millions for a million dollar view.

The answer is right there in front of you.

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

Figure this

If you are a home owner in the Manatee and Sarasota area contemplating about selling your property start asking yourself some of these questions.

Why do I want to sell?

Are you being transferred, can you no longer financially afford this primary residence or second home, do you have some other pressing need to get the home sold.

If yes then call an agent and start the ball rolling.

If you are waiting for prices to recover then you may be waiting for prices to recover you may be waiting for three to five more years.

Ask yourself can afford to hold on to the home for three to five years until prices to recover? And by recovery I mean pre boom pricing think 2003-2004 pricing.

If you want to put the your home the market at the price you bought it for at the peak and not lose money that is not reality.

Selling now for many homeowners means at best breaking even if they bought within the last five or six years.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Willians On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Yep, they're here

Last month I talked about the incoming Snowbirds.

Last week one of the local papers talked about the droves of Snowbirds arriving early in the Bradenton/Sarasota area.

Restaurant owners were talking about seeing numbers that they have not seen in years coming back early and starting to spend.

Our phones have started to ring with a lot more regularity with northerners inquiring about homes.

Offers are coming in a lot faster with seasonal residents looking to grab the best deals before others come down and scoop them up.

The season has started early and strong.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Water wonders

I love being around the water. I love being in the warm Gulf of Mexico waters or sailing on top of them.

There is nothing like watching a sunset over the gulf, lets say from Marina Jack, while sitting in the cockpit of a boat.

One of the greatest reasons to live in this area is we are surrounded by the magnificent wonder that is the Gulf of Mexico.

Living in Sarasota or Bradenton you are minutes away from walking by it on the beach or a sidewalk.

The soothing effects of it cannot be underestimated. It one of the reasons we live here.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Foreclosures up or down

I read two articles from two different local newspapers today covering the Sarasota/Manatee market.

One article talked about how the recent moratorium by some lenders on foreclosures really hit the market while the other espoused it was just a blip.

The reality is that foreclosure sales are going to be a major influence on our market for the next several months if not the next several years.

If all the foreclosures and short sales went away tomorrow it would still mean pricing in the market place would take months to get back up to the level it was a few years ago.

And that just isn't going to happen.

Our pricing is basically flat. Until the backlog of foreclosues and short sales are swallowed up by consumers it will likely stay that way.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

It probably won't get much better than this

If I were to gaze into a crystal ball into the future and see people looking back on this time here is what I think I would see.

I would see a bunch of people who bought homes over the next couple of months thinking how they were so smart to buy in a market where interest rates were historicially low and prices were the same.

I would probably see some people who say bought that fanatastic beach front home on Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key or Siesta Key for instance bragging to friends about what a great deal they got.

Then I woud probably see a bunch of other looking back going why didn't I buy then. They could be thinking they are in a market where the cycle is going up, prices are rising and mortgage rates are higher and their buying power is less.

If you view the current market as too volatile and wait and wait well you might miss the opportunity literally of a lifetime and be looking back going I could have had that great deal.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

What the future may hold

Currently there are just over 2,860 single family homes listed in Manatee County.

Two years ago that would have been more than 4,200.

Last year it would have been around the same number as this year.

In Sarasota there are 3,980.

Two years ago that number would have been more than 6,100.

Last year it would have been around the same as this year.

What we are seeing is a leveling out of inventory in the market place.

Think of it this way. Instead of drowning in a market of single family homes for sale we appear to be keeping our head just slightly above water.

The next step could be a further drop in inventory. Combine that with a drop in foreclosures and short sales and you might start to see the beginning of prices going up.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams On the Water
941.931.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

No need to stress on distress

There have been a number of news items lately that may have shaken a few potential home buyers and sellers in the Manatee/Sarasota housing market.

Most of those items concern foreclosures and short sales.

Anecdotally let me tell you what I have seen.

Homes are still being foreclosed on and foreclosed homes are still being sold.

Short sale homes we appear to have a bit more movement toward shortening up the time period to sell them.

I had one that closed within 60 days no fuss. Another that we got a response from the lender within a week.

Yes there are still many lenders who take weeks or even months to respond to offers on short sales and thankfully that seems to be declining.

Foreclosed homes. Well the listings are still coming in and the foreclosed homes and land are still coming on the market.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

The distress sale market

For Sarasota and Manatee distress sales continue to drive the market.

Short sales (homes being sold for less than the lender/lenders of record owes) and foreclosures (homes the lender has already taken back) will likely be a predominate player in this market place for several years to come.

As of this writing there are 4835 single family homes actively for sale according to the Mid Florida Regional Multiple Listing service. Of those 2005 are distress property sales.

In the past 30 days there have been 577 single family homes sales with 319 of those being distress property sales. Either foreclosures or short sales.

Equity sellers. Those selling homes who have equity in their homes are competing against all those distress sales.

Until the backlog of thousands of distress sales in the Manatee and Sarasota market is cleared up it appears the market will stay flat as far as home prices go.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.931.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Why we live here

Our community from Venice to Snead Island is a wonder of beauty.

Sarasota just finished with the Chalk Festival where artists put their talents to putting dozens of fantastic creations on the streets of the Burns Court area.

Nearby others walked along the sidewalks on Sarasota Bay and enjoyed the view of boats in Marina Jack.

It is no wonder the condominiums that surround the downtown core have such great value.

Million dollar views. Great restaurants and shops. Wonderous festivals.

Downtown Sarasota offers the discerning condominium shopper a lot of opportunity to enjoy a very fullfilling lifestyle.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Snowbirds are arriving. Time for selling.

There are a number of homeowners in the Sarasota and Manatee market place thinking of selling during the upcoming snowbird season.

The annual trek of our northern neighbors brings a large number of potential buyers to our market.

What potential sellers need to know is if you are going to sell your home you need to start getting it on the market now.

By the time you get the listing done, the home ready for showings, photos etc. You are getting probably looking at early to late December at this point.

Most buyers find their homes on the internet. They are searching now for the homes they will want to see when they got here.

If your home isn't already up and running on one of the major search engines you need to start getting it on there right now.

As a home seller if you wait you are letting the home sellers take the lead.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Realtor
Keller Williams On the Water
941.932.6343
greg@teamworksfla.com
www.teamworksfla.com

Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back.

See the license plate from Michigan.

The next one from New York.

Another one from Tennessee.

Ontario.

Quebec.

Say welcome back to the snowbirds.

This may turn out to be a banner year for home sales in the Manatee/Sarasota area and the only way that is going to happen is with a large influx of home buying northerners.

Here is what can make this so great. Interest rates are at a historic low so the buying power is way up for qualified home buyers.

Prices for homes are still down which makes buying a second home or retirement in the area very affordable.

So welcome back snowbirds!

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