Is the Sarasota/Nokomis/Venice single-family housing market beginning to cool off? (Laurel: for sale, real estate market)

[hardworkpaysoff]

Just wondering what others think the single family housing market will look like in the coming 1-2 years in the Sarasota/Nokomis/Venice area? The prices appear to have risen a lot these last few years, is another downturn coming?

[craigiri]

I don't see a downturn but then again I don't see it skyrocketing.
I think it's really going to be a matter of location,location,location.
Since new construction is so inexpensive and land (inland) is plentiful, any increases will likely be due to the lack of supply close to downtowns, the bay and the ocean.

I see no reason for prices - other than close in - to rise much more than inflation and perhaps a little with increases in building materials and labor.

[Sunshine Rules]

You've heard the phrase all real estate markets are local. We also have markets within markets. So home prices in one zip code may be appreciating faster than prices in another zip code within a few miles of each other. Inventory in south Sarasota differs from inventory in east Sarasota, or West of Trail, or north Sarasota. Homes in the best rated school districts trend towards higher prices than homes in lesser school districts.

For example, single family homes priced under $250,000 and condos priced under $150,000 the inventory of available properties is very low, especially properties in "move in" condition.

I have noticed since the first of this year that many of the area home builders in the upper $200's to $400k price range are now offering various incentives to both buyers AND real estate agents on spec inventory. I've seen offers of $10,000 incentives to buyers, $5000 bonuses to agents among the offers. So that would indicate the explosion of new construction in both Manatee and Sarasota counties is now reaching somewhat of a saturation point, at least for the moment. Builders do not offer incentives when sales are brisk.

Of the "experts" on FL real estate, many people seek out the opinions of Jack McCabe. He accurately predicted the housing bubble crisis in the mid 2000's here in FL. Last report I read by him stated that he expects the increase in supply in certain sectors to flatten out prices and make the market more balanced between buyers and sellers.

All of the reports I've read in the past few months indicate we on the SW FL coast can expect to see prices continue to increase, but probably not at the pace seen in the past 3 years. Stats provided by various data bases to our MLS also show similar trends.

That being said, housing markets can and do react to external events such as 9-11, Wall Street market crashes, even events happening in other countries as we get quite a few foreign buyers here on the Sun Coast. So while experts can predict what will happen into the future, it's all still guessing.

[MidModUSA]

As someone who has been stalking the Sarasota real estate listings for two years now, I am seeing a definite stabilization in prices and maybe even a flattening. Not really a decline in Sarasota proper, though. There are some areas in the metro area that I have noticed what appears to be a slight decline. Quite a bit of global turmoil right now so thinking it may be some pull back from international buyers. West of Trail and Siesta Key areas still seem very strong! As some one who is eager to buy, I'm hoping for a bit of a decline. Don't want to wish this on those already invested, though!

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Isnt is seasonal also. I was told to sell in the Winter and buy in the Summer

[bbronston]

It is somewhat seasonal but only somewhat. I've had the feeling that things have been cooling off since December. That doesn't mean there was a bubble, it doesn't mean we are going down. What it does mean is that inventory started climbing as buyers started to get more picky or just refused to commit. In my mind, I think we are leveling off but you have to consider where we came from to get to this point. Last year was a phenomenal year for sales and prices so a leveling off compared to last year is still pretty special. A move from a sellers market to a balanced market is a good thing.

[hardworkpaysoff]

How are prices in the Nokomis area (east of the trail) doing in relation to more near Sarasota?

Are Nokomis flood insurance rates now much more expensive thus leading to price declines or more people selling?

[dpbarr2000]

Flood insurance will not be a major factor in our real estate market. Nokomis pretty much follows Sarasota as far as prices. East of the Trail in Nokomis can be the home of a lot of waterfront property.

[hardworkpaysoff]

east of the trail, waterfront property?

schools good in Nokomis?

Originally Posted by dpbarr2000

Flood insurance will not be a major factor in our real estate market. Nokomis pretty much follows Sarasota as far as prices. East of the Trail in Nokomis can be the home of a lot of waterfront property.

[loves2read]

Laurel-Nokomis is very strong