house prices (Miami, Orlando, Sarasota: appointed, real estate, condo) - Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area - Florida (FL) -Manatee and Sarasota Counties - City-Data Forum

oopsydaisy · 05-30-2010, 01:55 PM

WHY is Sarasota so expensive?

Thanks!

gettinoutofjersey · 05-30-2010, 02:19 PM

i have only lived here full time for a couple months, but my guess would be the basic supply and demand. same reason manhattan is so expensive. i for one would not want to live in either because of the expense and also the congestion. sarasota is much better than ny as far as traffic but it is still more than i care to deal with, especially in season. and while i dont care for the "city" life it is obvious alot do.

Karen and Jim · 05-30-2010, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gettinoutofjersey

i have only lived here full time for a couple months, but my guess would be the basic supply and demand. same reason manhattan is so expensive. i for one would not want to live in either because of the expense and also the congestion. sarasota is much better than ny as far as traffic but it is still more than i care to deal with, especially in season. and while i dont care for the "city" life it is obvious alot do.

I couldn't have said it BETTER, Gettinoutofjersey! You're so smart!

oopsydaisy · 05-30-2010, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gettinoutofjersey

i have only lived here full time for a couple months, but my guess would be the basic supply and demand. same reason manhattan is so expensive. i for one would not want to live in either because of the expense and also the congestion. Sarasota is much better than ny as far as traffic but it is still more than i care to deal with, especially in season. and while i dont care for the "city" life it is obvious alot do.

I'm not complaining, I'm just curious. I've been looking all over Florida for areas to live in and I've found the west coast to be more expensive than the east coast. Yet I feel as though the east coast is newer and has better house deals. (Boca, Jupiter, Miami, Coral Gables, Palm Beach Gardens)

I'm going to visit the Sarasota area in a few weeks. I'm so curious as to what the differences are.

I'm afraid though, since I like places like Miami, NYC, Scottsdale, AZ, San Diego, Palm Beach Gardens, Denver, etc., that I'll be disappointed. However, other than the lack of high end retail shopping, your area sure looks pretty! And everyone has such wonderful things to say about it. I can't help but wonder if I don't visit that I'll be missing something. So it's on my list.

The only downer for me is the lack of professional sports. I love basketball and not having a team nearby to root for is disappointing.

angelfish · 05-30-2010, 03:48 PM

Where are you coming from that you think it is expensive here in Sarasota? The only high end retail we are lacking is a Nordstrom or Barney's and Nordstrom is a confirmed tenant at the new University Park Mall. What particular high end retail were you looking for?

Yes, your right, as far as Basketball you have Orlando or Miami and that is a downer for a b-ball fan but Orlando is a little over a 2 hour drive so not deadly to go see a game. We've done it. I have a lot of friends who go over to the parks for a day as well but I am not into doing that.

oopsydaisy · 05-30-2010, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelfish

Where are you coming from that you think it is expensive here in Sarasota? The only high end retail we are lacking is a Nordstrom or Barney's and Nordstrom is a confirmed tenant at the new University Park Mall. What particular high end retail were you looking for?

Yes, your right, as far as Basketball you have Orlando or Miami and that is a downer for a b-ball fan but Orlando is a little over a 2 hour drive so not deadly to go see a game. We've done it. I have a lot of friends who go over to the parks for a day as well but I am not into doing that.

Thanks for your speedy reply! I know there is a Saks around town somewhere. I was thinking Neiman's, Barney's, etc. A frined of mine is a VP at Nordstrom Corporate and she said that Nordstrom may not be coming into Sarasota any time soon, even though Benderson says they will (within ten years).

I'm really surprised that there are not a ton of high end shops in Sarasota considering the price of real estate. I'm coming from the DC area. Sterling.

When I mentioned the real estate prices, I wasn't insinuating that the homes weren't wonderful, they are, it's just that the seem to be a bit more expensive than in other areas of Florida I've looked at. I'm not sure what the average price per square foot is, but it seems like more.

I'm really excited to get down there and discover the area! I've heard so much about the beaches and sunsets and the great restaurants along the beaches.

Are there particular areas I absoutely must see?

We'll never drive two or so hours to see a game, that's just too far. And as far a Disney, we go every year for work so I'm good in that department!

As a side note-- any amusement or water parks around?

Rushmore · 05-30-2010, 09:10 PM

There's plenty of "high-end retail" available. It's just not all in malls, thankfully.

As for the real estate prices, I guess I have arrived here via the most expensive areas of the country (NY, SF, Stamford CT., DC, Balt), because as far as I am concerned, what you get for the money here in Sarasota is amazing.

For what I paid for my spacious house here, seven minutes from the greatest beaches in the country, with a screened-in pool and fifteen palm trees in my big green yard, I would have gotten a one-bedroom condo in most cities I have lived.

And not much of one, really.

Don't compare Sarasota to Miami or Boca...it's apples and oranges.

Blue717 · 05-30-2010, 09:18 PM

Did you ever think of the Ocala area? Low cost of living. Orlando about 1 1/2 hours away. East coast about 2 hours, west coast not even an hour. And plenty of open space.

Randy Schweitzer · 05-30-2010, 10:24 PM

SRQ real estate price/sf. One can buy newer homes for under $100/sf if not to close to the water. Resale homes are now less expensive than new in many areas.

gettinoutofjersey · 05-31-2010, 03:01 PM

sarasota or what? what it really comes down to is the lifestyle that you choose to live. no one can say one is bad or one is good. comes down to choice. obviously a lot of people like the sarasota, more city type of style or it would be a ghost town and would be cheap. and when it comes to the question as to why sarasota is expensive i think the question is, expensive compared to what. before moving down here we lived the expensive lifestyle. big house (5100 sq ft) filled with alot of stuff we didnt need. due to an unfortunate circumstance we ended selling that and moving down here to a second home we owned. we thought we were happy but now we are realizing what happy is. we live with in walking distance to the beach in a much smaller house (1800 sq ft), our screened lanai and pool area is larger. best advice i could give is make sure of what your priorities are that make you happy. a lot of people think they are happy and are playing the keeping up with the joneses game, so then that means you and the joneses are not happy. you just think you are.