North Port, FL (Clearwater: houses, to buy, construction)

[kmtjss]

Sarasota in general is nice. The problem here is the job market is bad. It's going to get worse before it gets better. Theres a town called Nokomis that seems to have a lot to offer and close to everything. Homes are still with in reason and the schools are decent. You seem to get a good amount of property for your dollar. Osprey is decent and Venice you pay way too much for your dollar. $400 K for a 2 bedroom is way too much with high taxes to boot. Manatee is also a nice area. Downtown Sarasota is nice and is a busy city. I have friends who live in Englewood that love it and you can't beat the prices for the homes. Cape Coral is a lttle more south but you can buy a nice home for your money and your about 20 minutes from Ft Myers that has a lot of work. The house are the same as North Port. My nephew goes to Cape Coral high and loves the school.

[kellycoffin]

life is certainly better here than michigan, however if you are moving here you have to slow down. michigan driver's will need alot of patience here. ive been to detroit and warren (my husband is from there) also, the taxes on a $200,000 home in Sarasota county (northport is sarasota county) is between 1,800.00-2,100.00 per year. HO insurance is 1,700.00 yr. if you escrow it will be 300.00 monthly for both, not much better than mich. anyway answer to your other question, the homes here at 166,000 are brand new homes not mobile or pre fab. they are block homes well built, you do not want to live in a mobile or prefab with hurricanes at your back door from june til nov. eating out is cheap, grocery stores are not. jobs are geared toward service such as your trade, however be prepared to wait 6 months to be interviewed, something I can not figure out. get a resume' and walk in and hand it to the owner and smile. I love NorthPort, I moved here from Sarasota 2 years ago. Sarasota has everything it is is close, so live in northport and visit sarasota often.

[jdber94]

Originally Posted by fernanbev

was thinking about relocating to np, but i am 2nd thinking according to your post. what are the better areas of sarasota county? thanks

Check it out for yourself and don't place that much weight on what you read here. Here is some info gathered and presented at a monthly meeting I attend in the area......may be worth a read.




MARKET UPDATES & SUMMARY


A. Market Obstacles


1. Turmoil continues in Sub Prime Market and rising rates for Jumbo Loans

2. Pre foreclosure and foreclosures continuing to grow

3. Builders inventory still significant

4. Insurance and Property Tax are still issues


B. Market Positives:

1. City of North Port continues to grow at great strides—Many new projects:

Lowe’s, Target, Panera Bread, office buildings-Peter Shipps,

TheCommons, new restaurants etc.

2. Builders Inventories getting reduced – they are very competitively priced-

There are new homes that are being built and also priced less – Adams

3000 sq. ft. at $210,000 – Holiday $99,000 plus lot. Long term this is a

positive for our City


3. Sellers making concessions on pricing and being more proactive-Good

long term

4. Interest rates are still historically low, 6 5/8% - 7%

5. Fed has increased liquidity to banks and has lower Prime Rate, 50 basis

points. Possibly more to come!!!

6. Referendum is coming on tax reform in January. Some help is better than

None

7 By my unscientific evaluation we are at 24 months of housing slump-

Usually signifying bottom on close.

8. Job market still remains solid. Some weakness’ have shown, construction

and housing related but small business is picking up the slack. County

unemployment still below National average

9. Increased interest on lots and over 50% increase in sales vs July. Also,

units are equal to Junes closed sales

10. Majority of homes sold are newer homes-Very valuable in attracting more

residents to our area



Conclusion:

Supply still exceeds demand, however, as prices continue to be pressured,

inventory will be absorbed forcing new builders to bring to market more

competitive houses. With interest rates still very good it truly makes

sense to be buying. Pre foreclosures will be absorbed and also give value

to our area. Builders have stated their traffic has seen a spike and with

new building starting to slightly increase, we hopefully are witnessing a

positive future market.

[121804]

You stated some great points...but, people need jobs [not Panera or Target]. If there were a stronger higher wage market in Sarasota & Fort Myers, then there would be the draw into North Port. A family isn't going to move to North Port b/c of Panera's or Lowes. That can be found anywhere.

The same homes at the same cost can be found throughout the state. SW FL needs to get some professional growth if it wants to see any upturn. But, SW FL isn't known for professionals...it's known for retirees. That stigma has to change.

[Sarasota_Blues]

Originally Posted by 121804

You stated some great points...but, people need jobs [not Panera or Target]. If there were a stronger higher wage market in Sarasota & Fort Myers, then there would be the draw into North Port. A family isn't going to move to North Port b/c of Panera's or Lowes. That can be found anywhere.

The same homes at the same cost can be found throughout the state. SW FL needs to get some professional growth if it wants to see any upturn. But, SW FL isn't known for professionals...it's known for retirees. That stigma has to change.

Actually, it's because there isn't a stronger, higher wage market in Sarasota & Fort Myers, is why places like North Port are attracting people the way it is. If Sarasota had a higher wage market, more people would look to purchase a home in Sarasota, and NOT North Port.

Personally, I don't see much of anything appealing in North Port, except how much home you can purchase there for the money. I prefer a busier, more bustling city, that has many more amenities (arts, theater, tons of restaurants, shopping, short commute, etc.), all within a few minutes drive of my house. From North Port, it takes 40 minutes of I-75 driving just to get to Sarasota. North Port is like a desolate community that sprung-up on the edge of the Everglades, with all the ambiance of living in the Everglades.

I work for a company in Sarasota, that by Sarasota standards pays a fairly good wage. However, at least 4 families in my department who purchased homes within the last few years, ALL purchased in North Port. Another fellow I know is looking in North Port too,...not because North Port is such a wonderful place to live, but because North Port is one of the few places left where you can buy a house there that is commensurate with SW Florida wages.

The fact is, if people could afford to live in Sarasota, most people would probably choose to live in Sarasota!

[jdber94]

Originally Posted by Sarasota_Blues

The fact is, if people could afford to live in Sarasota, most people would probably choose to live in Sarasota!

True, but if North Port was not an option Sarasota's unemployment rate would be significantly higher. I'd guess 20 to 25% of the new home buyers (ages 25 to 45) that work in Sarasota considered North Port because of prices and new schools.

BTW I drove by the second middle school (under construction) in North Port last week. This school will be start of the art. The second high school will be breaking ground in the near future.

[mastech]

I've lived in North Port for 7 years now. I grew up in Sarasota and moved to North Port because of land and housing prices. Ive met alot of people from Sarasota that moved here for the same reason. I really like it and I'm a Floridian at heart.
Our house has increase in value way over 200% in 7 years and we started a new business when we moved here. It is a great place to start a small business. Our business has grown extremely fast in the short time we've been here. Ive noticed it slowing down a little, but not much. I would recommend coming down and having a look for yourself. I'm sure i'll be here the rest of my life. Its home sweet home......

[Audacious]

This from another thread regarding housing prices in Tampa but I thought it should be here as well.




I gotta agree with Jimboy. Excellent post. I am not familiar with the Tampa RE market but know North Port very well. The epicenter of the crash was North Port and since 2005 housing prices have dropped by about 35%. They appear to be at the bottom as there have been fewer price reductions in the last month or two.
Properly priced houses, 35% off of 2005 values, are selling in under 90 days. Overpriced stuff still languishes. The excess inventory is slowly being whittled away. Housing starts in the area have fallen to almost zero. New construction, 1200 to 1400 SF could be purchased for 150K to 160K in the beginning of the year. Thay same house is now 180K to 200K Plenty of inventory is till there and this is definitely still a buyers market but those are very interesting trends. What do they mean??? Who knows my crystal ball is still a little fuzzy on all this but I do know that you will not recognize the bottom until it has already passed.

[Sarasota_Blues]

Originally Posted by mastech

I've lived in North Port for 7 years now. I grew up in Sarasota and moved to North Port because of land and housing prices. Ive met alot of people from Sarasota that moved here for the same reason. I really like it and I'm a Floridian at heart.
Our house has increase in value way over 200% in 7 years and we started a new business when we moved here. It is a great place to start a small business. Our business has grown extremely fast in the short time we've been here. Ive noticed it slowing down a little, but not much. I would recommend coming down and having a look for yourself. I'm sure i'll be here the rest of my life. Its home sweet home......

You really have to respect what "mastech" wrote in his first post on these boards! Mastech wrote that North Port is "home sweet home". Despite what I've previously written about North Port, much of it negative, what really matters most is,...is it "home sweet home" for you? If so, that's tremendous! As much as we all discuss locations, home prices, city amenities, etc., and all the other factors of buying a home, the bottom line is, what really matters most is, ....is that your home be, "home sweet home". That's all that really should matter!

[allofusgo]

if you search the sarasota county web site you may be able to find the "property tax table" this will give you an estimate. I know in Manatee county that Bradenton is approx. 2800 for a 150K home. I am not sure about North Port.