A realtor on Longboat Key sparked my interest with her review of the Sarasota market in a recent newsletter by saying that people hold the wrong impression that the only properties selling on the market these days are short sales and foreclosures–far from the truth. Although distressed sales are putting downward pressure on pricing, they are not by any means the only valuable properties. Sales of residential property in Manatee County, between Nov. 18th and through December 17 numbered 244. Of these, 45 were “distressedâ€� short sales or foreclosures, of which one sold for over $1 million, while 19 sold in the $100-199,000 range. Given the same price levels among non-distressed sales, four sold over $1,000,000, with a Longboat Key condo selling at $3.2 million. Among single family homes, 69 properties sold in the $100-199,000 price range. My realtor colleague’s point also holds true in Manatee County: properties sell because they are well priced against the current sales data and because they are desirable properties, based on various factors, such as location, condition, perceived value and curb appeal. My additional research also says that, in general, single family homes sell at a better clip than condos. For the November-to-December dates I chose, 177 single family homes sold, while only 33 condos did. Interestingly enough, single family homes still command almost twice the price of a condo: the median sales price for a home was $207,000, while for condo sales, it was $145,000. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: A good deal is a good deal, and value is what most people are buying.
