Alison & Raul Elizalde

Sarasota Realtors

Alison and Raul Elizalde understand the Sarasota real estate market like nobody else. Their unique understanding comes from experience, specialized research, and deep community involvement. Their commitment to client service earned them the prestigious 5-Star Award given to the best real estate agents in Sarasota. Click here to learn more about Alison and Raul.

 

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Despite doom-and-gloom media coverage and serious problems in the mortgage front, real estate market conditions in Sarasota have undoubtedly improved compared to last year. More sales are taking place and the number of condos and homes for sale in Sarasota has gone down. This reversal of fortune is quite clear in the Longboat Key condo and Siesta Key condo markets.

 

 

The number of condos for sale on Siesta Key went down by more than 10% to 545 at the end of July from a peak of 620 during February. Condos for sale on Longboat Key declined over 16% to 420 from the March high of 503. At the same time, monthly sales increased on both Keys: the number of condos sold on Longboat roughly doubled, while on Siesta it almost tripled compared to the extra-sluggish months of 2006.

 

 

This confluence of more sales and less listings has resulted in a large dip of inventory. Longboat now faces a 19-month inventory load, compared to the 36-month peak of February. The improvement on Siesta is even more dramatic, to 27 months from the high of 60 months earlier this year.

 

This number is still very high: a 27-month inventory load means that, if the listing-sales balance continues at the average of the last 6-months, then it would take 27 months to sell every condo offered. The average condo seller would be in the middle of this time span, having to wait 13½ months to sell. But although these numbers are still high, the trend is pointing to better times ahead.

 

 

One segment of the market that shows a discrepancy between Siesta and Longboat is the $500k-$800k range. While on Longboat the inventory load in this segment has followed the general market improvement, on Siesta it has actually deteriorated due to a large increase of condos listed in that price range early this year without a similar increase in sales. At the end of July there were more than 5 years of inventory in this price range, about 2½ times the inventory in Longboat Key. This condition seems to be improving rapidly, however (see graph). If sales continue at the recent pace, the difference between both Keys should narrow considerably toward year end.

 

When it comes to knowing the Sarasota real estate market, Alison and Raul Elizalde have the expertise and knowledge to help you see where you stand when negotiating your real estate transaction, whether you are buying or selling a property. Our track record, added to the unsurpassed reputation of Michael Saunders & Company as the premier real estate company in Florida's Gulf Coast, give you the peace of mind you deserve. Alison and Raul have been named Best in Customer Satisfaction by an independent research company.

 

Call us today at 941-350-7904 for a consultation, and visit our website, www.SarasotaProperty.info, for monthly updates on the Sarasota real estate market.