Florida Real Estate Showing Some Potential Progress
An agent with Island Real Estate on Anna Maria Island, John Van Zandt said that he’s seeing possibility in his territory. Surprisingly Charlotte County-North Port popped out a surprising 13 percent rise in sales during March but other parts of Southwest Florida's real estate market might be showing some signs of stability. Van Zandt said, compared with $390 last year, there were 22 sales of single-family homes during the first three months of 2008 on the island, compared with 27 during the same period a year earlier, and the average price per square foot was $404 this year.
Van Zandt said, "If we get another quarter in which selling price is close to that same number around $400 per square foot I think we can say we've reached the bottom and may be starting up." Even though there were 19 sales for the first three months of this year, compared with 16 during the same period last year, the average price per square foot is still falling, condominiums are a different story. Van Zandt said, It was $331 this year, compared with $414 last year.
Van Zandt said, "Sellers have to make significant concessions to get buyers to sign," Van Zandt also said. "We just have so many inventories, and buyers are cherry pickers. In fact, they are sometimes referred to as scavengers, hyenas and bottom feeders." Going forward, he predicts an increase in the number of sales but that values will remain low. The Florida Association of Realtors reported Tuesday, that the price was the driving factor in the boosted sales in the Charlotte County-North Port market, where 268 homes changed hands in March, compared with 237 in the year-ago period. The lowest since February 2004's $147,100, the median sales price was $152,200 last month in the market.
Its $239,300 median was the lowest price since $235,700 in April 2004. Like its southern neighbor, the Sarasota-Bradenton market hit a median sales price that had not been seen since early 2004. Whether the regional, state and national markets are near a pricing bottom is a matter of considerable debate. There were 709 sales, compared with 834 in March 2007. Unlike Charlotte County-North Port, the more northern market had its sales drop last month, by 15 percent.
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