My New Blog

Today while I was preparing for a customer from out of town I came across some numbers that surprised even me, a full time realtor!  We have all been so busy showing properties and checking in our rental tenants that we didn't realize just how much buying activity was going on here.

From 2/1 through today 2/25 (counting sales entered into mls as of noon) 95 homes were sold in Venice.  14 were foreclosures, 17 were short sales and 64 regular sales.  In Englewood there were 64 total sales, 12 foreclosures, 4 short sales and 48 regular sales.  Nokomis had 18 sales, 2 foreclosures, 7 short sales and 9 regular sales.  Osprey had only 6 sales, 1 foreclosure, 1 short sale and 4 regular sales.  The big cities, Sarasota leading the chart at 248 sales, 53 of which were foreclosures, 48 short sales and 147 regular sales.  North Port comes in next with 122 sales, 40 foreclosures, 40 short sales and 42 regular sales.

Could this be a sign of the market purging itself?  Hopefully so, good buys still exist but be prepared to recognize one when you see it!  Also be prepared to pay list price or more.  Particularly when you are looking at foreclosures.  They come in typically well below market price and have multiple offers when they get to the table.

These are the goings on in Venice for March:

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday Free Concerts at the Gazebo downtown.

Thursday March 4th a repeat performance by the Clydesdales.  They will be at the Community Center Staging area at 4:00 and start the parade down Nokomis to Venice Ave. and then back to the center.

March 6th and 7th Downtown Art Classic

March 20th  & 21st Quilt Show

March 21 Annual Corvette Show 8-3 Centennial Park

Those are the highlights, have a good one!

Janet Thomas, Broker

Hello again, feeling a little sorry for you snowbound snowbirds.  Come on down the weather is great.  Here's a little update on what you missed and what you can look forward to when you get here.

Last week was really filled with some great stuff!  The warbirds came to town again and drew quite a crowd.  There was a nice art show over by the airport.  The vendors had some extraordinary jewelery and various other items.  We also had David Oliver Relin, author of  Three Cups of Tea, NY Times Best Seller List 3 years in a row, visit the Venice High School for a presentation about his book.  I had the good fortune to get tickets, my daughter is in the literary club.  The auditorium was sold out!  All 700 seats.  It was very interesting, if he comes to your town, check it out.  Our February event schedule is filled.  Here are a few of the highlights:

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays Music in the park at the gazebo by various artists, from 3 - 5.

Historic Walking Tour of Homes 10;30-11:30, meet at the Triangle Inn.  Our office is on the tour.

Feb. 6th & 7th the Orchid Show at the community Center 10-5.

Feb. 13th Neil Diamond Tribute at the community center 7pm.

Valentines Day 1 - 3:30 Cruising at the Gazebo, Antique Autos

Feb. 18th the Italian Feast & Carnival starts 4- 10:00 pm running through the 21st of Feb.

Feb. 27th United Way Walkathon 9-12 Gazebo downtown.

If you are planning a trip and don't have a rental booked, do so before you leave.  Everyone seems to be completely booked for February (Vacation Rentals that is.)  Not sure how much availability the hotels have, but it would be a good idea to give them a call as well.

That's it for now, see you soon,

Janet Thomas, Broker

Venice Hometown Realty, LLC

Hi, hope everyone had a great holiday season.  Like many of you, we have been freezing here in Venice.  It was nice to have a cold snap around Christmas but not to continue on for 2 weeks!  We thin blooded Floridians can't cope when temps are 20 degrees colder than normal.  Thankfully we are back in the 70's today and the sun is shining bright.

I decided to check out the numbers for foreclosures and short sales last year, partly because of watching 15 or so short sales from last May that still haven't closed, and thought you might also be interested.  So for anyone thinking of pursuing these, here are the hart fast numbers.  Also included are the foreclosures.  We don't have as many in our area as most, but do have a few.

2009 Homes sold in Venice, per mls data        1501

171 were foreclosures, 65 of these sold at or above list price

156 were short sales, 45 of these sold at or above list price

2010 Homes for sale in Venice 1250

32 are foreclosures

164 are short sales

323 homes under contract

22 of these are foreclosures

170 of these are short sales

An interesting side note* It appears that short sales, or the greater bulk of them, appear to be on hold.  Some, as before mentioned have been under contract since May of 2009 or before.  Before you think of tying yourself up time wise, look at other options.  You can see from the numbers they make up a small portion of our market.  With the inventory down from last year, waiting for that short sale deal could cost you money if it doesn't close.

Activity is very brisk now.  Many are out looking to purchase their vacation or retirement home before the prices rise!  Don't miss the boat, it is pulling away....

Janet Thomas, Broker

Venice Hometown Realty

Well as this year draws to a close, I can definitely say we are seeing a turn around in our Venice market!  Inventory is down, the foreclosures and short sales are not ruling our market as they were last year.  There are still great buys out there, just fewer to choose from and more competition for them. 

Cash is still King here, the banks continue to  hold tight to their money.  It's funny, there is a new bank going up on most every street corner, but perfectly qualified borrowers are  being turned down for lame reasons, practically at the closing table.  I hear from my realtor friends up north, they are facing the same problems, I guess this is nationwide.  We aren't seeing any of the stimulus funds down this way, but are chugging along at a nice pace without them.  Everyone still wants a piece of Paradise, and it's still on sale!

I wish all of our family, customers, friends and colleagues a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!

Janet Thomas, Broker

Venice Hometown Realty, LLC

Hi everyone, I know I am blogging twice in the same month, that's a lot for me!  This was too good to let go by un-noticed.  Click this link to find out why you should buy Sarasota Right Now.....

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33191501#33191501

Have a great day,

Janet

What a wonderful busy summer we have had!  The market has been just as hot as the weather.  The first time homebuyers are really taking advantage of the $8000 tax credit.  The program has been such a success, I am hoping they will extend it and make it available for all buyers, not just 1st timers.  For those of you constantly getting outbid, don't give up.  The market has turned and you need to keep step with it.  The days of lowballing appear to be over, at least for the moment they are.  If you find that perfect home, and it's in your price range, put your best foot forward or someone else will.  I haven't updated in awhile because the market was moving so fast.  We are taking a bit of a breather now with the kids going back to school.  All signs point to a busy fall and winter season.  Here are the summer market stats:

July, August and September

Single Family Homes Sold on Venice Island:  10 Priced from $133,650 - $785,000

13 are under contract, priced from $87,800 - $395,000

74 Homes are currently for sale, priced from $135,000 - $2,900,000

Condo's & Co-ops Sold:  19 priced from $46,000 - $391,000

16 are under contract at this time, priced from $149,000 - $824,900

167 Currently for sale, priced from $39,900 - $1,599,000

Nationally Closed and Pending sales have been up for the last 5 months.  Mortgage rates are predicted to rise next year, so if you are planning to buy and are sitting on the fence, it may be time to get off.

On another note, the Gulf has been just beautiful this year.  No big storms just our nice afternoon rains to green up everything.  When they named Venice Paradise, it had to be in the summer, it's never looked prettier.  The flowers are gorgeous and the air smells like perfume.  The gulf temp has maintained at about 87 degrees all summer, that's the temp. for me!  We took a vacation to the beautiful Exumas this year.  The Exuma Islands are paradise too, just without conveniences.  We did miss our Publix!!  This is where I was chatting & chilling, ahhh what a great summer!

Posted: July 10, 2009

Sarasota, FL (July 10, 2009) - In the July 2009 issue of Sarasota Magazine, the 2009 FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Real Estate Agents (SM) are announced.

Sarasota Magazine formed a partnership with Crescendo Business Services, an independent research firm, to identify the “best in client satisfaction” real estate agents serving the Sarasota area. This past December, Crescendo surveyed by mail and phone 19,000 Sarasota-area residents who had recently purchased homes. An additional 250 surveys were sent to mortgage and title companies, who are often best able to judge a real estate agent’s technical skills and knowledge.

On the surveys, recipients were asked to evaluate only real estate agents whom they knew through personal experience. They were asked to evaluate them based upon nine criteria, including, customer service, integrity, market knowledge, communication, negotiation, closing preparation, finding the right home, marketing of the home and overall satisfaction.

By January, stacks of surveys had arrived and Crescendo began carefully scoring and screening each nominee with the Florida State Real Estate Commission’s database to make certain that licenses were up to date and that no disciplinary actions were pending. Before finalizing the list, nominated agents were reviewed by a blue ribbon panel of local industry experts.

The panel consisted of realty company executives, professional and trade association officers and others directly involved in housing-related businesses. Although panelists’ comments were incorporated into the final score, safeguards were built into the review process to reduce the ability of panel members to influence the composition of the final list on the basis of company affiliation.

This year’s list of “FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction” real estate agents represents less than 7 percent of actively licensed real estate agents in the Sarasota area. We hope this list serves as a referral network for the 78,000 readers of Sarasota Magazine. Is this list exhaustive? Of course not. There are undoubtedly many other excellent real estate agents that are not on the list this year, but don’t be surprised to see them next year.