My New Blog

Hi guys,

we have so many people confusing Venice, LA with Venice, FL.  Again, we have no oil here and it is not predicted to come to our area.  Follow the Venice Chamber of Commerce Link for updates on the oil spill.

www.venicechamber.com 

We do have some very cool whale sharks spotted off of the west coast.  Guess the marine life is heading south to escape the oil effects.

Come on down, there are many happy vacationers here and it's probably cooler than where you are!

Janet Thomas 

Happy Summer to everyone!  Was talking with my brother in Virginia the other day and he informed me that the local news channels were reporting oil on all Florida Beaches.  Just wanted to let everyone know, that is definitely NOT the case.  In the Venice/Sarasota area we have sunny blue skys and warm gulf waters, oil free.

In fact, our local news stations have the oil following the Gulf Stream down around the keys and effecting the East Coast of the U.S.  As of last night it was still over 200 miles away from our area.

It is a real tragedy for the Louisiana coastal areas and our hearts go out the people dealing with this crisis.

All is well here and there are many out of town cars.  If you had plans to come to Venice, Sarasota, Englewood or any surrounding cities, come on down, it's still paradise!

Janet Thomas, Broker

Venice Hometown Realty

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