Although the luxury single family home market ($1M+ homes) is much better balanced this year than last, it is still a strong buyer’s market in both Manatee and Sarasota counties. Markets are generally considered in “balance” when there is about six months of inventory for sale at the current pace of home sales. When the inventory gets greater than that, buyers tend to have more leverage than sellers in negotiations.
Author: Bridgett Byzewski
I have been through several new developments lately, and this one really caught my eye. As Lakewood Ranch is heading south into Sarasota County, it is presenting new communities for us to discover. Entering this community, I immediately saw why it is special. You get immediate views of the two main lakes, with over 144 acres of water. The views from your lanai will be simply amazing.
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How Underwater Are We?
Did you know that about 2/3’s of homes in the United States are mortgaged? It’s a big number. Even more surprising is that about 2.5 million homeowners in the U.S. still have negative equity. Negative equity, often referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down,” happens when borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
Hurricane Irma is still disrupting local mortgage repayments. It has by no means reached a point where we should be concerned about another meltdown in our market, but the impact shouldn’t be ignored. Before the hurricane, our market was showing significant year on year downturns in mortgage delinquency rates and foreclosures. The mortgage market looked about as healthy as it could get. Thus, the real estate market looked the same.
The visual advantages of drone videos have impacted the way that homes are presented throughout the internet. Prospective home buyers often shop online first, so they expect high-quality photography and video in the online listing or they often won’t consider the home.