Today I’m standing on the Sarasota Bayfront in front of the new Ritz Carlton Residences. This is the newest of the three Ritz Carlton managed condominiums here which are all connected to the onsite Ritz Carlton hotel. There are 73 new residences in this new building, and only 3 residences remain available — with prices beginning at $3.5M. In the next few weeks our clients are among the lucky few who will be moving in — and we even have clients on the wait list.
How did the Sarasota Real Estate market do in 2020?
- Sales were up by 9% from 2019 to 2020 – healthy but not astronomical growth. However, the 4th quarter sales were up a ginormous 33% from that same period a year ago; that’s October 1st through December 31st 2019 to 2020.
- Affordability with this increase of sales obviously has decreased a bit. Median prices increased 18% from the same period a year ago – yet 3 out of every 4 properties in Sarasota are still below $500,000. That is 76% of the market.
- Sales in the luxury market segment ($1M or more) went up a whopping 126% during the fourth quarter of this year from the same period last year.
- The four most expensive properties in Sarasota selling this year were all over $10 million. The most expensive property was a $16.5m, 19,000 sq ft, beach house on Longboat Key.
My Predictions for 2021
The great pandemic real estate stampede of 2020 — is it ongoing or is it petering out? I think that it’s going to continue well into the future. Sarasota gets validation almost every week on being on some “BEST OF” list — whether it’s best places to retire, best places to live, best places to work remotely, best beaches and so on.
Our community is firmly established. Our airport (SRQ) now has over 40 non-stop destinations, our amenities are known worldwide, and local companies are expanding.
We’re no longer just a whim or afterthought. Local entrepreneurs are investing heavily in our community bringing even more local content, restaurants and boutiques. And there are numerous private and public partnerships that are increasing the quality of life here in Sarasota. So the demand isn’t going to abate any time soon.
What we’re seeing are some of the same trends and some new trends emerging in 2021:
- BRAND NEW has been all the rage with either new construction or property that’s been heavily renovated. This will continue to be popular.
- An emerging trend is that people are cycling out of properties that they were original owners in 30 or 40 years ago. Properties of this era are a different architectural style than what is being built today- lower ceilings, more walls and closed-in spaces. These units have not been updated at all and require a major renovation in terms of moving walls, etc., thus providing great canvases and “better deals” for their next owners.
- There are also properties that were built at the turn of the century. Those are about 15 to 20 years old now and are ready for their first set of updates. So, they’re more modern in terms of floor plans that are more amenable to people’s needs and tastes, but in need of a freshening up.
Demand is going to continue and all in all as always Sarasota is a great place to work, live and play.
From all of us at Investments in Sarasota real estate brokerage, we wish you good health. We wish the opportunity to control those things that are important to you, and most of all we hope that everyone gets a better quality of life as we move forward in 2021.
