Today I’m standing on South Washington Drive on St Armands Key, one of the most beautiful sections of street anywhere in Sarasota. I want to talk a little bit about the health of Sarasota’s real estate market and I’m going to do this using three different metrics:
(1) The State of Sarasota’s Waters
The water is vibrantly full of life currently. There are lots of dolphins feeding, loads of fish, and shorebirds are abundant. The beaches are in full use. This is a great sign for the health of our community since it’s interchangeable with life on land and life in the water.
(2) Sarasota’s Unemployment Rate
Our local unemployment rate is roughly about 2.7%. This is not an all-time low, but it’s certainly low and shows that those who are serious about working are getting employment. It is also reflective of a robust local economy.
(3) Sarasota’s Real Estate Indices
Finally and most important are the real estate indices. There two that I’ve looked at this month:
- The Ultra-Luxury Market (properties listed for $3 million and more). I monitor this segment because when there are buyers spending over $3 million on a property in our community, it demonstrates their confidence in both the housing market and the local Sarasota community. There are about 121 active properties in this market segment – about 3% of our total market at any given time. Currently, about 40% of them are under contract or have sold in the last 6 months. This is a lot of investment and again a great validator to the strength of Sarasota’s real estate.
- Percentage of Cash Sales and Conventional Loans. Right now roughly 43-45% of all purchases in Sarasota are totally paid for with cash. Another 40-42% are conventional loans. Conventional loans are those in which at least 20% equity, and for our market, we are seeing many borrowers having somewhere between 25-50% equity in the properties that they are purchasing. Adding these two up, between 83-87% of our market is either purchased without a loan or with a loan that has a substantial equity component.
Taking these three indices into consideration, I really believe that Sarasota and it’s real estate is in a really good place.
Looking to Sell? Please give us a call @ 941.587.0740 for a free market valuation.
