Today I’m standing in front of a solar tracker for photovoltaic. This is a movable system that creates 40% more energy than a fixed system. Our home has a fixed system which we are also very enthused about. Even with our entire family sheltering in place, our cost for electricity the past 3 months was just $.17 cents, $13.54, and $7.80.
You may wonder why I’m standing in front of a solar array. A lot of our time during this pandemic has been spent focusing on health & well-being. The quality of the air and the water in Sarasota has always been paramount to the experience of people living here. One of the things we have learned with the pandemic is that a reduction in greenhouse gases has led to cleaner air and water. To maintain these cleaner, healthier levels, we have the option of consuming less resources, or switching to renewables as we return to work. Solar is a viable option in Sarasota.
Second Quarter Closings
- In Sarasota, Currently there are a mere 3290 properties for sale. This is a little bit less than the total number of sales during the first quarter and a little bit more than the sales during the second quarter. This translates to only about 3 months of inventory. In a balanced market you have 6 months of inventory. Sellers typically don’t leave Sarasota they just move to a different lifestyle within the community.
- The luxury market (properties listed at 1M or more), where we spend a lot of our time, had a decrease of 25% in closings from the same period a year ago.
- The affordable market (properties under $200k) was down 37%. This group is perhaps the most affected by the pandemic. This is partially due to prices rising, as well as the fact that buyers in this segment of this market were out of work.
Pending Contracts Going Up
All this being said, there’s been tremendous activity in the Sarasota property market. The nadir of our market for closings was in the middle of May. Since then activity has been on the rise. For the first week in July alone, there was a significant volume of activity. If we take a look at the number of pending sales, and extrapolate this out, there will be more properties sold in the third quarter of 2020 than there was in the third quarter of 2019. This is not feasible nor realistic.
The challenge is that there’s not enough inventory in Sarasota at the moment. And, not all of the properties are selling. Sellers and buyers that are either wishful or aspirational in their pricing are not getting to contract. There is so much data in our market which allows for buyers and sellers to know a fairly well documented range for what the market will bear for pricing. If you’re outside the range the properties are not going to sell. What we need is more inventory in the market and we need sellers that are realistic, not aspirational.
Back to the air and water. As people seek a better and healthier location for their lives, Sarasota is at the forefront of their search. On July 4th weekend alone we had three different groups looking to go to contract on properties.
As you contemplate where to live as we move through the summer into the fall, I want to assure you that the Sarasota real estate market is both healthy and our community is committed to a great quality of life.
If you’re looking to buy or sell please reach out @ 941.587.0740
.
