Shifting Sands: Changing Buyer-Seller Relationships in Sarasota Real Estate Q2 2012.

This month I’d like to talk about the line in the sand between buyers and sellers. That line is shifting a little bit, it’s not favoring buyers as it has for the past several years.

In the video below, I discuss how this affects the market and inventory, and how these changes have been reflected in Q2 2012.

Recently, I helped a family from Paris, France buy a condo on Siesta Key beach. While we thought that the offer that they made was a good one, the seller would not accept it at all. It was only when the buyer acquiesced and moved up to the seller’s price that we were able to get the deal done.

The price was still fair and it was good value, but it’s a symbol of what has happened over the last few months in the Sarasota real estate market.

Sarasota Real Estate Market Q2 2012 Ups and Downs

During the second quarter of 2012 from April to June the numbers came out like this:

• In the luxury segment, which is properties listed for $1m or more, we’ve seen a 22 percent increase in sales on the same period last year. And now there is less than 12 months of inventory available in the market
• The short sale and bank-owned area of the market has stayed steady since last quarter. About 1 in 4 properties which closed were bank-owned or short sale.
• In sarasota’s affordable segment – those properties listed less than $200,000 – there’s actually less inventory available than there has been. In fact, only 60 percent of sales were in this segment, which is indicative that prices are beginning to rise and there is less inventory available.

A Stabilized and Well-Informed Market

With stabilized prices and subsequently good information in the market, it is up to buyers and sellers to find their own lines in the sand. And regardless of which side of the line you stand on, there is a lot of movement in our Sarasota real estate market.
Any questions about the Sarasota property market? Call Lee: a href=”tel:+19415870740″>941.587.0740.