Is there anyone here that has first hand knowledge of the Sarasota area?? I was looking at prices on the net and they seem very reasonable. In fact the west coast seems to trade at a decent discount to the east coast.
Are you upset that you didn't sell your place in Miami at the top of the bubble? Better get it on the market fast.
How are the school system in and around Hillsbourough? That makes a big difference in the house pricing...
i'm also looking to move to the sarasota area....best beaches in the world....haven't been down there much since a long while ago but am going to check it out in june.....
NEWEST- I have never been able to top or bottom tick and have in fact been slowly selling properties since late 2000, which were bought in the "slumps" of 86, 87, and 92, after Andrew. I just don't want to be too concentrated down here in case of a real fundamental reason which would effect prices: eg: A hurricane. As a 30 year investor in real estate, I know well we will return to the norm, when realestate exhibits its illequid characteristic and listings go for months to years without bids. My residence is another matter....., under florida law it offers me asset protection in the "unlikely" event of bankrupcy, it is waterfront on the bay, a 10 minute walk to the beach, in a neigh borhood of long time owners and primarily cash buyers. If I sell, I know I will never be able to buy it back.....realestate ain't stock. And it's a great place to wake up in! Bud, you have to live somewhere!
Real estate ain't stock. Great line yet some just don't understand it. AS for this thread, yet another idiotic "Real Estate is doomed!!!" We're all dooomed! CRASH!!!
Now I think I see the motivation behind the start of this thread. I live in Sunrise FL. Just sold my house myself in 3 weeks. The house that I am building in Palm Beach County, out West, is valued at 23% above the purchase price and we still have until the middle of summer before we even move in. I am not an expert in real estate but have lived in FL my whole life and my father and his brother have had their own real estate companies their whole life and I would have to say that , just like finding a stock that is going up in a down market, there are always areas that do better than others. In the early 80's Ocala was on fire. It could have definately been called a bubble. However, when I tried to sell some property there fairly recent I couldn't move it for 1/2 the original purchase price.
Here in the Miami-Dade area I've seen some data recently on the supply/demand for housing (i.e. inventory divided by recent sales rate). For houses under $500k the ratio has stayed reasonably constant indicating an OK balance between buyers and sellers. But for higher priced hourses, it's an entirely different matter. The inventory hasn't grown much but sales have dropped off. Makes sense with the rising interest rates. The other thing I have noticed is the proliferation of advertising for condos along the beach. When developers are spending lots of $ on marketing and pushing pre-sales, I get suspicious. And a recent article in the Miami Herald reported on sales of condos to foreigners sight unseen. There are real estate agents in Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, and other South American capitals who specialize in selling these condos to locals for investment purposes. All of this, I feel, are signs of a topping in the market. Reminds me of when I lived in Houston in the late 80's and there was a proliferation of apartments converted to condos. Within a few years, there were $100k+ condos going for only $30k!
Too many people coming into florida, not enough leaving. I bought waterfront in the tampa st pete are over 4 years ago. I have tripled my investment, but if I sold, I would not be able to get anything better. If you are still looking, keep your fingers crossed for a pullback in prices. My opinion is that all inland properties are just like any other in the country. As for waterfront....there is really non left. Especially in metropolitan areas. Keep your dreams that you might live here one day, but waterfront will do nothing but stabilize for a year or more, then back on its upward trek. bandit
Bought my place a year ago - was absolutely convinced that I was paying too much and was going to get caught in a bubble and lose about 10-20%. By buying in an excellent area, I rationalized that I would at least be cushioned from a complete collapse. Needed someplace to live, tired of paying rent, and recognized mortgage rates weren't going to be this low forever, so I justified the premium. Now, a year later, the house next door (smaller lot, poorly maintained house) was sold for a few thousand less than what I paid for mine. ----> KNOCKDOWN. They are building a 5000sf mega mansion. And the last lot in the area just went up for sale unimproved & no house for the same price that house just went for. The real estate market, is to put it mildly, brisk. But I am starting to see more homes on the market, even though prices to me seem ridiculous. I think the market has about a year left in it before it slows due to rising interest rates. You can't fight the mass migration of people coming here. Its more than 700 a day! Estimates of 4 million more people over the next 20 years have been published, and that's probably low. Every baby boomer in NJ wants to sell the family home for 1million and buy their super sweet condo on the water for 500k and pocket the difference. As long as that is possible, expect waterfront property to remain unrealistic. HOWEVER, eventually, economic downturn will stop the northerners from buying here and we might have a chance to get something for ourselves. While luxury beachfront condos can be created fairly quickly and at great profit to the developers, I doubt they will appreciate in value. But the people buying them to retire in probably couldn't care less - they are buying them to live there & it is so cheap in comparison! If I had my druthers, I'd rather buy a house on the beach. But good luck finding that for less than a mil. Rental prices do not match current home prices, and there are a lot of rental communities, so until inflation catches up with stuff, you'll take a bath on your purchase if you try to rent it out at current rates. Don't underestimate the growth of inland central florida. That's growing as fast or faster than other areas of florida. Finally, the florida lifestyle is great. Florida is the next California. I feel sorry for the poor guys left in New York to tough out the winters while the high level of social services and declining tax revenues take even more of the little they earn.