SARASOTA, FLORIDA, January 27th, 2014 – North Port, Florida, again demonstrated why it is a superior choice for prospective home buyers. At the annual conference of the National League of Cities this November, it was recognized among the top 10 small cities utilizing digital technology to provide improved services to their constituents. This is the third year in a row that North Port received this recognition for cities having a population under 75,000.
The awards were based on an annual Digital Cities Survey by the Center for Digital Government, a unit of the California-based media company e.Republic. According to the center’s executive director, Todd Sander, the top digital cities led not only in open data and transparency efforts. They are also “innovators in deploying mobile applications to citizens while conforming to fiscal standards,” he added.
The North Port city government’s strength in employing technology was manifested when it launched its transparency website (www.viewnorthport.com) in 2011. This technological emphasis was again shown with the launching of a citizen engagement website (www.youornorthport.com) in 2012.
The city government is also employing GIS technology for decision-making. Technological approaches have been adopted too in enhancing operations of local government units. One of these was the recent upgrade to a new mobile dispatch computing system for the North Port Fire Rescue which links to 911 dispatch.
In a separate development, credibility of governance in North Port received a boost recently as the credit rating agency Fitch assigned an “A” rating on the city’s $39.4 million transportation improvement assessment bond scheduled for a negotiated sale in December. Proceeds of the bond sale will fund reconstruction and rehabilitation of about 266 miles of the approximately 813 miles of existing city roadways.
The “A” Fitch rating denotes high credit quality. In providing the rating, the agency cited the signs of economic recovery in the city such as continuing job growth and rise in home values.
Fitch noted that in July new jobs created rose 1.4% while the unemployment level declined to 7.4% which was at par with the state average but below the national level. It also saw a recovery in home prices which rose 18% year over year in September.
Notably, improved employment in North Port was also what the property website Movoto.com saw in ranking the city recently as one of the 10 best small American cities to relocate. Placing no. 7 in the list, North Port was likewise cited for its cost of living being 10 points lower than the national average, even as the city’s median household income of $47,655 is 10% below the U.S. average. Significantly, city crime rate is also 16% lower than the national rate.
The median home price in North Port, which Movoto put at $139,900, is 30% below the national average. Some attractive MLS listings in the city can be found around this price range. One possible choice property at the Heron Creek Golf & Country Club, a two-bedroom residence having a floor area of close to 1,700 square feet can usually be had for about $200,000.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA, October 7, 2019 – Property values of communities in the Sarasota-Manatee region now face lesser threat from neighborhood eyesores brought about by abandoned, foreclosed homes. Known in the real estate trade as zombie foreclosures, these properties have shrunk significantly in the region. According to an August report of ATTOM Data Solutions, abandoned […] more>>