SARASOTA, FLORIDA, July 20, 2018 – It pays to be a luxury home specialist in Sarasota County these days, as the sales uptrend of single family homes priced from around $1 million and above continue to surge at double-digit monthly percentage gains. In May, 38 luxury homes were reported sold in Sarasota, up 26.7 percent from a year earlier.
This uptick is by no means just a fluke, with monthly sales increases in the high-end segment of Sarasota homes for sale rose within the 17.2‒27.3 percent range between January and April this year, the fastest clip amongst other price segments. By the looks of it, if a luxury homeowner now decides to sell, a buyer will come up to grab it. This is especially so given that market inventory in the prime residential segment is quite low and even dropped by 10.2 percent to just 441 luxury single family homes in May.
The upbeat mood of the trade in upper-tier Sarasota homes for sale has also been captured in a recent industry report which put Sarasota No. 1 on the top 10 list of the fastest-growing entry-level luxury home markets in the U.S. This study measured 89 primary and secondary luxury markets. It tracked the annual movement in the entry-level luxury price boundary estimated from the top 5 percent of all residential home sales in each market territory.
The study used Sarasota sales data up until March 2018 as its basis. The county got the top growth ranking with its entry-level luxury home pricing rising by 19.1 percent to $993,000. Coming in second and third in the list were Queens County, New York and Collier County, Florida, with respective gains of 15.1 percent and 13.7 percent to $1.24 million and $1.651 million, also respectively.
That Florida has no state income tax is one of the market drivers for Sarasota, according to one industry analyst. The recent federal tax reform, it was likewise noted, has prompted many home buyers, especially affluent retirees, to seek markets like Sarasota wherein they can pare down their total tax bill.
Many prospective buyers are also turning to high-end homes for sale in Sarasota, some realtors said, because these choices offer them the opportunity to adopt a lifestyle which is low key as compared with Miami or Palm Beach. This trend has been observed not only amongst buyers from California but also those from Chicago, New York and New Jersey fleeing the harsh winters of the northern U.S. The vibrant arts and culture scene trademark of Sarasota homes for sale contributes in drawing interest on the local market, especially from well-to-do home buyers.
As encouraging for wealthy buyers, a significant number of new listings are surfacing on the market, though these aren’t enough to lift the local stock of high-end homes significantly. At the entry-level Sarasota luxury homes priced in the high $900s, one property at the Gnarled Oaks Estates in Manasota Key, Englewood, was listed in early June, featuring four bedroom and three baths within a floor area of nearly 3,700 square feet.
A custom Key West home in the Bay Island community at the north end of Siesta Key was sales-listed first week of July also with a price quote in the high $900s. This residence is likely to draw immediate buying interest not only because of the current strong fundamentals of the local luxury market but also due to its charming features and proximity to Siesta Beach and downtown Sarasota.
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>>