Blog | Blog - Gina Larouche

Buyers Dreaming, SRQ RE Market Updates

Sarasota Is the Country’s Second Most Popular Relocation Destination

PODS, the portable moving company, recently shared its top 20 list of cities people are moving to. Sarasota is No. 2. By Kim Doleatto July 13, 2023 Sarasota still tops PODS’ list as one of the most moved-to cities in the country. The portable moving and storage-solutions company recently released its third-annual relocation trends report, which […]
Buyers Dreaming

Why Focus on Radon? It Can Lead to Cancer

For many buyers, radon is a contract detail or something noted during an inspection. But a large number of buyers don’t know what radon is or what it does. SARASOTA, Fla. – Dear Doctors: Would you please address radon gas? I’ve spent 40 years in real estate sales here in Florida, and while radon is […]
Buyers Dreaming, SRQ RE Market Updates

Out-of-Town Moves Didn’t End with Pandemic – April 2023

Out-of-Town Moves Didn’t End with Pandemic By Kerry Smith Number of buyers looking within their metro dropped 15.6% in 1Q, but the number looking elsewhere fell only 4.2%. Fla. has 5 of top 10 want-to-move-to metros. SEATTLE – The pandemic-era trend of buyers relocating greater distances didn’t end with the pandemic. While Redfin says searches […]
Buyers Dreaming, Nuts & Bolts, Sellers

What’s ‘Special’ About Special Assessments? April 26, 2023 by Meredith Caruso

What’s ‘Special’ About Special Assessments? By Meredith Caruso Special assessments appear in various places of the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contract, but Paragraph 3(c) on the Condo Rider has confused more than a few members. ORLANDO, Fla. – The contracts and riders/addenda Florida Realtors offers members mention “special assessments” in various places. However, one tends […]

Buyers Dreaming Sarasota Is the Country’s Second Most Popular Relocation Destination PODS, the portable moving company, recently shared its top 20 list of cities people are moving to. Sarasota is No. 2. By Kim Doleatto July 13, 2023 Sarasota still tops PODS’ list as one of the most moved-to cities in the country. The portable moving and storage-solutions company recently released its third-annual relocation trends report, which […]

Buyers Dreaming Why Focus on Radon? It Can Lead to Cancer For many buyers, radon is a contract detail or something noted during an inspection. But a large number of buyers don’t know what radon is or what it does. SARASOTA, Fla. – Dear Doctors: Would you please address radon gas? I’ve spent 40 years in real estate sales here in Florida, and while radon is […]

Buyers Dreaming Out-of-Town Moves Didn’t End with Pandemic – April 2023 Out-of-Town Moves Didn’t End with Pandemic By Kerry Smith Number of buyers looking within their metro dropped 15.6% in 1Q, but the number looking elsewhere fell only 4.2%. Fla. has 5 of top 10 want-to-move-to metros. SEATTLE – The pandemic-era trend of buyers relocating greater distances didn’t end with the pandemic. While Redfin says searches […]

Buyers Dreaming What’s ‘Special’ About Special Assessments? April 26, 2023 by Meredith Caruso What’s ‘Special’ About Special Assessments? By Meredith Caruso Special assessments appear in various places of the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contract, but Paragraph 3(c) on the Condo Rider has confused more than a few members. ORLANDO, Fla. – The contracts and riders/addenda Florida Realtors offers members mention “special assessments” in various places. However, one tends […]

Buyers Dreaming Home Prices Hold Steady in January, Despite a Downturn in Sales SARASOTA, Fla. (February 21, 2023) – The Sarasota and Manatee housing market starts off the year with a continued rise in the supply of homes for sale. According to data from Florida REALTORS® and compiled by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), the month’s supply of inventory for both property types increased year-over-year […]

Buyers Dreaming 5 Reasons This Isn’t a Repeat of the 2008 Housing Crash ( Dec 2022) 5 Reasons This Isn’t a Repeat of the 2008 Housing Crash December 15, 2022 Challenging Markets By: Melissa Dittmann Tracey NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun draws the distinctions between today’s real estate market and that of more than a decade ago. © BrianAJackson – iStock/Getty Images Plus Many homeowners are still haunted by the 2008 housing […]

Buyers Dreaming We’re continuing to see a return to market normalcy …. (Nov 2022 Stats) “We’re continuing to see a return to market normalcy, where listings are closing sometime between two to two and a half months, and the months’ supply is increasing up to a two-to-three month supply, depending on the region and property type.” “It is too early to tell if prices are beginning to soften, as median […]

Buyers Dreaming NAR: 3Q 2022, Home Prices Up in 98% of Metros Home prices rose 8.6% in 3Q, with 46% of metros seeing double-digit price growth – a drop from 80% in 2Q. Of the top 10 high-price-increase metros, 7 are in Fla. WASHINGTON – An overwhelming majority of metro markets saw home price gains in the third quarter of 2022, according to the National Association of […]

Buyers Dreaming Why Won’t the Market Collapse? Fewer MB Securities – Nov 9,2022 If buyers understood the role mortgage-backed securities played in the early 2000s RE market collapse, they wouldn’t be expecting a repeat performance this time. NEW YORK – Mortgage-backed securities nearly brought down Wall Street in the early 2000s. But what is a mortgage-backed security? Many homeowners think of their mortgage in personal terms. But when […]

Buyers Dreaming SEPT 2022 – RE MARKET STATS September continues the same trend of fewer sales and rising inventory. “We are continuing the trend that we’ve seen for several months now where the number of closed sales is dropping, and prices are leveling off.” “Historically whenever Florida has a catastrophic event like Hurricane Ian, the real estate market bounces back very quickly with […]

Buyers Dreaming InterNACHI’s Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Florida Homes, AUG, 2022 SOURCE: https://www.nachi.org/myowncopy.htm The following chart details the predicted life expectancy of appliances, products, materials, systems and components for homes in the state of Florida. (It may also be applicable to states in the nearby coastal region with similar climate and weather conditions on a typical basis.) While many components and systems in homes located in […]

Buyers Dreaming July 2022 – Local Market Snapshot CLOSED SALES DECREASE IN SARASOTA AND MANATEE AS INVENTORY CONTINUES TO GROW Click here for the July 2022 Press Release and Statistics. The inventory of active listings in the two-county region continues to increase year-over-year in July 2022. According to data from Florida REALTORS® and compiled by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), […]

Buyers Dreaming Answers to your top 5 housing market questions Russell Price, Chief Economist – Ameriprise Financial Aug. 1, 2022 With home prices in many local markets reaching record levels in 2020 and 2021, homeowners and prospective homeowners alike are wondering what’s next for the housing market. Ameriprise Financial Chief Economist Russell Price answers the top 5 real estate questions our clients are asking. 1. […]

Buyers Dreaming NAR Study: International Buyers Are Back …. by Kerry Smith NAR Study: International Buyers Are Back …. by Kerry Smith In NAR’s annual report, 1 in 4 (24%) international buyers chose Fla. Nationwide, they spent $5.9B, up 8.5%, even as single-family home sales dropped 7.9%. WASHINGTON – Foreign buyers purchased $59 billion worth of U.S. existing homes over a one-year period (April 2021 through March […]

Buyers Dreaming Housing Inventory Continues to Grow in Sarasota and Manatee Courtesy of RASM Market Statistics. SARASOTA, Fla. (July 20, 2022) – With rising interest rates across the country, the Sarasota and Manatee housing market is beginning to see more and more homes available for purchase when compared to last year. According to data from Florida REALTORS® and compiled by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and […]

Buyers Dreaming Nations Top 20 – has Sarasota as No 1 !!! Nov 2021 U.S. News & World Report: Fla. Has 8 of Top 10 ‘Best Retirement’ Metros By Phil Fernandez The magazine’s 2021 list ranks Fla. metros in the top four spots– Sarasota, Naples, Daytona Beach and Melbourne – but 7 other Fla. metros also made it into the top 20. NAPLES, Fla. – It may be getting […]

Buyers Dreaming Property Fraud Alerts, a growing Problem … 2021 Property Fraud Alerts in Sarasota and Manatee Counties…. Property and identity fraud are a nationwide problem. By filing fake deeds, scammers appear to own property, and can fraudulently rent or sell the property without the knowledge of the true owner. Your Sarasota Clerk and Comptroller wants to help you in protecting against property fraud. By […]

Buyers Dreaming Longboat Key Named Fifth Best Island in the U.S… 2021 The annual reader-sourced “World’s Best” list invites Travel + Leisure’s audience to vote on the best destinations and experiences worldwide. Travel + Leisure recently ranked Longboat Key as the No. 5 best island in the U.S. in its 2021 “World’s Best” awards. The annual reader-sourced list invites Travel + Leisure’s audience to vote on the […]

Buyers Dreaming Market Update: Sept 2021 .. HOUSING NEWS Mortgage Credit Availability Improves in August If you want to be approved for a mortgage, you have to qualify. Which means, if you have too much debt, too little income, or bad credit, you may not be able to get a loan. Put simply, you have to have your finances in order, if […]

Buyers Dreaming ADU’s Approved in Manatee County & Sarasota City, 2021 ADU’s Approved in Manatee County and City of Sarasota In a big win for property owners, during the month of August both the Manatee County Commission as well as the Sarasota City Commission voted to allow homeowners to construct accessory dwelling units (ADU) on their property. REALTOR® Associations throughout the country have long touted the […]