Blog - Gina Larouche

LOCAL INFO, 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 […]
LOCAL INFO

Florida insurance policyholders hit with 1% emergency ‘assessment’ fee – April 2023

Florida insurance policyholders hit with 1% emergency ‘assessment’ fee 1% emergency ‘assessment’ to be collected to cover costs of claims https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2023/04/17/florida-insurance-policyholders-hit-with-1-emergency-assessment-fee/ TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State insurance regulators last week signed off on a plan that will lead to policyholders throughout Florida paying extra on their bills because of property-insurer insolvencies. Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky issued […]
LOCAL INFO, 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 […]
Market Updates

International Real Estate Sales in Fla. = $15.3B (April 2023)

International Real Estate Sales in Fla. = $15.3B ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida remained the top destination of foreign buyers purchasing U.S. residential real estate in 2022, with 24% of all foreign buyers who bought residential property in the United States, according to the 2022 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Florida […]

LOCAL INFO 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 […]

LOCAL INFO Florida insurance policyholders hit with 1% emergency ‘assessment’ fee – April 2023 Florida insurance policyholders hit with 1% emergency ‘assessment’ fee 1% emergency ‘assessment’ to be collected to cover costs of claims https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2023/04/17/florida-insurance-policyholders-hit-with-1-emergency-assessment-fee/ TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State insurance regulators last week signed off on a plan that will lead to policyholders throughout Florida paying extra on their bills because of property-insurer insolvencies. Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky issued […]

LOCAL INFO 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 […]

Market Updates International Real Estate Sales in Fla. = $15.3B (April 2023) International Real Estate Sales in Fla. = $15.3B ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida remained the top destination of foreign buyers purchasing U.S. residential real estate in 2022, with 24% of all foreign buyers who bought residential property in the United States, according to the 2022 International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Florida […]

Market Updates March Market Stats 2023 “Manatee County’s single-family home market has bucked the trend we’ve seen in recent months, showing the first year-over-year increase in sales since February 2022 and the first year-over-decrease in median prices since February of 2019. Meanwhile, single-family home sales for Sarasota and the condo markets for both counties have followed an opposite trajectory in March, […]

Market Updates Citizens Insurance Seeks 14.2% Rate Hike – 3/29/2023 By Kerry Smith Increases vary by county and property, but only a few condo owners could see a discount. Some Panhandle and non-coastal counties may see the biggest increase. TALLAHASSEE Fla. – Citizens Property Insurance Corp. leaders approved a proposal Wednesday that would raise average rates by 14.2% this year as they continue to push […]

LOCAL INFO One Park Sarasota – setting the record straight … March 2023 Setting the Record Straight: Here are the facts about One Park Sarasota By One Park Sarasota | 3:51 p.m. March 3, 2023 One Park Sarasota is an 18-story, 123-residence tower wrapped in glass that pays tribute to the local architecture and promises exquisite attention to detail and a serene, holistic residential experience. Designed by Sarasota-based […]

LOCAL INFO Bobby Jones restoration focus turns to short course Richard Mandell turns his creativity to a links-like par-3 companion to the Donald Ross design. By Andrew Warfield | 11:15 a.m. March 23, 2023 With sod installed around the greens, tee boxes visible from Fruitville Road and fairways sprigged on some of the back-nine holes along 17th Street, the Bobby Jones Golf Course is starting […]

LOCAL INFO Downtown Sarasota multifamily projects move through review committee Four condo and apartment developments will bring nearly 300 new units in the city. By Andrew Warfield | 5:00 a.m. March 21, 2023 780 SRQ Condominiums will include 34 units, two of them priced as attainable.Courtesy rendering DSDG Architects Multiple projects adding to the housing stock in and around downtown Sarasota are making they way […]

LOCAL INFO Sarasota Insider … March 2023 Sarasota Insider — A sampling of fun things to do and see around our beaches. Please enjoy this snapshot of happenings throughout the month. MARK YOUR CALENDAR March 12 | Daylight Saving Time March 14 | National Pi Day March 17 | St. Patrick’s Day Every Sunday Sarasota Polo Club There is no way better […]

Market Updates 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 […]

LOCAL INFO 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 […]

LOCAL INFO 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 […]

LOCAL INFO 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 […]

Market Updates 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 […]

Market Updates 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 […]

LOCAL INFO 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 […]

LOCAL INFO Why a repeat of the 2008 housing crash is unlikely … With U.S. home prices sharply higher and mortgage rates rising, consumers and investors alike are wondering if the environment for housing is still constructive. Home prices are on average almost 40% higher than before the pandemic.1 Mortgage rates have jumped over 200 basis points year to date, reducing purchasing power.2 Low affordability suggests that some […]

Market Updates 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), […]

Sellers Remodel or buy? How to make the right move With home prices and interest rates rising across the country, you may be reevaluating your housing situation: Should you take advantage of the seller’s market and upgrade before interest rates rise further? Or should you leverage your home’s equity to finance a renovation? It’s a significant decision that will depend on your specific financial situation […]