David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

A survey by the National Asociation of Realtors shows that over 70% of home sellers talk to one agent when they list their home for sale. As a Sarasota FL area home owner, it's time to do more research when selecting the right Realtor to list your home for sale. We are seeing a huge number of homes go off the MLS once listed, and it's usually due to being overpriced.  Has your Sarasota home listing expired , after sitting on the market for weeks and months, with showings but no offers? Make one more call to me, and find out how my targeted approach will produce a buyer.  People searching online for a home (94% of home buyers) in your specific neighborhood or condo building is the best type of buyer.  Think about it:  buyers searching for "sarasota fl real estate" are not at the end of their discovery journey.  A buyer looking at targeted properties will prevent a horde of tire kickers in your home, and will reduce the time it takes to sell your home....

Sarasota real estate statistics for 2nd Quarter 2019 are available.  The market continues to experience positive growth. Two categories are worth further analysis.  First, median time to contract increased 26% over last year.  I believe this is due to home buyers from up north cushioning or extending the closing date on their Florida property, so their current residence can sell.  This in return is affecting median time to sale. The second is median percent of original list price received.  There's a lot to dissect here.  Over priced listings aren't selling, and aren't reflected in this stat.  We call these expired listings.  If the property is priced according to the market, it's remained a steady 5% off list price for quite some time.  Every property is different, but use this number as a guide for what to expect. Contact me for expert pricing and marketing for your Sarasota area home for sale.

A recent study from Realtors in June 2019 shows that 76% of real estate sales contracts close on time. There are 4 reasons they don't close on time, which are: 1) Financing issues; 2) Appraisal; 3) Home inspection or environmental issues; 4) Title and deed issues. Financing issues usually arise from the buyer purchasing a big ticket item during the escrow period, which changes their debt to income ratio or affect their credit rating.   Appraisal issues involve the home's negotiated price versus what an appraiser says it's worth.  An important part of my job is to make sure you aren't paying too much, so the property does appraise. Home inspection and environmental issues can occur from a home owner not agreeing to make repairs, or the discovery of unknown issues on the property.  For example, one of my clients selling their home in the DC area had his closing delayed after a buried 1940's gas tank was found in the yard. Title an...