David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

I just updated my website with 2014 median sales price for condos and single family homes in my 3-county service area:   http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!real-estate-prices-venice/c198a 2004-2014 median sales prices by property type and county If you have been looking since 2012 and still haven't purchased your Venice FL area retirement or seasonal residence, the median sales price of a single family home in Sarasota County has increased by $40,000.  Among condos, the median sales price increased $32,000 between 2012 and the end of 2014. We are continuing to see low inventory levels and strong buyer demand.   Contact me if you are thinking of selling or are ready to buy .

The latest data from the Mid Florida MLS confirms what I have been telling real estate buyers for months.  The Sarasota real estate market is strong. The median sales price for a single family home in Sarasota County increased to $184,500 from $155,000 in 2012. The median sales price for condos, townhomes, and villas in Sarasota County increased to $165,000 from $150,000 in 2012.  This result further supports my rationale for choosing single family homes over condos, since appreciation for single family homes is increasing faster than condos. In case you missed it on my website:   www.davidbarrhomes.com/condo_versus_house I have also updated sales statistics for Manatee and Charlotte Counties.  Please visit www.davidbarrhomes.com/sarasota_real_estate_prices for more information.

I just read a short article with a very informative graph showing raw national housing prices are now fluctuating around 2003 levels.  You can read this article here:  http://read.bi/GXW1Y4 I recently did an analysis about Zillow's misrepresentation of Sarasota real estate values, where I contrasted their flawed data versus the actual 2010 vs 2011 median prices based on the MLS.  The end result was that median prices year over year in Sarasota are unchanged. When the national numbers seem to be fluctuating in a small range, and the local Sarasota numbers are stable, this means, in my opinion, the time has never been better to buy Sarasota real estate.