David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

We'll have April 2015 data shortly, but first we have an encouraging outlook for the Nokomis real estate market (at least for home sellers) in zip code 34229. Highlights :   Sales volume up 64% over March 2014; Ssales price to list price ratio increases show more of a seller's market than in March 2014; Contributing to a seller's market is 2% fewer active listings and 5% fewer new listings than last year. When you are ready to sell your Nokomis FL property , please contact me .

If you are looking for a beach condo on Manasota Key, Siesta Key, or Longboat Key, now is a good time to buy. It's a great time to buy a beach condo in the Venice FL area This time of year, most of the seasonal renters are gone and it's easier to get showing appointments to see the units in person. In the past 30 days (the month of April 2015), 97 beach condo units in the area I serve have either gone under contract, were pending sale, or sold.  This is more than DOUBLE the number of condo units from April 2014. When you are ready to buy, please contact me to help you find your perfect beach condo .

If you've driven on Tamiami Trail between Venice and Sarasota, you've noticed a fun new bar called NoKoMo's open in the past week. Fun tiki bar is now open in Nokomis There's lots more seating at NoKoMo's than you'd guess NoKoMo's has a great water view and boat dock NoKoMo's has an interesting but small menu of tropical drinks and light bar menu-type fare with a tropical theme.  Check it out on your next visit to Venice or Nokomis.

I looked at MLS data for sold condos, townhomes, and villas (all considered condos) and analyzed sales for the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2014. Venice FL condos sold at increases in 2015. Venice FL real estate sales statistics from the MLS All indicators in 2015 increased from 2014.  In fact, this proves that waiting to buy costs money.  The median sales price increased $11,000, or 9%, over the first three months of 2014. You can browse Venice FL condos for sale on my website.  If you're in the market to buy or sell , please contact me .

A few days back I posted some pictures about beach accretion (sand washing up) on parts of the south end of Manasota Key. Nature being nature, the sand is coming from somewhere else, namely, the beaches on the north end of Manasota Key. Blind Pass Beach (aka middle beach), facing north Blind Pass Beach facing south Today I stopped to photograph what the locals call middle beach (Blind Pass Beach).  The public beach area seemed fine, but in the distance, especially facing south, you could view waves directly hitting sea walls at private residences. One stretch of beach particularly hard hit is the area around Tamarind on the Gulf and La Coquina condos, south of middle beach.  Those condos have no beach as of this writing. Read more on Manasota Key beach renourishment in Charlotte County. Read more about the Stump Pass Beach and Inlet Management Plan in a PDF document.

Season is over and it's time for an update on where we are in Manasota Key.  This quick analysis is for single family homes only. I compared the past 90 days to the previous period.  Units sold increased as did median sales price, but the list price to sales price ratio decreased, as more sellers negotiated off list price. If you are interested in selling your Manasota Key home , please contact me .

Everyone in the real estate business has been talking about drone video and photography in real estate.  Like most topics in my industry, I have an opinion about their use. The only question one should ask (as a property owner or Realtor) when considering drone use (when and if it becomes available), is will the end result produce a sale? I don't think so, in most cases involving residential real estate.  While I provide a basic video walk-through of a property for sale, and offer a full complement of high quality photos, the fact is that most Realtors haven't mastered these more basic tools that actually do sell a property. When you are ready to put your Venice FL home or condo on the market , please contact me .