Summer is Sizzlin' for Sarasota Luxury Real Estate

It's heating up in Sarasota...and, I'm not just talking about the temperature.

The Realtors in Sarasota (especially the Michael Saunders agents) have been very busy this year- not so much with the actual selling of property but more with understanding and advising our sellers to re-price their homes for today's marketplace.

Buyers were on the fence not making reasonable offers and sellers were not budging in price still clinging to 2005 dream prices of days gone by. There was a standstill in the marketplace-especially in the upper end.

Today, we see a new trend bubbling up. Gorgeous high end homes that have lingered on the market for years are now being sold! For example, after almost three long years on the market 1301 Westway Drive closed last week for $7,423,500.

According to Sarsota's MLS, since June 1, 2009, we have put 16 residential properties priced over $2 million under contract. And, even better, 10 luxury homes have closed since the beginning of June.

We are experiencing a market shift.

It is our time and we are ready, willing and able!

REAL ESTATE MARKETING….. ”The Times They are A-Changin”

Did full page color ads in the Robb Report ever sell a house in Sarasota? After 27 years in the real estate business and always doing whatever it takes to market and sell our listings, I'm not sure I can answer "yes" to that question.

There was a time when our coveted customers would leisurely flip through a magazine, jot down our phone number and maybe call us, but, not now. Our phones no longer ring with someone on the other line inquiring about a home that he saw on Page 57. Now, we get an e-mail.

Today, that same coveted customer will go on-line where he/she can get in-depth knowledge of the neighborhood, take a virtual tour of the home, check the comps and then, e-mail us "armed and ready" for the one-on-one interaction.

If print advertising is no longer bringing the same results that it once did; then, we as an industry, as a company and we as individual agents need to make some changes. So, Michael Saunders & Company and Paulene and I are tweaking our ways and adapting our marketing strategies to reach today's customer.

Yes, we will continue promoting our properties in print but we are expanding our on-line presence in order to reach the world-wide attention that our properties deserve.

And, please don't forget we are only a phone call away…or better yet, e-mail us, text us, read our Blogs, Friend us on Facebook, Tweet us, or get Linked-In with us!

Celebrating Freedom in Sarasota

Throughout my 6-mile walk today from Marina Jack over the Ringling Bridge and around St. Armand’s Circle, I kept thinking how lucky I am to live and work in Sarasota. At a young age (24), I made a rather gutsy choice to move here by myself and start my “adult” life. Almost everyone here has relocated from somewhere else, each making their own choice to live their life in Sarasota.

So, on this 4th of July, I celebrate the FREEDOM OF CHOICE. That we have the ability, the right, to choose wherever we want to live and to work. As long term Realtors, Paulene and I are not happy right now with the Real Estate market. We find no delight in telling Sellers that their property value has gone down from the year before or, working with buyers panting to jump into the market and not a lender around willing to fund their dream. It’s tough talk, but we are choosing to have the conversations with our Clients and we will help guide them through this challenging time.

Because, we have the FREEDOM TO BELIEVE. Paulene and I believe that Sarasota is the Best place to live. This Independence Day morning , I saw so many people laughing, fishing, boating, cycling and groovin’ to their I-pods…there were coolers and grills, families and lovers and like every other day, so many gathering around our Bayfront’s "Unconditional Surrender" statue with camera in hand believing that today is good and tomorrow will be even better.