Sarasota Florida May Be The Ultimate Beach and Winter Get-away Town

Once known primarily as a vacation and retirement destination, today Sarasota may be the ultimate winter-get-away, golf and beach town, with 35 miles of pristine white sandy beaches and over 200 sunny days a year. The quality of the sand on Sarasota area beaches is nothing short of legendary. The weather is unbeatable with an average year-round temperature of 71 degrees, and, there are over 80 public and private golf courses in the metro Manatee and Sarasota County area inlcuding Bradenton, Sarasota, Osprey and Venice.

Long-time residents swear that the Sarasota area has its own "micro-climate." When rain falls in Tampa, only 60 miles north, or south in Fort Myers, the skies seem to always remain fair over the Sarasota - Bradenton area. Sarasota received Money Magazine's "Best Small City" Award.

Sarasota Florida real estate offerings of homes and condos on golf courses or on the waterfront are among the most desirable in all of Florida and prices right now are lower than they have been in several years.

For more information on waterfront, golf course, and downtown aurban living spaces, you may want to visit either Andree Huffine's Sarasota real estate website or Bob Henley's Sarasota Florida homes for sale website. You'll be glad you did.

It's Hurricane Season..Are You Prepared?

It's early June and the start of hurricane season not only in Florida but all over the Southeastern coast of the United States.

Are you prepared to protect youself and your family in case of any serious incident ? Remember, the planning ahead that you ought to do for a hurricane applies just as well to any emergency suituation so reviewing your preparedness for any eventuality would be a good investment of a few minutes of your time.

It's always better to be safe than sorry. You may want to take a few minutes now and read this Hurricane Readiness Article.

If you are considering buying or selling real estate property in Sarasota or Manatee County Florida, including Bradenton, Palmetto, Sarasota, Osprey, Longboat Key or Siesta Key, check out this Sarasota Florida real estate website for helpful Sarasota - Bradenton real estate, local community, schools and golf course information.

Sarasota and Bradenton Home Sales are Recovering Nicely

According to a recent Sarasota Herald Tribune article, although local housing inventory stubbornly hovered near record high levels, the Sarasota-Bradenton market turned in the Sunshine State's best results for April,2008 while existing home sales activity ws up 16% compared with April, 2007. The Sarasota Bradenton real estate market was the only market in the state of Florida to show positive sales growth for April.

Meanwhile, the median sales price for homes dropped by only 2%, which some real estate observers interpret as a sign that the prolonged price erosion caused by the market's downslide last year may be finally leveling off. Home sales in this market have increased month-over-month each month for the past four months. April home sales, as registered in the Sarasota MLS were 567 units - the highest level in 10 months, and approximately 72% above the sales in January 2008.

Read the full Herald Tribune article.

Welcome to Heritage Oaks - One of Sarasota's newer golf communities

The 18-hole Heritage Oaks Golf and Country Club community in Sarasota, Florida features all the hallmarks of great Florida golf. Designed by Jed Azinger and Gordon Lewis, this golf course and golf course community opened in 1997 just East of I-75. Heritage Oaks offers its residents free golf as well as an immaculate clubhouse and fully-equipped fitness center.

Other activities offered at Heritage Oaks include lighted tennis courts, book and bridge clubs, theater groups, scenic trails, and 5 heated pools.

Home choices range from maintenance-free condominiums and villas to single-family homes. The community is a perfect setting for an investment or for a seasonal or vacation home or condo.

If you would like to know more about gollf course living at Heritage Oaks, I would be happy to introduce you to this moderately priced community and the fun-filled lifestyle it offers. I invite you to visit the Sarasota Real Estate website of Andree Huffine, a Sarasota REMAX Realtor or you may call her directly at (941) 308-6752 or toll-free at my Office at (800) 966-2334.

Right Now May be the Right Time to Sell

Right now might be the best time to sell your home in Sarasota Florida. I know it sounds crazy but read on.

Every home or condo has attributes about it that, now tht you've lived in it for a while, you wish you could change. You may have recognized these issues when you bought the property but the property fit your needs in other ways so you ignored them. Now those issues are beginning to "bug" you. The problem is that you cannot fix these problems now for various reasons.

It may be that your home or condo cannot be changed to suit your wishes because of its physical structure, association rules, it's location, or even changes in your own personal circumstances. Maybe it was near a great school when you bought the home, but now the kids are gone and that nearby school is just a source of noise and traffic. Or, maybe the cost of making the change would drive your investment in the home beyond what the neighborhood will support. Perhaps you should look at these "issues that can't be "fixed" as "opportunities." Are you kidding, you want me to consider selling my property now that home prices have dropped ?

Exactly, now might be the right time to sell your current home. While the price you'll get for your home may be down, so is the price of a home that doesn't have the same issues or drawbacks. With recent steep declines in Sarasota and Bradenton area home and condo prices and with mortgage rates at historically low rates, NOW may be exactly the right time to step up to the home that maybe you originally wanted but couldn't afford. And remember this. The "issues" you have with your current home may not be issues at all to a prospective buyer. Take the nearby school issue. For some people that would be a major advantage of your home.

Let's take an example. Suppose you bought your home 3 or 4 years ago for $300,000, but it has now lost 20% of its original value. It might sell today for closer to $240.000. But, the home you originally wanted; the one that sold then for $425,000 is also down now, by that same 20% to about $340,000, a drop of $85,000, almost one and a half times the reduction the price on your current home.

And with so many homes on the market right now, if the seller of the home you'd like really needs to sell, it is possible that, with the help of an aggressive Realtor, you can negotiate that price down even lower than $340,00. Chances are that if you could afford your $300,000 home 3 or 4 years ago, even with just normal yeqar over year increases in your income, you can probably afford the home you always wanted now that Sarasota area home and condo prices are so depressed.

As a bonus, when Florida home prices start to rebound, you'll not only have a nicer home, but that new home's price may rise even faster than your old one with its drawbacks.

For help in finding the perfect Sarasota Florida area home, visit the Sarasota Florida Real Estate website of Dick Plumb of Mt Vernon ERA. For more immediate help, you may call him toll-free at 888-818-8302 or you may E-Mail Dick for more info on Sarasota and Bradenton Florida real estate opportunities. Dick would be delighted to be of service.

Bradenton Florida is a Golfer's Paradise

Bradenton Florida is definitely a "golfer’s paradise"!

With its "addiction" to golf, Bradenton Florida has more than its share of fine golf courses -- some of them perfect for yur level of play.

Bradenton, located just north of Sarasota Florida, is the largest city in Manatee County with a population of approximately 50,000. Bradenton also plays host to many family attractions such as the South Florida Museum and the Bishop Planetarium.

For an lifetime of relaxed living in a golf course setting, Bradenton Florida is an extremely attractive place to live. Bradenton golf courses range from the private Bradenton Country Club, founded in 1924, and Lakewood Ranch Country Club built in the past few years to municipal courses like River Run Golf Course.

There is a home or golf condo among the many Sarasota - Bradenton Florida real estate offerings that is just right for you and your family regardless of your age or circumstances.

If you would like to know more about Bradenton area golf courses, golf course homes and condos for sale, or its beaches, shopping and cultural amenities, visit Rich Stover's Sarasota Bradenton Florida real estate website and let him show you around all the golf course communities in Sarasota County and Manatee County. If the elegance of Longboat key is more your "cup of tea", you may want to visit the Longboat Key real estste website of Mary Bernas.

March 2008 Sarasota Real Estate Sales Exceed 500

Overall property sales in the Sarasota real estate market for March, 2008 topped 500 for the first time in eight months, according to statistics on the Sarasota MLS system. Acording to the Sarasota Association of Realtors, there were 514 real estate property sales in March, 2008, easily topping February sales of only 423.

Read the full Sarasota Association of Realtors news release.

Now may the right time, if you have been holding off, to get serious about a potential home or condo purcahse before the prices of homes in the Sarasota and Bradenton real estate markets start going back up again, as they surely will. Learn more about the metropolitan Sarasota real estate market at the websites of Bob Henley, Sarasota Realtor or Dick Plumb, Sarasota FL real estate expert.