Finally A Decent Piece of Journalism

Most of you who subscribe to our local newspaper have probably had it with negative real estate reporting in the news. I know I have- so Kenneth Hearney's article in last Sunday's paper was a welcome moderate voice, even if we did have to rely on the AP for some good reporting. The article concludes by stating that a lot of the recent news media rhetoric has been superfluous and severe. Hearney's conclusion is that this faulty rhetoric, while terribly effective at selling papers, really cripples the market in the long term. I share this sentiment with him.

People always ask me where I see the market going... so here goes.

The U.S. economy is in an interesting position- the Dow is hitting record highs, unemployment is low, oil prices are down, and the long term interest rates have slowly been falling each week. Also the luxury housing market is very strong. All of these externals lead me to believe that serious buyers and sellers don't need to sweat the larger forces of the economy. Although we are in a correcting market I think we are seeing greedy and frivolous investors get what was coming to them. These are the true horror stories- otherwise I think things are getting back to normal. Normal means that the drastic 30-40% run up in prices is easing back to the normal patterns of what prices would have increased to incrementally without the boom. The day to day vicissitudes of being a real estate practicioner model to me more of a correction than a bust.

More Growth for Lakewood Ranch

Despite the slowing real estate market Lake wood Ranch is planning for more massive future growth. I was astonished to learn that SMR is planning to add over 8,000 more homes north of State Route 70 in South Bradenton. In an effort to make Lakewood Ranch a more autonomous community the focus will be on growth not only in residential units, but also in commercial and industrial sectors as well. Although building is not supposed to start until next year, and build out wont be until 2019, this news is a bit surprising since much of Lakewood Ranch is for sale right now. This shows us that big developers are still buying into the long term viability of the Sarasota Real Estate Market. One thing that you can bet on about this new development is that much of it will be "affordable" in comparison to other Lakewood Ranch areas. For those who enjoy the Lakewood Ranch lifestyle, now is a great time to buy. A source at Neal Communities told me about a new community in the Country Club that is starting in the $380's- a very modest price for the luxury that lies behind the gates.