Sarasota Luxury Real Estate News

The Case for Real Estate Investment

This week Michael Saunders makes the case quite clearly that, despite the recent years of woe in the housing market, real estate remains a secure and desirable form of investment. In Michael’s weekly market report attached below, she cites data prepared by Steve Harney, a national real estate authority, in which he reports that over […]

The Power of the Region’s Dominant Broker

  In Michael Saunders’ most recent blog post, not only is it revealed that agents of our fine firm represented 11 “sides” of Sarasota’s top 10 sales in 2011 but, she also reminds us that Michael Saunders & Co. continues to be the market leader in selling the region’s luxury properties. The article further cites […]

10 Things to Know Before Buying A Home

The decision to buy a home seldom comes overnight—indeed, even seasoned investors think long and hard before putting money into real estate. For most people, it’s the single most important investment they’ll ever make. So it’s only natural, even practical, to get informed before taking that step. Here are ten things worth knowing if you want to get your money’s worth.

10 Common Real Estate Investing Mistakes

The slow but steady rebound of the housing market has brought about a rise in real estate investing. But investing in property is no easy business, although the dozens of money gurus on the Internet would tell you otherwise. There is a right way to go about it—it’s just a matter of finding it while […]

How Does Unemployment Affect Home Value?

The good news for the housing sector is that existing home sales in the U.S. rose 10.1% in October, 2009, and we are beginning to see signs of stabilization. [See Policy, Price, and Product Are Used to Assess Market Recovery for details.]

There is widespread agreement that problems in the housing market caused the financial crisis and led to the recession. It’s important to note, however, that the housing market is inextricably linked to the employment sector and a sustained improvement for housing might not be realized until the broader economy, including the job market, has recovered.

Policy, Price, and Product Are Used to Assess Market Recovery

Existing home sales in the U.S. rose 10.1% in October, 2009. This is good news for the housing sector that has been hurt by an exceedingly large inventory of unsold homes and unprecedented rates of foreclosure.

Government Policy

The ability of the housing market to stand on its own, unaided by federal stimulus, will be tested very soon. The end is nearing for two federal policies that are credited with providing a boost to the housing market this year. The $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers was extended, but is scheduled to end in the spring of 2010. Secondly, the Federal Reserve, which purchased mortgage securities in an effort to keep mortgage rates low, has indicated that aid will soon cease as well.

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