Image via Wikipedia Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in January ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 23, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales rose in January, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 14 percent last month with a total of 12,151 homes sold statewide compared to 10,702 homes sold in January 2010, according to Florida Realtors. January’s statewide sales of existing condos rose 36 percent compared to the previous year’s sales figure. Seventeen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing home sales in January; 16 MSAs had higher condo sales. “Now is a great time for anyone thinking of buying a home in Florida to make that decision,” said 2011 Florida Realtors® President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart. “ Mortgage rates are historically low, although they are beginning to ti

Pending sales surge in January 2011 Pending sales in the Sarasota real estate market experienced a major climb in January 2011, from 789 in December 2010 to 1,013 last month for a 28 percent increase. This statistic is a strong indicator for the next two or three months of sales, as pending sales reflect current buyer activity. It was the first time pendings have exceeded the 1,000 mark since April of 2010, when the looming homebuyer tax credit expiration date was fueling sales activity. Overall, sales hit the 537 mark in January, higher than last January's total of only 506 sales, but somewhat disappointing compared to the 681 sales in December. January is traditionally a slower sales month due to the holidays, and sales have dropped from December to January over the past several years. Last year, sales dipped in January but surged strongly in February, March and April. The dramatic rise in the pending sales last month, coupled with positive word of mouth reports from SAR m

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Feb. 2, 2011 – Optimism has increased slowly but steadily in Florida real estate markets through the fourth quarter of 2010, a new University of Florida survey finds. The fourth quarter Survey of Emerging Market Conditions found improvement in several key categories, including the outlook for sales in new single-family homes and condominiums, office occupancy, retail occupancy, land investment and capital availability. Much of the optimism derives from politics with the defeat last fall of Amendment 4, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required a referendum for all changes to local government comprehensive land-use plans, said Timothy Becker, director of UF’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies. The conclusion of mid-term elections also eased respondents’ uncertainty as it provided a clearer picture of the future. “The state welcomed a new governor who has promised to make Florida a more business-friendly state,” Becker said. “If he can succeed on