Sarasota Florida Flat Fee MLS Listings FSBO – Discount Realtor & Broker

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1800 Ben Franklin Dr., #402
$1,670,000
3,964 Square-Feet

SELLER AUCTION @ The Beach Residences on Lido Key, Managed by Ritz Carlton * Offering Sought After Luxury & 5-Star Service to All Residents * This is the BEST Value in Entire Building @ $421/ft2 * This Unit is Being Offered $600,000 Below Fair Market Value * Being Sold Fully Furnished, with Complete Appliance Package * Expansive Floor Plan @ 3,964ft2 * Great Investment as Unit Rents for $12,000/Month in Season, & $10,000/Month out of Season * Gulf & Beach Views From Spacious Terrace, Family Room, & Master Suites * Oversized Tile, Laid on Diagonal, Throughout Living Areas * Private Elevator * Family Room with Wet Bar *  Granite Countertops in Gourmet Kitchen with Top-of-the-Line Cabinetry & Fixtures * Floor Plan Offers 2 Master Suites, Office/Den, & Guest Bedroom * Beach Residence Amenities Include: Valet Service, On-Site Maid Services, Resort-style Pool, State of the Art Fitness, Billiards Room, Full Spa, Social Room, Theatre with Stadium Seating, & Restaurant * Property will be auctioned December 5, 2009 at 2PM CENRAL TIME, Please call for details * This is not a “Bank Auction”, but a “Seller Auction” * Best Value in Beach Residence! Ready to Close Quick

For Private Showings & More Information Contact 941-448-4872

Click on the Thumbnails below to preview more photos of this luxury condo

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May U.S. housing construction jumps by 17.2 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) – June 16, 2009 – Construction of new U.S. homes has jumped in May by the largest amount in three months, providing an encouraging sign that the nation’s deep housing recession was beginning to bottom out.

The Commerce Department says that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 17.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 532,000 units. That was better than the 500,000-unit pace that economists had expected and came after construction had fallen in April to a record low of 454,000 units.

In another encouraging sign, applications for building permits, seen as a good indicator of future activity, rose by 4 percent in May to an annual rate of 518,000 units.

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2 Bed, 2 Bath
909 Square Feet
$299,900 

This Internationally-Recognized Vintage Ralph Twichell Home Voted, “BEST SMALL HOUSE IN AMERICA, 1998″ by Metropolitan Home Magazine * Built by Ralph Twitchell, Founding Father of Sarasota School of Architecture * This Home Has Been Awarded Many Accolades Including: Featured on Home & Garden Network (HGTV) “A Place to Call Home”,  Featured in London Magazine, Selected as One of 12 Homes to be Featured in Andrew Weaving’s “Sarasota Modern” (A Coffee Table Hardbound), Featured in Sarasota Magazine, Featured in “Downtown” (A Sarasota Magazine), Selected as One of 70 “Homes of Distinction” in Sarasota * This Home Has Been on National Tour Symposiums & Local Tours Regularly * Built in 1959, Nearly All Original & Restored, Last Twichell Design Left Standing in the World * Impeccably Kept! * Located on Tahiti Lagoon, Tropical, Peaceful, Wildlife Abounds * Stainless Steel, Updated Appliances, & Countertops * Artistic Mosaic Kitchen Backsplash Flown in From Manhattan, NY * Immaculate Terrazzo Floors Throughout * Wired for Home Theatre System * Large Screened Lanai with “Zen-Like” Water Feature * Working Vintage Fireplace * Skylights in Every Room * Wrap Around Decking * Zera-Scaped Yard * New Industrial Roof Only 2 Years Old * Totally Furnished * Surrounded by Million Dollar Homes on the Bay * 3 Miles to Beach * Walking Distance to Downtown, Theatres, Restaurants, & Van Wezel *  Home Celebrating its 50th Birthday & Able to Registered in “Historic Registry” * This Internationally-Renowned Home is a MUST SEE!

Contact Justin Shirley for more Showings & Information on this home, or Any Homes in Sarasota, Florida.

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6532 Lincoln Rd.
Bradenton, FL 34202

$685,000

This is Not a Short Sale * Motivated Seller! Home Appraised for $720,000 * Non-deed restricting lot, no HOA or CDD Fees * Low Flood/Hazard Insurance (high elevation) * NEW CONSTRUCTION on 1.3 acres!  This home is in prestine condition. Many E-efficient Features * Built with concrete block from ground to roof, dual A/C zonez, security alarm system, surround sound system, Hickory Hardwood floors, 12-foot vaulted ceilings, Chef’s kitchen with stainless appliances, maple cabinetry and granite countertops, 6 sets of french doors, Tiled bath rooms Laundry room (on 2nd floor), 1st floor in-laws suite or live/work office space or apartment rental income, lots of storage space 3-car garage with 4th storage bay, 4 covered patios & decks * Nature surrounds you * Bird lovers paradise * Qiet and serene setting * Sunsets in your back yard * 180 degree of lush view * Country living with all the convenience within 5 mile radius * Bring your RV’s, boats, jets skiis and kayaks * Plenty of storage on this propert * Dock your boat right on this property * House your RV on this lot * Located on land that is part of the “Braden River Historical Society”; you are purchasing a unique piece of Florida! Save thousands of $$ yearly on this home by not paying HOA or CDD’s (special additional property taxes). Wildlife surrounds you here…a bit of the country in the city * A bird lovers dream as you take in all the sights & sounds from one of your 4 covered patio’s * Shows Like a Model! Could Be Purchased Totally FURNISHED!

(Click on Thumbnails Below to See Larger Version of Picture)

Contact Justin Shirley for more Showings & Information on this home, or Any Homes in Bradenton/Sarasota, Florida.

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(New Home Sales are Rising & Prospective Buyers Flock to “Sales Centers” in New Communities. New Construction is the One Niche of the Market that Competes Very Well with Foreclosure & Short Sale Pricing.. Plus, Newer & Never Lived-In is Very Desirable!)

Homebuilders tout signs of housing market thaw

LOS ANGELES – June 4, 2009 – Homebuilders across the country say they are finally seeing signs the three-year housing downturn is ending.

This week, both Toll Brothers Inc. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. were the latest builders to report smaller quarterly losses, rosier sales trends and more prospective buyers visiting model homes.

Toll said Wednesday it has seen an increase in homebuyers putting down deposits during nine of the past 11 weeks, compared to weekly figures from fiscal 2008.

“In the last couple of weeks, which on a seasonal basis should stink, we do see fewer (contract) cancellations coming in than we would have normally expected,” said Robert Toll, chief executive officer.

None of them, however, is ready to jinx it by calling the bottom. They say the recession and fear of job losses are keeping many would-be homebuyers on the fence.

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(Florida Plays Host to One of the Most Desirable Places in America to “Tie the Knot”. Weddings Mean.. Romance, Paradise, Beauty, Love, Fun, & Relaxing.. It’s Interesting the Same Words To Describe Wedding, Describe Quality of Life in the Sunshine State..)

Prospects for Florida’s recovery heat up, economists say

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – May 5, 2009 – After two long years of recession, economists are beginning to see signs that the economy’s recovery is finally in sight. South Florida home sales are picking up, Wall Street has staged some solid rallies and even consumer confidence is rising.

But the road to recovery will be uneven. Economists say that an uptick in business spending will lead the way, followed by federal government stimulus projects that will create some jobs. Consumers, unfortunately, are likely to be the last to see good times return, because widespread unemployment – which is now just a notch below 10 percent – won’t start to go down until after the recovery is well under way.

It has been rough, but economists say it’s always that way for Florida.

“It performs better in good times, but during bad times, in recessions, it is one of the worst performing states in the nation,” said Moody’s Economy.com economist Chris Lafakis. “And during times of expansion it is one of the best.”

Some experts say they already see the early signs of such progress.

“The negative numbers just start getting smaller or they stop falling or they fall at a slower rate,” said SunTrust Chief Economist Gregory Miller. It’s like you tumbled out of a boat a while ago and “now we’re at the stage of swimming back to the surface.”

Other economists agree that the worst may be over as soon as this summer. Consumers surely have had enough, judging by the strong jump in Floridians’ consumer confidence this month.

Here’s how economists say the state will find its way out of the slump:

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(Credit Scores Range in Averages Across Certain Demographics.. Due to the Frequency of Foreclosure & Short Sale Activities, FICO, Creditors, & Lenders May be Tweaking Their Rules & Regulations on Future Financing.. Read On..)

The amount of damage to a credit score caused by foreclosure, deed in lieu or a short sale during 2008 and 2009 may be mitigated by the slower economic times, say some credit and legal experts.

FICO may have to adjust its credit scores to lessen the impact of a foreclosure in the past two years, says Todd J. Zywicki, a professor of law at George Mason University.

”It just seems obvious that a foreclosure in 2008 or 2009 doesn’t have as much information value as a foreclosure five years ago,” he says. ”To the extent that foreclosure doesn’t predict future behavior as much as it did in the past, you’d expect that the FICO algorithm would change to adjust for that.”

One of the country’s largest credit unions, Golden 1, has already figured out a way to lend to people with a foreclosure on their record by offering a mortgage repair loan specifically for those who have lost a home to foreclosure and who want to buy a new one.

BECU, another large credit union based in Washington State, is about to present a program to fellow lenders, ”How to Lend to the Newly Credit Impaired.”

Source: The New York Times, Ron Lieber (03/14/2009)

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(Homeowners Insurance Can be a Burden to Read.. But, as a Real Estate Agent who cares about his clients, I always encourage a thorough Reading & Understanding of What your Policy Covers & what it Doesn’t.. Overpaying for Insurance is More Common, than Undervalued Coverage.. Read on..)

Survey: Americans’ low insurance IQ hurts finances

CHICAGO (AP) – March 10, 2009 – Americans are lacking in basic knowledge about insurance that might help their finances during the recession, according to a new survey.

In fact, we know a lot less about insurance than we think we know, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which sponsored the poll. That disconnect can end up costing them money or gaps in their long-term insurance protection, says the NAIC, which represents state insurance regulators.

“Now more than ever, consumers need to be mindful of the impact their insurance decisions can have on their financial future,” said Terri Vaughan, the group’s chief executive. “By arming themselves with the facts – and improving their insurance IQ – consumers can make sure they are adequately protected, without paying more than they should for that coverage.”

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The upside of Florida real estate: 15 market positives

Let’s take a look at some of the opportunities and positive indicators for the future of Florida’s real estate market.

1. Great prices. Statewide, home prices have fallen about 20 percent in the past year. FAR statistics show the existing-home median sales price was $185,400 in the third quarter of 2008, compared with $233,200 in third quarter 2007. By the way, those numbers are still significantly higher than in the early years of the decade. In 2003, the third-quarter sales price was $163,700, which reflects an increase of about 13.3 percent over the five-year period. (The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less.)

2. The time is right. Home sales volumes are rising again – a signal that the market recovery may be underway. In third quarter 2008, statewide sales of existing single-family homes were up 5 percent compared to the same period last year, according to FAR statistics.

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(This Report Represents is a Nice Snapshot of Florida home sales in the Greater Ft. Launderdale Area (RAGFL = Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale). This is a Metropolitan Area of Florida that has Traditionally Established Buying Trends in the Sunshine State..)

Florida’s existing home, condo sales rise in January 2009 January existing-home sales fall, inventory down, says NAR
ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 25, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in January, making it the fifth month in a row that sales activity showed increases in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). Existing home sales rose 24 percent last month with a total of 8,450 homes sold statewide compared to 6,810 homes sold in January 2008, according to FAR.

“Many people are looking at today’s market and seeing opportunities to find the home or business they’ve always wanted,” said 2009 FAR President Cynthia Shelton. “With a range of available housing options, historically low mortgage interest rates and affordable prices, buyers who may have been hesitant before should take a closer look at the current opportunities for homeownership. As real estate professionals who know all aspects of their local market conditions, Florida Realtors are here to help counsel consumers making sound long-term decisions for their homes and their businesses.”

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