Join us this Thursday from 10am to 1pm for a daytime tour of Prestancia homes for sale. The tour will feature 11 homes and villas with listing prices from $395,000 to $1,295,000. All real estate agents and prospective buyers are welcome at the event. We will host a free lunch in the TPC at Prestancia Stadium Room of the clubhouse after the tour.

Our listing at 7853 Estancia Way will be the last stop on the tour. It features over 6000 square feet of living space and has spectacular views of the 12th and 13th holes of the TPC Stadium golf course.

7853 Estancia Way Details

Spectacular Prestancia golf course home featuring over 6000 square feet of living space. Perfectly located on a cul-de-sac, this beautiful house was custom designed and built up to take advantage of panoramic views of the 12th and 13th holes of the TPC at Prestancia Stadium golf course and lakes. This is a great home for entertaining both inside and out.

Other features include:

• Multi-level outdoor living space
• Outdoor kitchen
• Large caged and heated pool
• Soaring ceilings
• Lots of windows and natural light
• Separate guest suite for out-of-town family and guests
• Extensive updates and upgrades

Located in Palmer Ranch close to Siesta Key beaches, shopping, entertainment and dining.

For more information on the community and all current MLS listings, visit our Prestancia section of this website.

We just reduced the listing price of 1904 Hyde Park to $649,000. It has been reduced $140,000. It previously sold for $850,000 in May of 2007. This home has 3,121 square feet and was built in 2002. It is in a terrific location west of the trail. Call us at 941-544-6467 if you would like to see this or any other listings.

Virtual Tour - http://www.srqvm2.com/1904hydepark/mov.html

Front View

Aaron Kessler wrote an article in Herald-Tribune Business Weekly yesterday about the Sarasota Association of Realtors sales numbers being "confusing." The SAR stats can be confusing because there are listings and a few sales in other counties in the SAR MLS system. There are also many sales that are not included in SAR statistics.

For those of you that track local real estate data, there are a few tools that can help you with you Sarasota real estate sales and inventory levels.

You can do a sales search for all Sarasota County sales at the Sarasota County Property Appraiser site - http://www.sarasotaproperty.net/scpa_sales_search.asp . If you are only interested in a particular area, you can also search by neighborhood or condo.

I did a quick search at the Property Appraiser site for all residential sales from 3/1/08 to 3/31/2008. I searched all sales over $10,000 (to eliminate transfers and refinance records). I also selected Land Use Code - "residential." It shows 904 sales in that period. Many more than the 500 or so reported in SAR March stats.

This tool has several benefits that the SAR stats do not.

1. You will get sales data in Sarasota County only
2. You will see all sales in Sarasota county including private sales, FSBO’s, etc., not just MLS sales

If you are interested in tracking Sarasota MLS inventory levels for Sarasota County only, we have a tool on our site that updates MLS inventory levels daily - http://www.buysarasota.com/Statistics-pg148.cfm

Also, if there any other statistics you would like to follow on a regular basis, I would be happy to have our programmer add a tool to that page that pulls more statistics from the IDX system. Just let me know.

In order to receive the recently adopted tax savings from individual parts of Amendment 1, Florida tax payer are required to apply no later than March 3rd, 2008.

• Portability
  
• Additional Homestead Exemption
  
• $25,000 Tangible Personal Property Exemption
  
• 10% Assessment Limitation (Does not applt until next year. No application neccessary.)

Initial applications for the property tax exemption must be made between January 1st and March 1st of the year for which the exemption is sought. Application should be made in person at the property appraiser's office. How to Apply for Exemptions in Sarasota

For more information on Amendment 1: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/sb4d.html

There is an excellent podcast covering Sarasota short sales on the Sarasota Herald Tribune website. Reporter Harold Bubil interviewed Sarasota real estate attorney Sylvia Golden Norris. The interview covers some of the basics of a short sale. I had the opportunity to hear Ms Norris speak at the 2007 Real Estate Law Summit. She is an excellent speaker and very knowledgeable in the field of short sales and foreclosures. To hear the podcast, visit:Sylvia Golden Norris Interview.

Luxury home buyers considering an investment, vacation home or permanent residence in Sarasota will find that their money is buying much more than it did a few years ago. The market is full of opportunities. Savvy buyers are taking advantage of historically low interest rates, a great selection of properties and reduced home prices.

The old saying that the wealthy "buy when everyone else is selling" is so true. Whether the real estate market is at the bottom or not is a topic with much debate. However, there is no debating that buyers are getting considerably more for their money than during the boom. Many experts agree that you make money on real estate when you buy not when you sell. I am currently working with several very shrewd home buyers and investors who see the long-term opportunities here.

Some people are reluctant to buy in down markets. This is very understandable. The prospect of making a large investment that may decline in the short term can be unsettling. But buying at the bottom is just as tough as selling at a peak.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced a new public awareness campaign for 2008. The campaign will aim to educate consumers on the long-term benefits of owning real estate. Two themes of the campaign are Building Wealth and Home Values.

Real estate has traditionally been viewed as a long-term investment. The skyrocketing market from 2002 to 2005 changed many investors expectations and goals. However, the current market is giving a strong dose of reality. Real estate is still an important piece of the puzzle for building long-term wealth. The key word is "long-term."

The NAR campaign starts January 14, 2008 with a variety of TV and print ads. There are over 10,000 ads scheduled from January to November.