Sarasota Real Estate News

A real estate attorney from Chicago is suing Zillow claiming that their “Zestimate” tool undervalued her home, which affected her ability to sell it at market value.  Seems that Zillow may have used data from the wrong neighborhood.  How close is Zillow’s estimate in Sarasota?  I checked just three single family homes that sold last week in Palmer Ranch, Sarasota, zip code 34238.   The Zestimate was close for one, but Zillow was off by approximately $80,00 each for the other two homes.    
Zestimate pulls information from public records, but there are many factors that determine the value of a home.  The best way to know the value of your home is to get it appraised by a licensed appraiser.  When I list a property, I like the Sellers to get an appraisal and then I reimburse them at closing.   The Sellers for 5302 Cape Leyte Drive on Siesta Key had their house appraised at the time it was listed, and that really helped when we received a couple of lowball offers, and during negotiations with serious Buyers.   

A home’s value is affected by many things, one of which is the future benefits the Buyer gets from owning the property.  On Siesta Key, daily and weekly rental condos on the beach (such as Jamaica Royale, Gulf and Bay, Palm Bay Club, Horizons West, Siesta Dunes to name a few...) usually sell for more than the same size condo across the street on the bay side because they are income-producing.  For gulf-side condos that are not updated, an owner could generate $20,000-30,000 per year, or more if there is a full ocean view and updates.  Many owners are also very aggressive and help the management company bring in rentals with their own websites (VRBO.com, etc.) and they say they are bringing in much more than $30,000.  Each property is different, and Buyers really need to get the rental history for each unit they are interested in and not rely on “Linda’s Estimate.” 

Stigma and Market Value:  My book, Motion to Intervene, will be out this fall.  It's about two ski condos in the southwest that I purchased during the pre-construction phase.  The values of our beautiful mountain condos plummeted six months after purchase due to construction defects.  Zillow may have eventually caught up with our diminished values when there were resales, but these condos stayed on the market three years or longer.    This community is like Poltergeist at 11,000 feet in elevation.  Some people have said that it was cursed because it was an ancient Native American burial ground.  Interestingly, the contractor and architect died suddenly after the developer filed his lawsuit.      

I have been working with one Buyer over a year who was looking for a nice one-bedroom condo, and our efforts finally paid off; we closed last week.  He found this property on ZILLOW and called me, as he should.  J    He bought a totally renovated condo in Palm Aire Country Club for $110,500, and I know he will enjoy it for many years to come.   It was overpriced by the Seller, and I certainly wish she had gotten it appraised from the “git-go,” because she had to drop the price when the lender had it appraised.  It wasn't pretty. 

GREAT NEWS!  Forty-two acres on Sarasota’s Bayfront is being transformed to a world-class cultural center!    It will be located on U.S. Highway 41 from Boulevard of the Arts north to 10^th Street, surrounding Van Wezel Performing Arts, Garden Club, Art Center Sarasota, Municipal Auditorium, and the Sarasota Lawn Bowling Club.   This promises be the most exciting area on the gulf!   See the photos below of the Bayfront today, and maybe they’ll be collector’s items one day.

Yes, this facelift for our Sarasota Bayfront is long overdue! 

The Sarasota Bayfront Planning Organization is a non-profit organization that will be overseeing this initiative.  Drayton Saunders, President of Michael Saunders and Co. Real Estate Brokerage, is on the nine-personal panel with other community leaders; in the late fall, this group will choose a firm to implement the plan.  Estimated cost is $300 million, and there could be a city/county bond with the taxpayers funding a portion of this.  The remainder of the funding will come from donations.  Sarasota is very fortunate to have many philanthropists who are compassionate about the arts. 

Those of us who work for Michael Saunders and Co. are very proud of Drayton’s contributions to this initiative.  The founder and CEO of our company, Michael Saunders, was instrumental in bringing back downtown Sarasota in the l980’s when it was in desperate need of revitalization. 

There are some very nice condominiums across the street from this new Bayfront cultural center: Renaissance selling from $200-700k, and Alinari from $409k to $1.5 million.  When our world-class cultural center goes up on the Sarasota Bayfront, people who own there will be glad they do. 

There’s more urban renewal projects waiting to happen downtown, and if could, I would buy some of the older homes, tear them down, and just hold on to the dirt.  To heck with being a landlord, just buy the dirt and hold it for a few years or turn it into a parking lot!    

Check out my photos below of the Sarasota Bayfront “before” and stay tuned for more information as this project unfolds. 

Linda’s List:

To see photos, go to my home page at www.LindaHrealtor.com and enter the MLS number that starts with the letter “A.”  These properties are in central Sarasota, convenient to I-75 and Bee Ridge Road.

A4192258, 4248 Oakhurst Cir E. Oakhurst, Over 55 community, 2BR 2BA updated Villa, $239,000.

A4192242, 4267 Miriana Way, Villa Rosa, 3BR 2BA single family home, lake view, built in 2003, upgraded, maintenance free community $369,900…JUST LISTED!

A4189272, 4730 Acorn Circle, 5BR 2BA single family pool home on an acre, 4757 sq ft, $1,049,000.

Thank you for reading my blog, please don’t text and drive, and remember, I’m here to help you with your Sarasota, Siesta Key, and Venice, Florida real estate needs.  Call or text me at 941-914-4914.
Facebook.com/LindaHolleyLLC    Blog: LindaHrealtor.com/blog

Most sincerely yours, 
Linda Holley, Realtor GRI, Team Dunn

“The Best Move of Your Life”