CHICAGO – April 30, 2015 – Home prices are rising more rapidly than they did just a few months ago, as demand outpaces supply. Existing-home sales surged 9 percent year-over-year in March, and home prices rose 8 percent over last year, according to the National Association of [...]

Could it be?  Could existing condominiums be priced as low as the mid-$200’s in such premium waterfront neighborhoods on one of our islands? Upon closer examination, it turns out that you can indeed purchase good condominiums near the area’s best beaches for less than one might think.  For not only do amazing buying opportunities [...]

Coastal Living features Sarasota as ‘Dream Town'

Less than one month after TripAdvisor named Siesta Key home to the No. 1 U.S. beach, Sarasota continues to gain national prominence with a nod from Coastal Living Magazine. The lifestyle and travel magazine chose Sarasota as the featured “Dream Town” for March, citing its beaches, [...]

Home prices rise 8.6% in Sarasota - Manatee - April 2015

Home prices jumped 8.6 percent in February over the year before in the Sarasota-Manatee region, outpacing state and national gains.

Prices increased an even more robust 11.1 percent in Charlotte County, data provider CoreLogic reported Tuesday.

Home prices climbed 6.4 percent throughout Florida in February, the 12th-highest rate in the [...]

Happiest in America

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida, has the highest Well-Being Index score (64.1) across the 100 most populous communities in the U.S., according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Rounding out the top five are Urban Honolulu, Hawaii; Raleigh, North Carolina; Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, [...]

Interest Rates - Strong Housing Growth in 2015

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced in late February that housing is poised for stronger growth in 2015. Yet mortgage interest rates remain low. Should you lock in a rate now or see what happens? That depends on your tolerance for risk. Despite a positive outlook for the economy, [...]

Southwest Florida’s home buying season is in full swing — and it’s shaping up to be one of the busiest ever. Despite rapidly rising home prices and lingering inventory woes, homes from Parrish to Punta Gorda continue to change hands at the fastest clip on record, and most industry watchers don’t foresee it slowing any time soon. [...]

Sarasota Area Home Prices Climb 6.9 Percent

Home prices in the Sarasota-Manatee region climbed 6.9 percent in January compared with last year, the most in six months. The increase topped the Florida and U.S. gains, data provider CoreLogic reported Tuesday. Single-family homes’ prices rose even more — [...]

Sarasota Tourism - More people are coming to the Sarasota area on vacation than ever before.

In 2014, Sarasota County topped a 70 percent hotel occupancy rate for the first time in history, said Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota, the county’s tourism [...]

Oscar Worthy in Southwest Florida

Topping the List To wit, Southwest Florida perennially tops just about any list of America’s best places to live, work, play, vacation, start a business, buy a home or retire.  Our beaches are repeatedly ranked among the most beautiful in the world, our public schools among the highest-rated academically in all of Florida; and our [...]