Real Estate Matters

Well, there are many indicators saying yes. Consider this. Pending sales for February 2009 in the Sarasota area are at the highest level since April 2006 and 100 more than 683 in January 09 and 19 percent higher than in February 2008. A recent article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune boasted that price drops and historic low interest rates are enticing buyers. Add to that, for the international buyer, the exchange rate for the euro is rising again, now at 1.34 from 1.24 at the first of March. Real estate in the United States is still a very safe bet attracting many Europeans and Canadians to our area.

This is not to diminish the fact that there are many difficulties and challenges facing Floridians and now that the Florida Legislature is in session, Florida Realtors will be meeting with state legislators this Tuesday and Wednesday in Tallahassee to insure that we work together to build a strong real estate market in Florida. As president of the Sarasota Association of Realtors I’ll be leading a delegation from Sarasota, in conjunction with the Florida Association of Realtors, to do just that. We want to ensure that legislative efforts concerning residential foreclosures, including rentals, are fair and equitable to all parties.

We want to encourage our legislators to allocate funds to prevent, combat and publicize the dangers of unlicensed real estate activity in Florida. Realizing that a strong housing market builds strong communities, we will be urging our legislators to lower taxes for non-homestead property owners and create more incentives for first-time home buyers. Also, there are several other key bills being considered that impact the Florida real estate market and we will be encouraging our representatives to vote appropriately.

Cheers,

Bill Geller