I pulled the February 2008 statistics for Sarasota County. This search bullets Sarasota properties that have "closed" only.. With local market conditions placing constraints on buyers financing capabilities, among other transactional hurdles, homes that go under contract aren't guaranteed to close. So to keep my statistical analysis very consistent moving forward, I will only be reporting numbers reflecting a "closed" status on MLS..

-Single Family Homes- 42
-Condo- 110
-Multi-Family (i.e. Duplex, Quadplex, etc.)- 0
-Lots & Acreage- 5

What can we learn from these numbers? We see a nice spike in the condo market. I would attribute this to the second-home buyer vacationing in the Florida sun and escaping the cold northeastern winds. I think we'll see this number continue to spike for the next 3 months, then come to a screeching halt around June. Plus, the condo market is the niche where most of the bargain prices reside. Single-Family homes sales are down from December, but close in the same ballpark as they were in January. 0 Multi-Family units sold in February! Wow! Sellers see the lack of activity on the investment properties they've owned for years, so look for positive cash flow opportunities here. Consumers won't see many incentives here to buy other than cash flow opportunities. Typically, owners of multi-family properties have owned these properties for years and taken more of a long-term approach to ownership and won't be giving these properties away. I think this statistic will rise sooner than later.

Let's look at listing inventory for the month of February and compare this to the sold inventory. I think we'll see the reason for depreciation in prices in this statistic.
The numbers here reflect new listings that hit the MLS market throughout the entire month of February.

-Single Family Homes- 907
-Condo- 504
-Multi-Family Units-17
-Lots & Acreage-60

With 907 single family NEW listings hitting the market and only 42 closing, that's representative of selling only about 4.6% of our monthly inventory. This closing percentage needs to reach levels of 35% or higher for us to make the slightest move in eliminating inventory and returning to equity gained through appreciation in our homes. The condo market seems to be a bit healthier showing a 22% closing percentage in monthly inventory. I'm confident there's a 3-month window to try and sell your condo as baby boomers and second-home buyers love the maintenance-free lifestyle & opportunity to cash flow the ownership through lease agreements.

Justin Shirley