Sarasota news you can use – Covid 19 update

The State of Florida with a population of almost 22 million has done better than most expected.

The total number of Covid 19 cases in the state is now 32,846 with 1,171 deaths as of April 28.

Sarasota County which includes North Port, Englewood,Venice, Osprey, Nokomis, Siesta Key, Sarasota and Longboat Key has an estimated population of 426,000 permanent residents.  During the winter months, however, the local population can increase to over 500,000.

Sarasota County has only 334 cases of Covid 19 with 29 deaths as of April 28.

We don’t make the nightly news thank goodness as most Florida cases are in the Orlando area and on the East Coast of the state.

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Sarasota County Beaches

Beaches opened Monday to walkers, joggers, swimmers and paddlers. Parking lots remain closed to discourage chairs and coolers.

The City of Sarasota decided to keep Lido Key beach closed for now.

We are waiting for Governor DeSantis to announce Stage 1 of his plans to open up the state slowly. That may come out as early April 29.

As for Sarasota Real Estate

We are and always have been open for business following the CDC guidelines with local buyers.  And we have options like virtual tours/marketing and FaceTime to show properties to buyers outside our area.  And…our Michael Saunders offices hold remote ~meetings~seminars~updates on the market and training classes weekly.

Construction never stopped and continues – there’s going to be plenty of new product ready once interested buyers come back. Some have already returned.

We personally had 2 closings/solds –  last week, another scheduled for Friday with more planned in early May and June.

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Here are stats showing real estate activity in the past two weeks.

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Here is a little insight from the National Association of Realtors

          Waiting for price cuts due to the pandemic ? Keep waiting…….

National Association of Realtor’s survey found that 3 out of 4 Realtors say their sellers see the pandemic as a temporary problem that will pass – and they’re not panicking and discounting asking prices.

 Looking for a good deal on a new home? Keep looking……

According to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors®, nearly 3 in 4 Realtors currently working with sellers this week – 74% – reported their clients haven’t reduced listing prices to attract buyers. This suggests interested home sellers are remaining calm and avoiding panic selling during the uncertain economic environment brought about by the corona virus pandemic, according to the organization.

“Consumers are mostly abiding by stay-in-shelter directives, and it appears the current decline in buyer and seller activity is only temporary, with a majority ready to hit the market in a couple of months,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The housing market faced an inventory shortage before the pandemic. Given that there are even fewer new listings during the pandemic, home sellers are taking a calm approach and appear unwilling to lower prices to attract buyers during the temporary disruptions to the economy.”

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If you are buying, selling or just want answers to your questions – We are here for you and look forward to speaking with you.

Take care and stay safe

Maureen and Patrick