SRQ DAILY May 23, 2016
Monday Business Edition
"When people say we have this shoulder season or it's soft, I say 'no, stop it.' Every day is a great day to be in Florida."
Condo and townhouse inventory in Sarasota County for April was up 25.5 percent from the previous year, as shown by the graph above, according to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. Inventory was up by 19.8 percent in Manatee County. But both counties are increasingly seller’s markets, with Sarasota having just a 4.4 month supply of condo and townhouse units based on demand and Manatee having just a 4.5-month supply.
Real estate agents from Sarasota and Manatee counties joined thousands of colleagues to lobby members of Congress last week on matters from mortgage rules to real estate taxes. “Supporting homeowners and property owners through smart legislation is so important for families, communities and the nation’s economy,” said Linda Formella, president of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, “so we will continue to work with lawmakers to ensure they are protected.”
Nearly 8,900 certified Realtors gathered in Washington, D.C. from May 9 through 13 for the 2016 Realtor Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. Specifically, professionals urged lawmakers to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act, which prevents distressed homeowners from receiving excessive income tax bills on forgiven home loan debt. The national organization also called for reforms to the Federal Housing Administration condominium rules and said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guarantee fees should not be extended, increased or diverted away for unrelated spending.
“It is imperative we connect with our lawmakers to ensure they understand the issues that face the real estate industry, markets and their constituents. Realtors are on the ground every day fighting for property owners in their communities, and we demonstrated we will do the same here in our nation’s capital with our elected officials,” Formella said.
Paul Phipps, chief marketing officer for Visit Florida, gave the keynote addressing at the most recent SB2 installment, The Tourist Agenda: Making the Most of a Travel Economy. We spoke with Phipps about ways the state tourism bureau will grow visitation to the Gulf Coast.
Are you working with airlines to get them to serve smaller airports like Sarasota? We do a lot with the low cost carriers—Allegiant, Jet Blue, Spirit, Frontier—just as we do with American, Delta, United and Southwest. We worked with Allegiant and they now have five origin cities going to Desdin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. We’ve got Air Canada going into Jacksonville now. To continue to grow, we need destination diversity. We need to tell the whole geographic story of Florida. That means we have to get our secondary airports outside of Miami and Orlando involved in that. There is an opportunity to get a European origin flight in Sarasota. That’s important for this area; it might be a twice a week, and if we do it right it could be four times a week.
You tell hoteliers it’s important to stay booked near capacity rather than growing infrastructure. Why? What you want is controlled growth. For this area, you need to focus on taking the seasonality out. I would imagine that here, March is the highest occupancy month and September is the lowest. It probably has a 20-percent swing in occupancy. Focus on taking that 20 to 10. You haven’t done anything to infrastructure. You just say March is my bell cow, and make everything else look as much like March as I can. If I do that, I don’t need any more roads or any more hotels, but it takes the seasonality out of employment. Would that be a game changer? Absolutely. It changes the whole business model. When people say we have this shoulder season or it’s soft, I say ‘no, stop it.’ Every day is a great day to be in Florida.
Sarasota firm Hall Architects received an Outstanding Achievement Award for the Umbrella House Rehabilitation, a private residence designed by American architect Paul M. Rudolph. The Florida Trust’s Statewide Preservation Awards Program acknowledges significant contributions and achievements in historic preservations. Winners this year were announced May 13 at the Florida Trust’s annual conference in Tallahassee.
Amazing Lash Studio has opened in the Expo on Clark Road. Since it’s opening on May 14, the new studio has provided semi-permanent eyelash extensions in a contemporary and comfortable setting. The studio features 13 private lash application suites and is offering $79.99 for a full set of eyelash extensions.
The Community AIDS Network In collaboration from Bryan Gordon Design has launched its updated website, now designed to be easier to navigate, more informational and functional. Visitors now have expanded capabilities to view current clinic locations across Florida.
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