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MARKET Report COMMUNITY Market Highlights Florida Real Estate Heats Up S Pending Sales Median Sales Price Single-Family Homes One-Year Change in prices rose a solid 14.2 percent and the number of pending signed-sales contracts increased a whopping 31.9 percent over the previous year. Fortunately during April, the number of new properties listed for sale also jumped, but unfortunately, not enough to keep up with the aggressive sales performance. As a result, the inventory of homes for sale has ome say "Hot," some "On Fire," others "Soaring," and behind these superlatives, confirming statistics and facts are easily found … along with a few concerns. According to almost all reports, the Florida housing market is primarily demonstrating great news. Just recently a gathering of Southwest Florida real estate market leaders formed a panel to discuss market changes and consequences. Universally the panel agreed that the market is showing signs of another boom. Panel member, Michael Saunders, CEO of Sarasota based Michael Saunders & Co. commented, "We were in a dead period for a while, but now we have a market on steroids." It is comforting to note that while the panel basked in the affirmative, they also realistically acknowledged that the rapid growth, somewhat greater than anticipated, has created imbalances. + 14.2% Single-Family Homes By Clint Chapman + 31.9% " As we take a look at Florida's performance numbers for April '13, we see that sales closed (or completed) were, once again, greater than the month before. Better yet, we find that those closed sales were up over 17 percent when compared to the 2012 figures. In addition, median selling 58 | FLORIDA HOMES MAGAZINE We were in a dead period for a while, but now we have a market on steroids. One-Year Change in tivity for residential property sales. Realtors in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties actually sold 1,920 single-family homes and condominiums in April. That's a very respectable 9.5 percent gain from March and a record-setting 14.2 percent gain when compared with activity from 2012. In fact, the Sarasota Association of Realtors achieved its best one-month performance since June 2005. High-end, luxury sales are proving to be a major contributor in this recovering market. In April, Sarasota luxury sales hit a four-month high… while in Manatee County, sales of $1 million-plus homes doubled. The Sarasota high resulted from the sale of forty-six luxury residences that changed hands for a total of $85.3 million. Manatee County's April performance was dramatic, witnessing fourteen luxury properties change hands for a total of $26.5 million. That is twice as many luxury sales as the previous month. " Michael Saunders decreased, causing a source of some frustration for some prospective buyers and realtors alike. The market for Florida's townhouses and condominiums is also sporting some very impressive working numbers, by beating April '12 sales by 13.6 percent. And when you look at April's 22.7 percent increase in pending signed-sales contracts, it appears that the best is yet to come for this market segment. Closer to home, news in Southwest Florida reflects similar positive ac- The southern coastal communities in Lee and Collier counties continue to be consistently in step with their northern neighbors,

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