Newsletter 53

PRICES CLIMB NEARLY 10% IN REGION: Home prices continue to sizzle in Southwest Florida. Prices climbed 9.9% in April over the year in the Sarasota-Manatee region, once again topping state and national gains. Throughout Florida, prices rose 7.7% in April, the sixth-highest pace in the nation. The U.S. rate was 6.2%, further evidence of the recovery of the national housing market. “Low mortgage rates and a lean for-sale inventory have resulted in solid home-price growth in most markets” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at data provider CoreLogic. For more on this story, courtesy of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, please click on the link: Home prices sizzle

SARASOTA “JUST JOINING” THE AFFORDABILITY DEBATE: Affordable and attainable housing is not just a hot topic in Southwest Florida. “Actually, it’s a national discussion,” says Douglas Duncan, the chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Sarasota is just joining what has become a national discussion.” In Silicon Valley, for example, there is about a two-month supply of available housing, he said, compared with a normal level of six to seven months. Duncan, who spoke recently at New College of Florida in Sarasota, said housing production is not at near the level the population requires. Home ownership peaked at 69.2% in June 2014, and has since dropped to 63.5%. Builders say their biggest challenges are the cost of labor and developable land. There’s more on this story here: The affordability debate

A SEA OF CHANGE: In 1966, those who sought to preserve the nation’s historic places thought it was all about holding back the bulldozer. After passage of the National Historic Preservation Act 50 years ago, few would have dreamed it could come to holding back the sea. As a new generation takes leadership of the preservation movement, they are focussing on climate change and sea-level rise as well as obsolescence, neglect, market pressures, flood insurance and zoning-law changes that favor the redevelopment of historic places. Please click here for more: Holding back the sea

‘EAST DISTRICT’ UNVEILED: Entertainment Row is taking on a whole new meaning in Sarasota. It may actually involve paddles. The long-anticipated entertainment district at the southeast corner of University Town Center is slated to have a canal down the center of the mixed-use development, according to renderings from Manatee County’s Benderson Development Co. The project eases up to two ponds on the north side of Cattlemen Road, which connects to Nathan Benderson Park. The drawings also illustrate a number of bridges over the canal, indicating the area will be a walker-, driver-, and rower-friendly to shoppers, diners, residents and business people utilizing the property. Follow the jump for more: East District of the Mall at UTC

SIESTA BEACH #2 ON DR. BEACH’S LIST: Siesta Beach won second place on Dr. Beach’s annual list, the first time the stretch of sand has made the rankings since it was named #1 in 2011. Florida International University professor Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, uses about 50 criteria to assess U.S. beaches. Now in his 25th year of ranking beaches, Leatherman reset the clock, allowing beaches that have previously been named #1 to receive recognition again. As a runner-up for 2016, Siesta Key could be a front-runner for 2017. Siesta Beach, by Dr. Beach’s criteria, is second only to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Oahu, Hawaii. The professor goes beyond water and sand quality and looks at the entire beach experience. Click here for more and the Top 10 beaches list: Best beach

UF HELPS OLIVE GROWERS TAKE ROOT: On a recent Monday evening, the University of Florida Institute of Food Agricultural Services threw its annual Flavors Of Florida gala to showcase the homegrown seafood, fruit, vegetables and meat that IFAS faculty had a hand in producing. On a pool patio outside UF’s University House, a formally dressed crowd moved from table to table, sampling Cedar Key oysters, bacon and honey from university labs. There were blueberries, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables from the farms that IFAS faculty work with. At a rustic table draped in a green runner, guests lined up to dip bread in extra virgin olive oil made at the family owned Florida Olive Farms & Mill in Live Oak. In recent years, IFAS, the nonprofit Florida Olive Council and farmers around the state have worked to see if olives, which have been grown in Florida since the 1700’s, can become a viable commercial crop here. There’s more here: EVO from Florida