Newsletter 134
The Suncoast, and the state of Florida, are desirable destinations for retirees and people searching for a new life away from the cold weather. Real estate demand and prices have hit all-time highs. The one caveat in purchasing property in the sunshine state is home insurance. Not only the costs, but the availability – or lack of.
I bought my home in Florida 14 years ago. I live close to the intracoastal but not on a barrier island, and my home was originally built in the 1950’s and remodeled in 2000. I have never filed a home insurance claim. It was recommended that I initially purchase home insurance through Citizens Insurance, a state-run company who insure older properties that generally have difficulty obtaining insurance through other carriers. Several years later, my policy was canceled by Citizens, as they sought to downsize their risks. I obtained home insurance through another carrier, who then several years later also canceled by home insurance, stating that the reason was the age of my home and proximity to the water. I obtained home insurance coverage last year through a different carrier. In 14 years, the cost for my premium has tripled in price!
Now, due to contraction in the state by insurance carriers, the current administration has expanded the coverage that Citizens offer to homeowners. Please continue reading below for more on this story.
According to a well-known and credible insurance broker who I recently met with at a client’s home, the expansion of Citizens is a “recipe for disaster”. God forbid that we have a significant storm, because then “homeowners will find out the hard way that their insurance is not what they thought it was”. The tough question is: what other option do we have?
Please continue reading for more on this evolving story, as well as other news from the Suncoast.
NEWS FROM THE SUNCOAST …..
ONE MILLION POLICY MARK MET
The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has surpassed 1 million policies for the first time since 2014. Created as an insurer of last resort, Citizens has been absorbing a flood of policies as private insurers drop customers and push for large rate increases because of financial losses. The Citizens website recently showed it had 1,000,624 policies as of Aug. 5, up from 937,835 policies on July 8. Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway said the insurer could reach 1.2 million policies by the end of the year as many private companies are not writing coverage. “The market is probably 75 percent shut down,” Gilway told the Citizens Board of Governors on July 13. “(There are) very, very few companies that are really open in the marketplace. Citizens had 883,333 policies at the end of May. As longer-term illustrations of the growth, Citizens had 661,150 policies on June 31, 2021, and 486,773 policies on July 31, 2020, according to data on its website. State leaders have long sought to limit the size of Citizens because of potential financial risks if Florida is hit by major hurricanes. If Citizens does not have enough money to pay claims after a disaster, it can collect additional money from policyholders throughout the state – a process known as collecting assessments. “Citizens Insurance topping the 1 million policy mark signals a market that is teetering, putting millions of Floridians and local businesses at risk of even higher costs in the form of hurricane taxes,” Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said in a statement recently, likening assessments to taxes. In all, five private insurers have been declared insolvent since February, with Weston Property and Casualty Insurance the latest to be placed into receivership. Citizens topped 1 million policies after the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons in which seven storms made landfall in Florida. But Citizens hadn’t been above 1 million policies since February 2014. For more on this story, courtesy of the Citrus County Chronicle, please click here: Citizens Surpass 1M Policies
HOUSING INVENTORY ON THE RISE
Rising mortgage interest rates and housing prices have led to an increase in Sarasota-Manatee’s housing inventory compared to last year. According to June data from Florida Realtors compiled by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, housing inventory in Manatee County is at a 1.8-month supply, a 200% increase over the same month last year. In Sarasota County, inventory increased by 142.9% to 1.7 months worth of homes, data show. Both counties have a 1.5-month supply of condos. Realtors participated in 2,088 sales across the two-county region in June, a 26.7% year-over-year decrease. There were 3,554 active listings combined in the two counties for both markets by the end of June, a 131.4% increase from last year. But even with more inventory, the market is far from balanced. “At less than a two month supply of single-family homes, we are still far from having the six-month inventory required for market equilibrium,” Tony Veldkamp, a senior advisor at SVN Commercial Advisory Group and Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee president, said. “The market is shifting as we’re seeing changes in the buying process, but today we’re still in a seller’s market. Even with more active inventory, home and condo prices in both counties continue to increase. The median price for single-family homes in Sarasota County increased by 25% to a record $500,000, while condo prices increased by 34.4% to $416,250. Single-family home prices in Manatee County increased year-over-year by 35.7% to $550,000. The median condo price in Manatee County was increased by 27.3% to $356,500. To read more on this story, courtesy of the Sarasota-Herald Tribune, please click here: Housing Inventory Rising
AREA HOME CLOSES AT $17.5 MILLION
A new record has been set in the Sarasota area’s real estate market, as a home in Harbor Acres closed at $17.5 million — the highest price ever achieved for a home in the Charlotte-Sarasota-Manatee County region. The previous highest sale price for residential real estate in Sarasota County was $16.5 million, for a Casey Key mansion in April 2021. The highest Manatee County sale occurred this year on Anna Maria Island, where a property sold for $16 million. The new record holder for most expensive home in the local real estate market is now held by the roughly 12,000-square-foot waterfront estate at 1423 Hillview Drive. Linda Driggs and Kim Ogilvie, both of Michael Saunders & Co.’s Main Street office, represented the seller in negotiations. “This property truly is an iconic one deserving of a record-breaking sale,” Ogilvie said. Driggs, who moved to Sarasota in 1981, said the sale is indicative of the growth of the Sarasota real estate market, an attractive place to live that many people are now just discovering. “This is not only a record-breaking sale but truly one of the finest properties offered in Sarasota,” Driggs said. “The owners created a park-like waterfront setting and curated every detail imaginable inside and out.” Please click here to read more: Area Home Closes at $17.5M
LWR #2 MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITY IN U.S.
Lakewood Ranch maintained its position as the No. 2 master-planned community in the country and the No. 1 multigenerational master-planned community, despite a drop in overall sales among the top 50 communities, as determined by RCLCO, a Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate consultant that compiles semi-annual and annual rankings. The Villages, the active-adult community that straddles Sumter, Lake and Marion counties in north central Florida, maintained the top spot with 1,500 sales in the first six months of the year – a 25% drop from the first six months of 2021. A total of 1,026 sales were made in Lakewood Ranch over the first six months this year, compared to 1,535 the first six months of 2021, a 33% drop. Babcock Ranch, the solar power-connected community in southeast Charlotte County came in at No. 10 nationally, with 422 home sales, which bucked a trend among the leaders with a 14% increase from the 2021 mid-year figure of 370. Wellen Park, in North Port, ranked No. 17, with 345 home sales, a 35% drop from the 534 homes sold in the first six months of 2021. Laura Cole, a senior vice president at Lakewood Ranch Communities LLC, said that looking back, the area benefitted from a pandemic surge in sales last year. “Our area, Sarasota-Bradenton, and even the Tampa Bay region really got on the national radar as more of a primary destination that had vacation qualities,” Cole said. “During that period of time builders were selling and selling and selling. “In June of last year was when sales started to turn back to pre-pandemic levels,” Cole continued, then noted that it was more of a reaction to supply chain issues and labor shortages. “Builders put on the brakes mid last year and said, ‘We need to deliver homes and need to do it reliably.” Still, Cole added, Lakewood Ranch appeals to transplants because many amenities are already there. There’s more on this story here: LWR #2 In U.S.
CONDO SAFETY CHECKS MAY FACE DIFFICULTIES
An estimated 2 million Florida residents live in buildings that, under new regulations adopted after last year’s Surfside tragedy, mandate detailed building safety inspections under tight deadlines, with a limited number of experts available to conduct them. State figures show a minimum of 912,000 condo units meet the criteria for a required inspection, compared with about 50,000 engineers and architects, the only professionals authorized by the new law to do the reviews.The deadline for condo associations to finish the inspections is at the end of 2024, but the reports can take two months to complete — and if issues are discovered, a second more time-consuming and costly study will be required. That one would have to start within a year. Meanwhile, competition is tight for the professionals available for the work, as engineers and architects are in high demand from the construction industry; many of the professionals don’t specialize in inspecting condo properties. For example, several Sarasota engineering firms contacted by the Herald-Tribune said they do not perform condo inspections. Some say engineers will move to Florida after seeing a business opportunity, while others point out that the more than two-year window provides time for state legislators to move the deadline back if it appears condo associations can’t meet the requirements. Inside the Sarasota city limits alone, officials estimate there are 190 condo properties that will need to complete a “phase one milestone inspection” by Dec. 31, 2024 under the new state law. In Venice, city officials estimate at least 100 properties and Sarasota County officials said they have identified 260 condos that will need to be inspected by the deadline. The new law also allows county and municipal officials to fine condo associations that do not meet the deadlines. Please follow the jump for more on this story: Condo Safety Checks
SARASOTA PROPERTY TAX RATE TO DECREASE
As Sarasota’s property values soar, city commissioners preliminarily approved a decrease in the city’s property tax rate at a recent meeting. They chose a general operating millage rate of 3.0000 mills for fiscal year 2022-23, down from the current rate of 3.1372 mills. One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. The commission didn’t opt for the rolled-back rate, which it did adopt last year. The rolled-back rate is the amount that allows tax collections to remain steady after accounting for property value increases. The city’s property values are 17.85% higher this year than last year, so homeowners without homestead exemptions may see a notable increase in their property taxes under the proposed millage rate. But the increase will be less than it would have been if the city had kept the rate the same. City staff have proposed a spending plan of $252.18 million for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, which is 8.1% higher than the current year’s budget. Kelly Strickland, the city’s director of financial administration, said that the staff recommended a rate of 3.0000 mills because it’s roughly in the middle of the current rate and the rolled-back rate, 2.7667 mills. City manager Marlon Brown added that they wanted to aid homeowners, who are dealing with inflation and high fuel costs. “There are federal programs helping renters, and we also wanted to see what we can do to help homeowners,” Brown said. He and his colleagues didn’t recommend adopting the rolled-back rate because the city plans to increase its staffing levels. There’s more on this story here: Property Tax Rate Decrease
DOWNTOWN GATEWAY SET TO CHANGE
Drivers headed into Sarasota for the first time might not realize they’re approaching downtown until they hit Osprey Avenue. But when the new Park District development is fully built out at U.S. 301 and Fruitville Road, the gateway into the city’s urban core will move from Osprey to as far east as Lime Avenue, according to a real estate agent involved in the sale. Harry E. Robbins Associates Inc. said recently that Brook Farm Group of Atlanta, Georgia, purchased nine acres of property in downtown Sarasota south of Fruitville Road and east of U.S. 301. That part of downtown, which at this point is mostly trees and vacant land, has great potential for development, sales associate Kevin Robbins said in an interview recently. Robbins, who also was involved in the sale of part of the nearby 1991 Main St. property, said he’s had his eye on the Park District area for a few years. “When we sold the 1991 Main St. mall, I was quick to tell a bunch of people, ‘Okay, this is the next area,'” he said. “I picked up the listing for the Chase Bank building at Fruitville and (U.S.) 301 and the parking lot next to that, and over time learned there were other property owners interested in potentially selling.” Altogether, Brook Farm Group picked up 32 parcels on about nine acres for more than $37 million. The developer took out a $27 million mortgage to finance the purchase, Sarasota County records show. Brook Farm is developing a mixed-use project on the land, Robbins said, although the details are still being worked out. The project is in the planning stages, he said, but it will include market rate and more affordable housing, plus retail and other commercial space, according to his firm’s announcement. Please click on the link for more: Downtown Gateway
BOBBY JONES GOES PRIVATE
Sarasota is turning over management of its historic Bobby Jones Golf Club to a private company under an agreement approved recently by city commissioners. Indigo Sports LLC will handle daily operations of the golf complex in an arrangement officials hope will stem years of financial losses for the city. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and Scottsdale, Arizona, Indigo Sports manages more than 190 golf courses, country clubs and resorts, according to the company’s LinkedIn page. Last year, a selection committee considered several options for private management companies and ultimately chose Indigo Sports. The City Commission voted 3-2 in January to direct city staff to continue its negotiations with Indigo. Commissioner Hagen Brody and Mayor Erik Arroyo, who dissented in that vote, wanted the city to start the negotiation process over and have the commission run the process, instead of a separate committee. In April, the commission directed city staff to draft a management agreement with Indigo that was presented to the board recently. It passed unanimously. Arroyo told the Herald-Tribune that all of his concerns with Indigo’s proposal were addressed. He also didn’t want to extend the the pursuit of a private manager. “It’s not in anyone’s best interest to delay this process any longer,” he said. Sarasota is renovating the Bobby Jones Golf Club. Under the agreement, Indigo will charge the city $4,000 each month for the rest of the renovation process. It will act as the city’s representative during the renovations and will help prepare the course for re-opening. There’s more on this story here: Bobby Jones Goes Private
SMH TOP IN REGION
Sarasota Memorial Hospital maintained its ranking among America’s 50 best hospitals as compiled annually by U.S. News & World Report for its 2022-23 Best Hospitals list, which was released recently. SMH maintained its national ranking for rehabilitation for people recovering from serious injuries and debilitating diseases and earned a second national ranking for specialized urology care. SMH also got “high performer” ratings for a third specialty, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, as well as 15 widely performed procedures and conditions common among Medicare patients. Sarasota Memorial maintained its rank as the top hospital in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton region and sixth-ranked hospital in the state. It was the only hospital in the region to be ranked in the top 50. In the 2021-22 rankings, SMH was tied for sixth with Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater but took sole possession of that rank this year. The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville was the top-ranked hospital in the state, with top rankings in seven adult specialties; Advent Health Orlando, moved from third to second; and Tampa General went from fourth to a third-place tie with Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, which was ranked second last year. Cleveland Clinic Weston, in Weston, maintained its ranking of fifth in the state. Click here for more: SMH Top In Region
ASOLO REP EXPANDS ITS OPERATIONS
For the first time in its more than 60-year history, Asolo Repertory Theatre will now be able to have actors rehearse upcoming productions on a full set. And it hopes that outside producers will want to create, build and rehearse their own shows in Sarasota. The theater recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion of the Robert and Beverly Koski Production Center to mark the opening of the Margot and Warren Coville Rehearsal Hall. The facility is just north of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on Tallevast Road and across a parking lot from the existing Koski production center, where Asolo Rep sets have been built for the last 10 years. That building also includes a smaller rehearsal hall and storage for props and some costumes. Production and Operations Director Vic Meyrich, who oversaw the project, said sets can now be built in one building and wheeled across the parking lot into the new building for rehearsals, before they are disassembled and moved by trucks to the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, where Asolo Rep shows are presented. The new building is more than 9,000 square feet and includes the rehearsal hall, a conference room, a catering kitchen and an indoor and outdoor reception area. When rehearsals are not being held, it can be used as an event space for up to 250 people. The new building connects to pre-existing structures that were once used by Mercedes Scientific, which has moved to Lakewood Ranch. Those warehouse and office buildings will house education programs, offices and a new costume shop that will create greater efficiencies during the rehearsal and production process.”It is quite literally unique,” Meyrich said. “I don’t think there’s any place in the country where a producer can come in with a project, have a set built for it, and the props built for it, and the actors costumed, rehearse it, have the actors housed in a nearby facility, perform it on stage and then take it to New York or wherever. There are lots of places where you can do parts of that, but no one place that has a campus that has it all wrapped in one bundle.” Asolo Rep owns 14 condos at Seranata that it uses for actors, directors and designers during their time in Sarasota. Those apartments would be available for outside productions when they are not occupied for the Asolo’s own season. Click here for more: Asolo Rep Expands
SRQ PASSENGER TRAFFIC DOWN IN JUNE
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport saw 288,420 passengers travel through in June, down 7.8% from a year earlier as high fuel prices for carriers and economic concerns appear to be affecting travel. Nevertheless, overall traffic through the airport for the year remains well above 2021’s figures, with 2,093,305 passengers year to date for the first six months, compared with 1,459,691, an increase of 43%, the airport reported. The June travel marked a drop from the robust 332,431 passengers in the month of May, which was an increase of 43,880 travelers over the same month last year. In April, the airport saw 386,013 passengers. Rick Piccolo, president, CEO of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, attributed June’s decline to several factors, including the lower number of flights offered by carriers at the airport in summer months, as well as fewer flights due to higher fuel costs, flight cancellations and economic concerns. “We are starting to see a slight dip in the number of flights scheduled for our summer months,” Piccolo said in a statement released by the airport. “However, the aircraft servicing our airport are operating with much higher passenger loads than last year. This follows a nationwide trend of flight reductions due to much higher fuel prices, airline staffing shortages, and fears of a recession.” Last June’s numbers also reflected a lasting travel surge Americans began to move more freely during the COVID-19 pandemic, as vaccines became more widely available. This year, questions have arisen over how travel will be affected as the country grapples with inflation worries, sharply higher fuel costs and other issues. There’s more to read here: SRQ Passenger Traffic Down In June
LOGISTICS CENTER COMING
Julia Silva, a managing director with national real estate firm JLL, has been an industrial broker in the region for the past 27 years and was recently tapped to represent a project being built in Manatee County. The Manatee County Logistics Center will be 563,000 square feet of much needed Class A industrial space at the intersection of 44th Ave. East and U.S. 301. The project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023. Once complete, it could accommodate tenants seeking as small a space as 23,000 square feet, or as large as 188,000 square feet of contiguous space. The project includes three buildings, with each building having about 188,000 square feet of warehouse space for lease. JLL has also partnered with Sarasota’s Ian Black Real Estate to market the space. Industrial space in the fast-growing Sarasota-Manatee metro area has been tough to find with a vacancy rate hovering near the lowest in the country at 1.9%, according to JLL statistics on the submarket. Silva recently discussed the market and the project being developed by the Barron Colliers Companies with the Herald-Tribune. What’s happening in the industrial sector in Sarasota? There’s a lot going on. I’ll start at the 30,000-foot view. What’s happening in the region is there is a scarcity of land in the surrounding submarkets. Historical vacancy rates are leaving the tenants that need space desiring other opportunities. There’s just nowhere for them to go. We are not making more land in Tampa or Pinellas counties. So, there’s emerging markets in Bradenton. This area is seeing a lot of investor interest and tenant demand. This is leading to a vacancy rate in Manatee-Sarasota to boast some of the lowest vacancy rates in the country. We are tracking it at 1.9%. There are tenants in our markets that have not been able to expand and grow because there is not the available space. There’s more on this story here: Logistics Center Coming
REEF-SAVING CRABS TO BE BRED ON LAND
The baby Caribbean king crabs, seen by scientists as a major keystone in Mission Iconic Reefs – the $100 million effort to restore coral on the Florida Reef Tract at the state’s southern tip – will be born and raised inland. Some will be raised in quarries once dug to build the Overseas Highway that connects the Florida Keys with one another and the mainland, and others will be raised in Sarasota at the Mote Aquaculture Research Park. The crabs, along with long-spined sea urchins, are key to reducing algae overgrowth that can smother coral and compete with it for nutrients in the water. “The ultimate goal is to produce these crabs to put them back on the reef to help control algae,” said Andrew Bruckner, Research Coordinator at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Crabs reared through both programs will be distributed along the reef as directed by Mission Iconic Reefs – a 20-year plan to restore 3 million square feet of coral reefs at seven locations in the Florida Keys. In addition to crabs, scientists at the University of Florida and the Florida Aquarium are working on methods to restore the sea urchin population. Another major algae eater, the long-spined sea urchins have been virtually wiped out by disease in the 1980s and ’90s. The lead scientist for Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium effort is Jason Spadaro, a postdoctoral scientist at Mote’s Summerland Key complex whose doctoral dissertation involved the Caribbean king crab. Florida International’s effort is led by his mentor, Mark Butler IV, the Walter and Rosalie Goldberg Professor of Tropical Ecology and Conservation in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Institute of the Environment at FIU. Caribbean king crabs occur naturally in the Florida Keys in a population density of one per square kilometer. For the crabs to be effective in clearing of nuisance algae so out-planted coral can thrive, Spadaro said that will have to be dramatically increased to one per square meter. If you’re interested in reading more, then click here: Crabs To Be Bred On Land
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