Newsletter 15

VISITATION ELATION : The year 2013 closed on a high note for hoteliers and others in the southwestern Florida tourism industry, bringing a third consecutive year of record-breaking growth and high expectations for 2014. Hotel occupancy figures were at all-time highs, even during the slower summer months. Average daily hotel rates are up 3.9% compared with last year. New sporting events brought international and elite athletes to the region for extended stays. Hoteliers and tourism officials are very optimistic about 2014, with high demand for hotel rooms on Southwest Florida’s sugar white sandy beaches. Click on the link for more: Suncoast region hits tourism high note in ’13

CASH BUYERS DOMINATING AREA MARKET : Cash buyers continue to dominate the residential real estate market in Southwest Florida. Sales of single-family homes and condos involving cash accounted for 64.5% of all transactions in Sarasota county in November, according to data provider RealtyTrac. That figure was up from 48.3% a year earlier and was an increase from 63.2% from a month earlier. Florida again posted the highest level of cash sales in the nation in November, at 62.7%. By comparison, the US average was 42%. But that national percentage was the highest since RealtyTrac began tracking those purchases in 2011. The housing market recovery continues to be driven by investors and other cash purchasers. Read more here: Cash is king

BUILDING A BETTER BEACHSIDE : Visitors to Siesta Beach, the #1 beach in the US, will now see work beginning on a long-awaited renovation of facilities and parking. The heavy machinery and crews gathering at the east end of the park won’t affect most beachgoers for months, but this work is only the beginning of a two year, $21.5 million project meant to remodel facilities at the world-class beach and favorite spot for tourists and locals. The first phase of construction includes a new tennis court & parking lot just east of those that exist now. Read more and see some renderings after the jump: Siesta Beach facilities renovation begins 

CANADIAN BUILDER IS MOVING IN : The largest homebuilder in Canada has broken into the Southwest Florida market by picking up nearly 235 acres of land for a new residential community. A subsidiary of Mattamy Homes bought the site for $17.2 million from Lakewood Ranch master developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc. Mattamy Homes plans to build 675 dwellings on the site in a mix of town homes and single-family residences. There’s more here: Mattamy Homes purchases land in SW Florida

We’re here all year to help you make your dreams come true. If that’s assistance with finding your dream home in the Suncoast area or carefully watching your southern property when you return to the north or to your home country …. you can count on us. Visit our website for more information: Suncoast Home Concierge