Hurricane Ian may have caused a dip in home sales during October, but prices continue to reach record highs, according to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Data released Friday by the Association shows the median sale on single-family homes in the Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port market climbed to $544,343. That’s a 31% jump from October last year. The median price in Sarasota County rose to a record high of $537,500, and it went up to $549,444 in Manatee County.

But the total number of closed sales during the month dropped to 1,542. That’s a 24.3% decrease from last October. It also represents a 22.1% increase from September, but the Realtor Association said that’s because of a major dip in activity as a result of the hurricane. Ian made landfall in Lee County on Sept. 28, caused business closures days ahead of that, and caused significant damage through various parts of the region. The effect of the storm could be seen in the distance from landfall as well, with Manatee County seeing a 14.9% decline in home sales from last October but Sarasota County seeing a 34% drop in sales. Condo sales saw even sharper declines.

September also typically sees less activity in this market, experts said.

“After a seasonal drop in closed sales in September, single-family home sales in October saw a very healthy bounce back,” said Tony Veldkamp, 2022 president of the Association and a senior advisor at SVN Commercial Advisory Group. “While closed sales are not at 2020 to 2021 levels, October 2022 is very comparable to 2018 to 2019 levels.”

The spike in actual prices still provides good news for sellers and real estate professionals. Sarasota’s median prices climbed 31.1% from last year and Manatee’s prices went up 29.3%, massive jumps.

“The growth in sale prices continues to amaze us,” Veldkamp said. “There is no reduction in median prices this month and we continue to have a very strong market. With our good job market, we expect that trend to continue over the next few months and as interest rates begin to stabilize and even drop, 2023 will see an increase in activity in our real estate market. It remains a great time to sell.”

New listings in the market dipped more than 24% in the region, which means inventories remain low. There’s a 2.8-month supply of single-family homes in the metropolitan region, and a 2-month supply of condo units. A year ago, there was just a 0.6-month supply for either. But generally, real estate professionals consider a six-month supply as a balanced market, leaving this a time for sellers to gain.  

Graphic courtesy Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Lights in Bloom®, the annual holiday light show presented by Marie Selby Botanical Gardens at its Downtown Sarasota campus, is in the running for a repeat national award from USA TODAY. The Selby Gardens display was nominated again this year for “Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights” in USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. Fans may vote for Lights in Bloom® daily at https://bit.ly/vote-LIB-2022.Lights in Bloom® is one of 20 botanical garden light shows nominated in the 2022 competition, which runs through noon on December 5. Winners will be decided by popular vote online. In both 2021 and 2019, Lights in Bloom® was recognized among the 10 best botanical garden holiday light shows in the country by USA TODAY. “Lights in Bloom® has become a must-do holiday tradition in Sarasota,” said Jennifer O. Rominiecki, President & CEO of Selby Gardens. “We appreciate the many supporters who have voted for us so far, and we remind everyone that you can vote for Selby Gardens daily until December 5!” Lights in Bloom® will be on view select nights from December 10 through January 5. The show features more than two million colorful lights plus other whimsical holiday and botanically themed decorations throughout the 15-acre Downtown Sarasota campus. Several ticket options are available to view the show, and advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended. More information and tickets are available at selby.org. A panel of experts and 10Best editors chose Lights in Bloom® as a nominee for the 2022 Readers’ Choice award in the Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights category.  

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In October 308,012 passengers traveled through the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. This is a 12% increase as compared to October 2021. Passengers traveling through the airport year-to-date totaled 3,110,343, a 25% increase compared to 2021 year-to-date passengers. The 12-month activity thru October 2022 totals 3,779,254 passengers which is a 39% increase compared to 2,719,941 passengers for the 12 months thru October 2021 or 1,059,313 more passengers. With an expected increase in vehicle parking, the airport will operate multiple remote parking lots that travelers may be directed to once the long-term parking is full. These lots will have shuttle service available to and from the terminal. The airport will also provide a “U.S. 41 Holiday Discount Parking Lot” for $5 per day located at 8101 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL. The discount lot is open for entry 11.21.22 - 11.23.22 with limited availability. Once the Discount Lot fills it will be closed to further traffic. Courtesy shuttle service will be provided to and from the terminal. “We look forward to welcoming travelers for the Thanksgiving holiday. For a stress-free travel experience, we ask that all passengers arrive at least 2 hours early, check your flight status, and visit TSA’s website for any questions regarding security screening,” stated Rick Piccolo, President, and CEO of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. 

Ringling College Library Association announced today that Lauren Kurnov will join the organization as Executive Director beginning December 1, 2022. Kurnov succeeds Stephanie Grosskreutz who will retire at the end of the year. Association board chair, Emily Walsh, is thrilled to welcome Kurnov to the organization. A Sarasota native, Kurnov moved back to the area in 2015 with her husband, Gary, and two children. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the nonprofit and education sectors in various leadership roles. Locally, Kurnov has worked at both the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee as the Assistant Vice President of Student Success, as well as at New College of Florida’s Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence and Student Affairs to promote community outreach and student success. Kurnov received her Doctor of Education degree in 2021 from the University of South Florida, and she is a proud alum of the Florida Gulf Coast Leadership Institute Class of 2018. Most recently, Kurnov ran for the Sarasota County School Board. Throughout her campaign, Lauren built a broad coalition of community support, secured notable key endorsements, and raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars in direct campaign contributions. Kurnov will head up the organization’s TOWN HALL lecture series, kicking off on January 17th with Nobel Prize winning journalist, Maria Ressa. The Ringling College Library Association is dedicated to the ongoing development of the Alfred R. Goldstein Library at the Ringling College of Art & Design and acts as a catalyst for educational growth of students, faculty and the community. To learn more about Ringling College Library Association and the TOWN HALL series visit RCLAssociation.org. 

Fawley Bryant Architecture, a full-service integrated architecture and interior design firm with offices in Sarasota and Bradenton, is proud to welcome four women to its roster: Sr. Project Manager Christy M. Woods, Architect and Sports Project Manager Mackenzie Grouse, Architectural Staff Level I Tuba A. Ahmed and Administrative and Marketing Coordinator Stacey Marks. Christy Woods joins Fawley Bryant following her time as project supervisor at Benderson Development, where she managed projects through construction. Prior to that, Woods worked at Stofft Cooney Architects in Naples and Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design in Miami. She is a certified general contractor, LEED AP, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Miami. Mackenzie Grouse developed an interest in the architecture of sports facilities during her time at OSPORTS in Tampa and Populous in Kansas City, Missouri. She brings ten years of experience in space planning, rendering, and managing the designs of various projects. Grause also served as a facilities architectural intern at Tesla. She is a licensed architect with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and earned both her Bachelor of Science in Architecture and master’s in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. Tuba Ahmed joins the firm as Architectural Staff Level I following her time as a project associate at Robert J. Stahl Architect in Eastchester, New York, where she managed documents, filed daily reports, and insured that activities of a project ran smoothly and were properly implemented. She earned her Bachelor of Architecture from City College of New York – Bernard and Anne Spitzer School. Stacey Marks brings 13 years of creative experience in cultivating long-lasting community relationships and marketing expertise to the firm. Marks is a co-owner and instructor of Fly Dance Fitness, where she successfully expanded her dance center’s digital brand through online strategies that increased local awareness of her business. Marks earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of South Florida and served as a marketing specialist and director for CalmCo and On-Site Supply. 

The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Sarasota County launched a new virtual resource center on their website geared toward supporting entrepreneurs and business owners. Through the click of a button, the EDC’s Business Ecosystem Website Tool allows users to leverage the myriad of free and low-cost business assistance that exist in Sarasota County thanks to the strong roster of local organizations that are available to help. Users can search by areas of assistance including access to capital, growth assistance, green business, internships, and much more. The Business Ecosystem Website Tool is intended to guide entrepreneurs through the landscape of business assistance that exists in Sarasota County. There is a list of local organizations whose core missions are to help local businesses grow through the provision of industry expertise, networking, business planning and more. The new virtual tool will expedite research processes by compiling all relevant information into one location. 

Users can access the online business resource guide on the EDC’s website here:

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is adding a new cancer-fighting technique – high-dose rate brachytherapy -- to the advanced treatment options available at the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute. Previous techniques include continuous low-dose brachytherapy that place radioactive seeds inside the body for extended periods of time, requiring patients to remain hospitalized and isolated, often for days, while completing a treatment; in the case of prostate cancer, radioactive seeds often are permanently implanted in the body. That continuous low-dose technique is being replaced with high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, a newer, accelerated treatment that allows physicians to deliver equivalent doses of radiation in as little as one to four outpatient treatments that last just a few minutes each. Unlike older techniques, the radioactive source is removed after each session, allowing patients to go home the same day and safely be around others, including children and pregnant women. HDR brachytherapy has demonstrated superior outcomes for several types of cancer, including uterine (endometrial) and prostate cancers, Saigal said. Many women who have had surgery to remove endometrial cancer can reduce their risk of recurrence with four brief outpatient treatments, while early-stage prostate cancers can be treated in as little as two sessions, he said. For more advanced tumors, brachytherapy can be combined with external beam radiation therapy to optimize treatment outcomes by delivering more effective doses of radiation therapy to the tumor. Dr. Saigal and radiation oncologist Matthew Biagioli, MD, both fellowship trained in brachytherapy, will administer the HDR treatments in the Jellison Cancer Institute brachytherapy suite on the SMH-Sarasota campus. 

Pictured: Drs. Biagioli and Saigal. Photo courtesy of SMH.

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ALWAYS CREATING | Brigitta Sultana finds a new focus in her latest gallery opening, Emerge.

Take a sneak peek into Sultana’s Stones and Salt Flats series through this link, on our social media, or in the November edition of SRQ Magazine! 

Read Here!