Home shoppers bagging bargains

Homebuyers in Sarasota have some of the best negotiating power in the country, according to Zillow.com, an online real estate service.

On average, buyers were able to take 7.6 percent off the asking price in October. For a home priced at $235,000, that's a savings of $19,380. Zillow reports that in Tampa, the figure for a home of that price is 5.7 percent, or $10,100. Nationally, the number is 2.7 percent, or about $5,741.

"Word is out that the market is returning to a more normal state," said Bill Geller, president of the Sarasota Association of Realtors. "Buyers are seeing that the market is reflective of the low process, and they're starting to react."

Geller said real estate agents are busier now than they have been in the past 21/2 years.

"Sales have been increasing dramatically month-over-month over the last several months," he said.

Geller said foreclosures are keeping home prices down and homes are staying on the market for a shorter period, which is another sign the market is improving.

Geller said just a few months ago, sellers could expect their property to sit on the market for 14 months. Now, many properties sell within nine months.

"We have a long way to go to get there, but the positive numbers are appearing," Geller said.

That's good news for agents like Michael Granston. He's been trying to sell a two-bedroom, 21/2-bathroom condo in downtown Sarasota for two years.

"The location is just fantastic because you can walk everywhere," he said. "You can walk to the theater, the restaurants, the shopping."

The unit also has a view of the Gulf of Mexico. But none of the amenities has been enough to sell the place.

In the two years the condo has been for sale, the price has dropped substantially from the original price of $1.2 million.

"This one has been reduced $300,000, to $999,000," said Granston.

Geller said the market is good for homeowners, too. A decrease in the number of homes on the market will stabilize home prices and allow them to rise.