New home construction on Southwest Florida's barrier islands hardly took a breath during the Great Recession, but the economic recovery has sparked a new burst of activity.
Unlike larger housing developments on the mainland that were shelved during the downturn, some for years, many builders of custom luxury homes continued to find work — though at a much slower pace — on the region's keys.
"We definitely went through a slow time, but not nearly as bad as the tract home...
Tennessee resident used $5.4 million mortgage to fund purchase
LONGBOAT KEY -- A Longboat Key mansion that stands as the highest-priced island property in more than two years was sold to a FedEx executive and his wife.
Manatee County court records revealed this week that Alan B. Graf Jr., executive vice president and chief financial officer, and his wife, Susan Graf, purchased the 7,000-square-foot mansion July 31 for $6.8 million.
The home at 6001 Gulf of Mexico Drive...
LONGBOAT KEY – A new construction estate on the sandy shores of Longboat Key sold Wednesday for $6.8 million – the most lucrative deal on the island in two years and one of the most expensive homes built since the market’s collapse.
The 6,959-square-foot mansion on the Manatee County side of Longboat Key becomes the fourth island residence owned by the buyers, who are originally for Tennessee. The baby boomers already own three beachfront condos, but they wanted some extra space for...
Home builders nationwide and in Southwest Florida are feeling more confident about their business than they have in the past seven years.
The latest National Association of Home Builders / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index suggests that single-family home construction will accelerate in the months ahead, a trend Southwest Florida builders are already seeing.
The index, released last week, climbed to 57 from a revised 51 in June, its third straight monthly advance and the highest...
New home construction across Southwest Florida has climbed to its highest level since the Great Recession began battering the industry seven years ago.
Builders in the region enjoyed an uptick in May, amid pent-up demand from buyers and a shortage of existing single-family homes for sale.
As a result, builders are breaking ground on new homes at a pace not seen since the housing boom in the mid-2000s.
"We're ramping up, and I still don't think we have seen the peak at...
Builders expecting another hot selling season at Rosedale Links at other points east of the Interstate
The salespeople at Rosedale Links do not look at all worried that they missed the prime selling season.
Late spring is not the ideal time to be opening model homes, especially after a frantically busy winter season elsewhere in the market. But Kate Powell of Ashton Woods Homes is confident that the builder is well positioned to take advantage of continued market strength in a...
By HAROLD BUBIL – Sarasota Herald-Tribune
New home vs. resale? I'm not sure if that question is the third rail of real estate journalism, but I am going to touch it anyway. Just this once.
Why is it an electrically charged question? Look at the vested interests and the money involved. Realtors -- there are a whole lot of them, with a lot of commission checks at risk -- will tell you there is nothing wrong with resale houses, and often they are in a more convenient areas than...
Sarasota luxury homebuilder John Cannon has been appointed to the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Business Advisory Board for the school's business college. The advisory board, now in its third year, is helping the college work toward becoming separately accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The board consists of more than a dozen leaders from for-profit and nonprofit organizations in the Sarasota-Manatee region. The board meets twice a year...
The Parade of Homes design awards are just a bonus for home builders who won them.
The real victory comes in the form of increased sales and exposure. Builders of the 65 models entered in the 2013 parade reported brisk traffic at the models during the marketing event, which ends today.
"We've been slammed," said Mark Davis, sales and marketing director for Arthur Rutenberg Homes/Sam Rodgers Properties.
"Hundreds of people," said a sales associate at a Todd Johnston model...
SARASOTA - John Cannon Homes Inc. is among a growing list of local builders that recorded post-recession high sales last year, the result of heightened demand from out-of-state buyers.
The Lakewood Ranch-based custom home builder said Thursday it sold 27 new homes in the fourth quarter valued at $23.3 million -- the most of any three-month period dating back to the mid-2000s real estate boom.
Although the company's year-end sales tally of 65 was up only 5 percent from 2011, its...