Sarasota Florida News & Blog – DWELL Real Estate

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Condo Fees Then and Now
Recent data from cities around Florida reveals a clear trend: condo sales are slowing down — and rising costs are a major factor. One of the most noticeable culprits is the significant increase in condo fees, which in many cases have doubled or more over just a few years. If you own a condo in Florida or are in the real estate business then you often hear about rising condo fees. We get contacted weekly from either condo owners or potential condo owners and their dislike of current condo fees.   So, what did condo fees used to be? I pulled 20 condo sales within the last 30 days and compared condo fees today to what they were when the condo previously sold.  Sales Condo Previous Sales Condo Address Price Fees Sale Date Price Fees % Change 1111 Ritz Carlton Dr $3,700,000 $5,202 Aug-21 $2,880,000 $4,190 24% 775 Longboat Club Road $1,700,000 $2,431 Sep-20 $1,155,000 $1,455 67% 420 Beach Road $1,450,000 $1,257 Oct-21 $1,275,000 $969 30% 1660 Summerhouse Lane $1,200,000 $2,442 Mar-17 $900,000 $1,081 126% 111 S. Pineapple Ave $1,185,000 $1,344 Mar-21 $1,185,000 $780 72% 111 S. Pineapple Ave $1,150,000 $1,219 Aug-20 $990,000 $742 64% 6312 Midnight Pass Rd $1,125,000 $1,005 Jun-22 $1,200,000 $755 33% 3540 Gulf of Mexico Dr $1,000,000 $1,742 Nov-21 $1,225,000 $993 75% 20 Whispering Sands Dr. $990,000 $1,517 Oct-22 $1,430,000 $810 87% 1945 Gulf of Mexico Dr. $710,000 $1,364 Nov-19 $575,000 $617 121% 157 Tampa Avenue $710,000 $1,394 Dec-22 $800,000 $746 87% 100 Central Ave $620,000 $1,248 Dec-21 $629,000 $867 44% 1500 State Street $615,000 $746 Feb-22 $550,000 $521 43% 8779 Midnight Pass Rd. $600,000 $1,000 Jul-21 $580,000 $667 50% 9540 High Gate Drive $325,000 $1,167 Nov-20 $200,000 $691 69% 3362 Sandleheath $337,000 $598 Sep-20 $227,000 $403 48% 5238 Manorwood Dr $365,000 $1,255 Sep-21 $334,000 $653 92% 750 N Tamiami Trail $385,000 $1,063 Oct-18 $275,000 $620 71% 1700 Cove 2 Place $539,000 $748 Jun-22 $650,000 $667 12% 3745 Almeria Ave $290,000 $625 Mar-20 $175,000 $250 150% As you can see, there have been some massive jumps in condo fees. But, haven't prices risen just about everywhere? Why would this be any different? Regardless, these increases have affected affordability and desirability.  What’s driving this surge? Several forces are converging. Hurricane damage in recent years has led to a sharp increase in insurance premiums, a cost that’s often passed along to condo owners through HOA fees. In addition, many associations are facing new Florida legislation requiring stronger reserve funding and structural inspections following the Surfside tragedy — and those costs aren’t small.
Posted 23 July 2025 | 6:35 pm

Most Expensive Listing Ever in this Area
Article from Sarasota Magazine Dubbed “La Serenissima”—Italian for “super serene”—this opulent Italianate home’s $35 million price tag makes it Sarasota and Manatee county’s priciest listing to date. At the southern tip of Longboat Key, just past the banyan-shaded driveways and behind the private gates of the Longboat Key Club, sits a house so opulent it has a title. La Serenissima, Italian for “super serene,” sounds less like a place you live and more like a title bestowed by papal decree. But its owners just call it home. They, at least for now, are Jim and Laura Rogers. Jim, 74, is a retired Fortune 500 CEO, a former Navy pilot-turned-financier-turned grandfather-in-chief. He bought the Gulf-front estate in 2020 with Laura, a CPA who once worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and United Technologies. Both previously had careers on Wall Street, too. “We both worked for JP Morgan,” Jim says. “We were in Palm Beach, Miami and Naples on business and never gave Sarasota much thought.” But when they finally ventured here, he says, “We thought, jeez, there are islands, and it seems to have some stuff going on.” What they found—and ultimately bought—was something closer to a Venetian palace than a Florida beach house. Designed by architect Clifford Scholz and completed in 2005, the nearly 20,000-square-foot estate occupies 1.18 acres of Gulf-front land and has the scale and finish of an embassy or small museum. “It blew us away,” Jim says of the home. “When we saw it, we knew. You don’t find this just anywhere.” With looks like these, the home is no stranger to the real estate catwalk. “An English couple in the neighborhood walked by who said they watched it get built. The daughter worked at JP Morgan, coincidentally,” Jim recalls. “I said, ‘Come in.’ And there you go. I love showing it off.” The couple bought La Serenissima for $16.5 million in 2020, making it the top sale in the county’s history at the time. Before that, it made headlines in 2017 when it went on the market for $26.5 million. Now listed at $35 million, it’s beating this Harbor Acres home—originally listed for more than $33 million and sold for $20 million—for the title of priciest local listing ever. Beyond the sky-high price, the most common reaction visitors have, according to Jim, is “Wow.” One doesn’t so much walk through La Serenissima as proceed through it. Visitors are greeted by a 38-foot marble atrium crowned by a 16-foot glass dome, the kind of architectural flourish more common to a Renaissance basilica than a beach house. There are three stories, six bedrooms, six full baths and two half-baths, and three elevators—including one shaped like a gilded birdcage that rises into a cupola with a glass skylight. “When you look up, you see the sky,” Jim says. “People just stop and stare.” The grand salon has 18-foot coffered ceilings and enough room to entertain a hundred guests.  But for all its Italianate exuberance—hand-painted murals, etched glass and imported stone—the home is also efficient. “We keep it cool,” Jim says. “The windows are filmed. It’s mostly concrete and steel and actually holds temperature well.” As for concerns about being on the waterfront following a brutal hurricane season, Jim says La Serenissima had no damage whatsoever, other than the landscaping “taking a beating.” Originally built by previous owners Michele and Mike McKee, La Serenissima was constructed over five years, with help from local artisans for its custom millwork, finishes and glasswork. Since buying it, the Rogers have added a spa to the pool, which they also had refinished, automated much of the interior, replaced carpets with marble and updated the landscaping—all of which, Jim estimates, cost roughly seven figures. There’s also a home theater with 10 seats, a gourmet kitchen, a sunroom, his-and-hers bedroom suites, and an ice cream parlor overlooking the Gulf. “Friends and family say we’re nuts to sell,” he says. “But we want more time with our daughters and grandkids. And honestly? This house deserves someone who’ll be here most of the year.” Raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, and once stationed in Jacksonville as a Navy pilot, Jim never imagined retirement would include a beachfront palace with space for 12 cars. After leaving the military, he spent a year unemployed—“Vietnam ended and every pilot was looking for work,” he says—before attending Wharton and eventually becoming CEO of Eastman Chemical. His wife Laura, originally from Niagara Falls, shared the finance-world hustle. Both are active philanthropists, and Jim says his wife often has “two screens going,” even in retirement. “She’s part lawyer, treasurer, CPA—you name it,” he says. After all, he admits, she’s the one who knows what the air conditioning bill for that much house is.    While they’ve lived in various homes, like a 1930s Art Deco condo in Virginia, La Serenissima was something entirely different. “It’s the most beautiful home I’ve ever been in, outside of Buckingham Palace,” Jim says. “I don’t think anyone would ever build it again. Too much artistry.”    Indeed, it’s hard to imagine anyone these days green-lighting this kind of estate. But Jim speaks with affection for the house—not just its extravagance, but also what it gave them. “Thanks to Sarasota, Longboat Key and this home, these last five years have been a fairy tale,” he says. The couple still wants to maintain a presence in the area. “Maybe a smaller condo,” Jim says. “I love Longboat and Sarasota. Just not the three-story palace anymore.” So La Serenissima awaits its next steward—someone with a fondness for the Renaissance and for a grand entrance. “A very unique buyer is going to fall in love with this house,” says realtor Rich Polese, who helped bring the Rogers to town. Jim, for his part, just hopes the new buyer is the type who won’t rush the tour. “People go room to room like it’s a treasure hunt,” he says. “You don’t guide them. They go where the murals lead.”
Posted 18 July 2025 | 2:46 pm

Canadian Buyers Are Dropping Out of the U.S. Housing Market
I was quoted in a recent article in the New York Times about how Canadian buyers are dropping out of the U.S. housing market. You can read the article here. I pasted it below.  The article insinuates that the tariffs have made home prices fall when mentioning how my listing sold for $520,000, despite being originally listed for $699,000. The reality is that prices fell because Siesta Key was hit by Hurricane Milton and caused a lot of damage.  The New York Times | Canadian Buyers Are Dropping Out of the U.S. Housing Market Search activity for American listings has plummeted in the wake of President Trump’s unpredictable trade war, according to new data. Canadians have dramatically slowed their searches for homes in the United States in the wake of tariffs by the Trump administration, according to new data from Redfin, shared exclusively with The New York Times. In May, traffic from Canada on the home listing site fell by 26.4 percent from the same time a year ago, marking the fourth straight month of double-digit year over year declines in searches for homes in the United States. The pattern follows President Trump’s announcements to enact, pause and negotiate tariffs on the country. While there was a dip in overall traffic to the site during the same period, it was dwarfed by the drop from Canada, said Chen Zhao, the head of economics research for Redfin.  The first major plunge happened in February, when searches from Canada declined by 21.3 percent year over year — a marked shift from January, when searches were down just 3.6 percent from the prior year.  “This is a big earthquake,” Dr. Zhao said. “You just don’t see that happen.”  In 2024, Canadians accounted for 13 percent of all foreign buyers in the United States, more than any other nation, spending $5.9 billion on American real estate, according to the National Association of Realtors. Half of Canadian buyers purchase vacation homes, usually in warm-weather areas, favoring Florida, followed by Arizona, Hawaii and California, according to N.A.R.  “If the Canadian buyers aren’t coming to spend their winters in Florida or Palm Springs, then they are also not spending their money there, and that has implications for the local economy,” said Dr. Zhao.  The collapse in activity from Canadian buyers follows the timeline of Mr. Trump’s trade policies, which began Feb. 1, when he announced 25 percent tariffs against Canada and Mexico. As a trade war ensued, he repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the 51st state. In turn, Canada levied reciprocal tariffs and elected a new prime minister, Mark Carney, who described the tariffs as “the greatest crisis of our lifetimes.”  In Miami, Miltiadis Kastanis, a real estate agent for Compass, was working with a Canadian buyer who was “very eager and excited” to find a waterfront property in Miami Beach. But since the trade war began, the buyer has stopped, restarted and stopped his search again, worried that an economic downturn could impact his business, which is dependent on selling consumer goods to the United States. “It scared him,” Mr. Kastanis said.  About a year ago, another of Mr. Kastanis’s Canadian clients bought a three-bedroom condo in Coconut Grove. But now, with the prospect of tariffs, he needs to spend less time at the beach enjoying a partial retirement and more time tending to his construction business back home. “He didn’t plan for his Miami exit,” said Mr. Kastanis, who is listing the condo for $4 million.  Since the tariffs went into effect, Marc Rasmussen, an owner of Corcoran Dwellings in Sarasota and St. Petersburg, Fla., has also seen a drop in interest from Canadian buyers, with some clients pausing their searches and others telling him they are no longer interested in American real estate. One of his clients, a married couple, could not sell their two-bedroom condo in Siesta Key for almost a year. It was originally listed for $699,000. Once the trade war started, they got anxious and more flexible in their pricing.  “They didn’t know what the heck was going to happen,” Mr. Rasmussen said. Before long, they’d accepted an offer of $520,000.  Some of his buyers have stopped looking, uncertain of a changing economic climate. “We had some people say, ‘Absolutely no, we’re not going to buy there,’” Mr. Rasmussen said. “And then we have some people say, ‘We’re just going to wait and see how this plays out.’" 
Posted 7 July 2025 | 2:58 pm

Condo prices drop again. Will new legislation help?
Is now the time to consider a condo in Florida? If you own a condo in Florida or were thinking of buying one, you might be happy to hear about a financial relief bill signed into law by Republican Governor Ron Desantis yesterday. The new law goes into effect July 1 and is aimed at reforming a condo safety law passed in 2022.  Condo owners in Florida faced rising costs under the 2022 law, which requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs. Some residents were caught off guard by hefty fees levied to cover years of deferred maintenance expenses required to bring their buildings into compliance with the 2022 legislation. The new measure allows certain condo associations to fund their reserves through a loan or line of credit. It also gives residents greater flexibility to pause payments into their reserve funds while they prioritize needed repairs and extends the deadline for associations to complete structural integrity studies. Some smaller buildings will be exempt from having to do those analyses. The 2022 condo safety law affected the desirability and thus values of Florida condos.  May 2024 to May 2025: Condo prices down 12% - Sarasota and Manatee counties  Condo prices down 10% - Pinellas county Condo prices down 5% - Hillsborough county "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful."                                                                                       Warren Buffett A lot of money was made by people who purchased in a buyer's market and sold in a seller's market. I went through MLS and found a handful of examples: 404 E Royal Flamingo, Sarasota | sold in 2012 for $680,000 | sold in 2020 for $1,235,000 1920 Webber St, Sarasota | sold in 2010 for $720,000 | sold in 2021 for $1,259,000 990 Blvd. of the Arts #501, Sarasota | sold in 2010 for $1,000,000 | sold in 2022 for $3,150,000 5175 Oxford Drive, Sarasota | sold in 2010 for $1,000,000 | sold in 2022 for $2,995,000 2550 Harbourside Dr. #341, Longboat Key | sold in 2010 for $1,075,000 | sold in 2023 for $2,150,000 811 The Espanade N #802, Venice | sold in 2010 for $995,000 | sold in 2018 for $1,550,000 535 Sanctuary Dr. #A402, Longboat Key | sold in 2010 for $1,250,000 | sold in 2021 for $1,700,000 From an investment standpoint and with a depressed condo market should we be looking for good condo investments right now? Please contact us if we can help. New condo listings in the last 7 days Marc RasmussenBroker/Owner of Corcoran Dwellings
Posted 25 June 2025 | 4:50 pm

What Happens if Florida Eliminates Property Taxes?
Here is a very thorough article from U.S, News and World Report discussing the impacts of Florida eliminating property taxes. As a homeowner, I would love this initially. But, I would be concerned with how local services would get the necessary funding to operate. Real estate does not operate in a vacuum. The lower cost of homeownership would be great and I imagine we would see a huge influx of buyers (demand) to the state initially, but people could also eventually leave the state if school quality, police, fire, roads and other maintenance all decline. If these services could be financed effectively from other sources this would give retirees two big reasons to live in Florida - no state income taxes and no property taxes. Full Article How Eliminating Property Taxes Could Impact Florida Homeowners Gov. DeSantis’ proposal to eliminate Florida’s property taxes would have a big impact on homeowners, residents and businesses. Key Takeaways: Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed reducing, reforming or potentially eliminating Florida's property taxes. The proposal is in the idea stage. Any rollbacks or changes require a constitutional amendment with a 60% majority vote. The impact on residents and the real estate market remains uncertain, but experts have theories on potential outcomes. As Florida lawmakers debate Gov. Ron DeSantis' proposal to eliminate state property taxes, buyers, sellers, agents, renters and landlords are trying to figure out the potential fallout. DeSantis has floated the idea of eliminating property taxes, a plan that would require major restructuring of how local governments are funded. He has also suggested immediate relief to Florida homeowners through a tax rebate. Lawmakers in both the state House and Senate have responded with different proposals to trim the sales tax, along with other tax changes. DeSantis, however, says he wants to aim tax relief at residents, not tourists. Property taxes are collected by municipalities in all 50 states and help fund public services such as schools, firefighters and police, among other things. While a change in Florida is far from reality, requiring a constitutional amendment with 60% voter approval, it raises the question: What would happen if Florida eliminated or reduced property taxes? Given Florida would be the first state to eliminate property taxes, there is no good model for what could happen if the policy is passed. To better understand what this proposal could do for homeowners, buyers, sellers and renters, we spoke with experts to break down the potential positive and negative impacts. The comments come just days after DeSantis formally proposed a $1,000 property tax rebate for Florida homeowners in a $5 billion plan now awaiting legislative approval. If it passes, checks could start going out in December.  How Florida's Property Taxes Currently Work Property taxes are levied based on a property's annual assessed value. A municipality collects these funds and disburses them to fund local services. "Schools receive the biggest funding, but you also have a local fire department, police officers, roads and other maintenance. However, the percentage of funding varies by municipality," says Noelle Tassey, CEO and president of Redy, an online real estate platform based in Manhattan where agents bid to represent listings. According to the Florida Policy Institute in Orlando, Florida, property taxes make up 18% of county revenue, 17% of municipal revenue and 50% to 60% of school district revenue, depending on the community. The institute's 2025 report shows around $43 billion is collected from property taxes in Florida and allocated to these local services. However, policy analyst Esteban Leonardo Santis says updated numbers are closer to $55 billion. How Would Florida Replace Property Tax Revenue? No official plan has been released about how property tax revenue could be replaced. "Ultimately, whatever you end up doing it's going to have to be pretty drastic. Nothing is free and budgets have to be balanced. You have to raise revenue equitably or cut services," Santis says. The state Senate has outlined a plan to cut sales taxes and commission a study by the Office of Economic and Demographic Research on eliminating property taxes in advance of a potential constitutional amendment for the 2026 ballot, with findings due in the fall. Possible funding sources include: Higher consumption-based sales taxes Budget cuts Increased tourism tax Locally determined special assessments for certain services A combination of these Suzanne Hollander, an attorney and associate professor at Florida International University's Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate in Miami, feels the best solution is to combine multiple funding sources to ensure a balanced budget without excessive cuts. "There are a lot of ways it could be funded," says Hollander. "Increasing restaurant, hotel and tourist attraction taxes. They could trim the municipal budget to make sure there's no waste. They could increase property transfer fees so that when you buy or sell a property, you pay a one-time fee, like documentary stamps. They could implement different millage rates for different uses of the property. Maybe there is no property tax for residential homesteaded property, but there is one for commercial property." While these ideas and others could theoretically offset the $55 billion deficit for municipalities, implementing them proves challenging. The Hurdle of Replacing Property Taxes Florida law requires a supermajority for tax increases, meaning any changes to millage rates, tourist taxes or consumption taxes, among others, would need an individual joint bill where two-thirds of both chambers to vote in favor of the change. "Each funding solution would need its own joint bill and pass a majority within the Legislature. This makes it difficult to combine funding solutions versus having one option to replace the funding. It's not impossible, but it's a hurdle because of all the levers to pull," says the Florida Policy Institute's Santis. Impacts of Eliminating Florida's Property Taxes It's unclear how eliminating property taxes would fully impact homeowners, renters, buyers and sellers. The Senate bill should help provide a more concrete picture, but for now, there are theories. Improve Homeownership Affordability Florida homeowners are struggling with rising housing costs. According to Redfin and CoreLogic data, home prices in Florida rose an astronomical 64% over the last five years, while property taxes increased 47.5% from 2019 to 2024. Florida's Save Our Homes program caps annual increases in the assessed value of homestead properties at 3% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. This is designed to prevent property taxes from rising too rapidly compared with home price increases. The goal is for assessed values to remain lower than market values, reducing the property tax burden. Eliminating property taxes removes a fluctuating cost for homeowners, offering more security, particularly for those on fixed incomes, such as retirees and the elderly.  No Risk of Losing Your Home From Unpaid Taxes "Taxing land/property is the most oppressive and ineffective form of taxation," DeSantis said in his initial post in early February about the proposal on the social platform X. He followed up later that month, saying, "You're basically paying rent to the government to live on your own property," during a press conference on Feb. 24. Right now a municipality can file a lien against a property for unpaid taxes. If the amount remains unpaid for long enough, the lien can be sold at a tax deed auction, resulting in loss of ownership, even if the home is owned free and clear. This would eliminate that risk entirely. Property Values Would Likely Increase “Property taxes have an interesting double-sided impact on property values,” says Tassey, who has observed that in the New England market, lower property tax states often have higher median home prices. For example, Connecticut’s lower property taxes result in significantly higher home values compared with neighboring Massachusetts. While Massachusetts home prices are also comparatively high, its property taxes hike the overall cost of homeownership. "Massachusetts has a much higher property tax, so the price of the home accounts for the higher cost of property taxes," Tassey says. Higher property taxes can have appeal when they fund an attractive level of services, but that is often a harder case to make when home shopping. Generally, lower property taxes tend to have a positive impact on home prices by making properties more attractive to buyers.  Foreign Investment and Buyer Interest Could Increase "Florida is one of the lowest tax-burdened states to live in. Many people are already interested in moving there for that reason," says Tassey. Eliminating or further reducing property taxes could lead to more foreign investment and out-of-state buyers, she says. This could be a good thing to help gobble up some of the oversupply certain housing markets like Miami are facing, but it may also drive up prices, making homeownership even less attainable for renters looking to buy, says Tassey.  Rents Could Come Down "Landlords bake the property taxes and insurance into your rental rate. So, if property taxes can be eliminated, it takes away a big cost that landlords have," says Hollander. This could theoretically make rents more affordable, but market supply and demand will ultimately dictate pricing. A lower cost for landlords doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll pass those savings on to renters. It Could Result in Underfunded Services Some proposed replacements, like sales and tourism taxes, fluctuate with consumer spending, raising concerns about whether Florida can reliably replace billions in lost revenue without cutting public services. If a viable funding plan isn’t approved, cutting services is the only option impacting schools, infrastructure, transportation and libraries among other public services. Tassey again highlights Connecticut as an example. She says wealthier rural areas have access to well-funded public services, while many densely populated cities with lower-income households are struggling with urban decay due to insufficient funding. Property Values Could Decrease Tassey and Hollander believe property values could rise as demand increases from foreign investors and out-of-state buyers. However, Santis argues that if public services are cut, affluent homeowners may relocate to areas with better services, reducing demand and potentially driving prices down. "Eventually, the people who can will vote with their feet and move to areas that have services provided," he says. Residents Might Pay More in Other Ways In 2024, Florida legislators proposed a property tax cut, suggesting replacing the lost revenue with a consumption tax increase, but that bill died in committee. DeSantis has said on X he would not allow a sales tax increase to fund the property tax change. However, makeup income has to come from somewhere, and given the substantial hurdles of a multifunding solution, a single tax increase is a potential solution. According to the Florida Policy Institute, Florida would have to double the current sales tax, which sits at 6% at the state level. Depending on how much you spend in a given year, a 12% sales tax could result in you paying more for public services.  Will Florida Eliminate Property Taxes? This proposal is something the state is taking seriously, says Hollander. However, before moving forward, lawmakers must determine viable funding solutions and assess economic impact. DeSantis is term-limited and will not be able to seek re-election in 2026, so there is always a chance this idea fizzles after he leaves office. However, if a joint bill is proposed and passes a supermajority before the 2026 election cycle, it could appear on the 2026 ballot. Any vote on eliminating or changing property tax law would require a 60% majority vote by registered Florida voters. Nonetheless, it is a serious topic Florida residents should pay attention to as it progresses. Marc Rasmussen Broker/Owner of Corcoran Dwellings Office 941.822.0708
Posted 11 June 2025 | 3:14 pm