Where Vacation-Home Shoppers Are Buying, and Where They Aren't

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By Lauren Baier Kim

Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web.

Sarasota-Bradenton home sales drop

The Sarasota-Bradenton housing market is experiencing a trend seen in many other cities -- those that climbed the highest in the boom are now seeing the biggest drops in the number of houses being sold. In March, this Florida region had the steepest decline in home sales in the state, with a decrease of 45%, according to The Herald of Bradenton, Fla.. However, while the Sarasota-Bradenton area had sluggish sales last month, the median price for a house still managed to rise 5% from a year ago, the paper says. The glut of residential properties on the market is in part due to investors who are either holding off on buying or are trying to unload their investment properties, the paper quotes a local real-estate agent as saying.

Buyers' choice in San Diego

A record number of residences were up for sale in San Diego last month, the highest amount since 1995 and a rise of 27% since the start of 2006, according to an article published by voiceofsandiego.org. Homes also are taking longer to sell, the article says. "I think the market is in serious trouble, in San Diego and in many other places as well," the Web site quotes the director of University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson Forecast as saying. However, the increase in the availability of homes for sale hasn't resulted in major price decreases in the area, the Web site says.

 

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