The Florida Association of Realtors announced this week that home resale prices dipped to $241,000 in October from $247,800 in September.

That trend has been noted in the Englewood-Cape Haze region.


Englewood area brokers said Tuesday a trend toward moderating home resale prices is likely to continue in the region.

The Florida Association of Realtors announced this week that home resale prices dipped to $241,000 in October from $247,800 in September.

That trend has been noted in the Englewood-Cape Haze region.

The seller's market has shifted to a buyer's market said Margaret Adorjan, broker/owner of Margaret Adorjan and Associates.

Adorjan explained the market cycle process:

"Real estate is really driven by supply and demand, and when you have a great demand and little supply, it drives the prices up greatly. Then everyone sees the high values and appreciation.

"Many people put their homes on the market at a price that often exceeds market value. Once your inventory becomes greater than the demand, the prices start leveling off. And sometimes reductions occur because of the more motivated sellers.

"We've always been driven by supply and demand. Right now we have a tremendous supply of homes on the market."

Adorjan, who's been in the real estate business for 25 years, said there were a variety of reasons for the glut of homes.

One reason is more people saw prices rising through the roof and put their homes on the market hoping to cash in.

Home sales are particularly slow near the Gulf, because vacations are over and many people up north have not yet returned.

At the same time, people are putting their homes on the market hoping to capitalize on the upcoming season.

Adorjan said there were currently 895 homes on the local real estate market, compared to an average of about 225 at any given time last year.

Locally, there are 2,624 vacant lots on the market and 218 condominiums, which include resales and presales.

The area encompasses the barrier islands, Englewood, Grove City, Rotonda, Englewood East, Gulf Cove, South Gulf Cove and Gardens of Gulf Cove.

A Multiple Listing Service search also shows the decreasing prices. In March, for example, a search brought up a list of only three homes listed between $170,000 and $200,000.

The same MLS search Tuesday indicated 61 single-family homes listed for sale in that price range.

Jean Rebeck, broker/co-owner of Gasparilla Properties, agreed with Adorjan and warned that sellers would have to reconsider their asking prices.

"There's a lot more homes on the market right now. I think people now, who are wanting to sell, they're going to have to look at the price they are (considering).

"They're not going to take a huge cut. We're not looking at $50,000 to $60,000. People might have to contemplate coming down $10,000 to 20,000," Rebeck said.

She said the price surge happens every few years, and sellers can no longer expect to make a killing after purchasing a house only a few months before.

"They have to be a little more realistic. That seems to be a trend right now," Rebeck said.

Carolyn Jarvis, a Re/Max Properties broker/owner, who has been in real estate since 1981, agreed.

"I think they will have to (come down in their prices,) because we've got a huge supply of homes and we don't have any sales pending. That indicates they've reached the plateau," Jarvis said.

There are other indicators showing that sellers might have to reconsider their asking prices.

"They might want to come down because the mortgage rates are going up," Jarvis said. "They are going to have to come down. It happens to be a buyer's market right now. The buyers can pick and choose."