Editor's Note: Sarasota real estate leading agent Joel Schemmel talks about the latest in western Florida's market.
Photo Credit: Coastal Home Photography
What do visitors to (your market) do during Memorial Day weekend? Will it be the same for this year?
Memorial Day Weekend in Sarasota was a little different this year. While the holiday is usually one for big gatherings, celebrations, and welcoming of the summer months this year was a little more somber. People still memorialized but in a more private way. The Sarasota beaches have always been favorites for the weekend as was the case this year but in a much more socially distant way. People did take advantage of the water and beautiful Florida weather but just in a quieter more reflective manner.
Photo Credit: Coastal Home Photography
When selling a property, do you prefer it to be staged or empty? Why?
When selling a property, we generally always involve a stager. It can take the form of anything from simply rearranging and tweaking furniture and décor to fully staging a vacant home or condo. We know the benefit of this process and how it positively affects value and time on the market. More recently because of logistical challenges due to COVID 19 we have been doing more virtual staging.
Photo Credit: SRQ360
Tell us about your best sale of 2020 so far.
Certainly, one of our best sales this year was a beachfront compound that we closed for $10,500,000. The property, referred to as AQUADISIA, consists of over three acres on the Gulf of Mexico including both the main home and guest home and more than 500 feet of beach frontage. The buyer first visited the property in late May amid the COVID-19 environment and we closed the first week of June. The sale was the highest price in 2020 for Sarasota County and tied last year’s high sale.
Photo Credit: SRQ360
What do you offer that no other agent can in (your market)?
Schemmel Group has had great success over the last several years. Much of that success is due to the combination of traditional marketing, innovative online and social media campaigns, and PR for our properties. In the last year or so our properties have been featured in Dwell, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Elle Décor. We know one sale came directly from the Dwell article. It is this extra push that is delivering value to our clients.
Photo Credit: SRQ360
How are prices doing today compared to three months ago in Sarasota, before the lockdown took place?
It has been very interesting to look at how pricing has evolved from before COVID-19 to now. We are fortunate that our market has been quick to reengage as things have opened. We may even be dealing with a scenario where demand is outweighing supply. Prices do not seem to have been impacted. Although we had over 45 days more or less of no sales, we have jumped back and may even be surging ahead. Therefore, I only see upward pressure on prices.
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