Affordable Housing and Economic Report

Skyrocketing condo/home prices over the past few years have left some would-be condo/homebuyers priced out of the market. With the median price of existing condo/home sales at $320,000, many workers find themselves unable to buy a condo/house.

Manatee County defines affordable housing as anything below $160,000, while workforce housing is considered anything between $160,000, and $192,000.

Central Park Realty Corporation has positioned itself to provide affordable housing in the form of condos to the Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area with numerous condo-conversion developments.

Sarasota County released its economic report card and the county received mostly high marks.

"Our economy has been extremely strong over the last several years," said Kathy Baylis, president of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County. "Even though some part of the nation took a dip, we barely had a small blip on the radar screen." Local job growth from 2002-05 exceeded the state and U.S. rates, according to the report. Unlike other regions, the area held steady with the number of manufacturing jobs, and even experienced some growth from 2004-05. The region experienced particular strong growth in the areas of bio and life sciences, financial services and creative services.

On the down side, while the growth rate of county wages outpaced that of the state, wages were below the state average by 3.6 percent. The Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan statistical area also has one of the highest housing-to-wages ratios, meaning that housing is less affordable to the average worker. Baylis attributed the strong economy partly to the residential real estate market and the quality of life in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. She said the area has experienced steady population growth of a high quality.

"CEOs of companies, retirees and people of means have moved here," she said. Despite the number of high wage earners moving into the area, the average wage is lower than in the other areas mentioned in the report. Baylis said this discrepancy has to do with the types of jobs here.

"Our economy is very service-based," she said. "Service and retail jobs typically have a lower wage, so that drives down our overall average wage." While Sarasota County wages lag compared to the rest of the state, they have gotten closer in recent years. The average local wage in the third quarter of 2005 was 4 percent below the state average.

Current wages are 3.6 percent below the state average. In Sarasota County, the average annual wage is now $35,442, compared with $36,776 in the state. But wages in Sarasota County are growing at a faster rate than those in the rest of the state.

Baylis said a couple of factors have driven the wage growth rate. "Our economy is becoming more diverse, with jobs in bio science and manufacturing," she said. "Plus, the affordable housing issue is in some instances creating a situation where employers have to pay a higher wage to attract and retain employees."

The report addressed the affordable housing issue, stating that housing prices have more than doubled in recent years, while wages have not kept up. Out of the areas mentioned in the report, Sarasota-Bradenton had the lowest wages, and the second-highest home prices. The writers of the report calculated that the cost of the average house in the Sarasota-Bradenton was 10 times the annual wage. She said the Economic Development Corp. will try to educate employers about things they can do to help their workers obtain housing, such as down payment assistance, or creating individual accounts in which a portion of one's paycheck goes toward saving for the purchase of a home.

"It's really about educating our employers so they know what's available to them," she said. "There are probably programs that people aren't taking advantage of." Despite the lack of affordable housing in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, manufacturing jobs in the region increased by 12 percent from September 2004 to 2005.

Several free workshops on home buying and credit rebuilding are available in Sarasota County. Sponsored by the Sarasota Office of Housing and Community Development, the seminars aim to help consumers take advantage of First Time Homebuyer Affordable Loans or the Sarasota Down Payment Assistance Program. A certificate of completion of such a course is often needed for both. The workshops talk about steps to purchase a home, how to rebuild credit and available assistance programs.

Central Park Realty Corporation has numerous lenders that offer community bond money for 100% financing programs. “We have worked with the Manatee County Coalition, the Sarasota County seed money programs and numerous lenders offering 100% financing,” says Ross Bryans Owner/Broker at Central Park Realty. More important Bryan’s states that his condos, at an average sale price of $130,000, are both affordable and extremely attractive to retirees, first time homebuyers and investors alike.