Gabe Sanders, Stuart Florida Real Estate

The number of square feet in a home is a factor in home selection because merely stating the number of rooms will not tell the whole story.

Generally when a home is listed for sale, the real estate agent will include the square footage from one of a number of possible sources.

The most accurate would be measuring the home. Inside, all the rooms are measured and described. This may provide the most accurate measurement of living space. Living space does not include such things as decks, terraces, garages, basements, and store rooms. The agent, however, will describe these spaces.

Other sources of square-foot information include:

Builder supplied floor plan: Often these can be less than completely accurate because of last minute design changes or owner requested modifications.

The property owner: Most sellers round the living space upward. Not knowing the rules, they could also be including storage areas.

Public records: Square footage may not be accurate for homes that have been remodeled or added onto over the years. Some are done without building permits, so these would not be included in public records.

An appraiser: An appraiser's figure could also be different from public records.

Buyers often compare the square footage with the price of a home in order to determine a price-per-square-foot. Unless the home is located in a recently-built development where all houses have similar amenities, this figure does not give an accurate picture of value as it doesn't include the value of the lot as well as location differences.

Also, just judging interior space by stated square footage can be very misleading as some open plan homes give the perception of much larger living areas then other homes that may have multiple partitions with many interior rooms.

Do not base your choice of homes on square footage or price per square foot alone. Let it be a rough guide only.

Everyone is asking, "When are things going to return to normal in real estate?" Most don’t realize that we are getting very close to a normal market now. It’s taking a while to recover from the shady financial dealings that created the artificially inflated markets of five years ago.

The poor lending practices of the past are indeed making it more difficult for some to secure financing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Those few years of lower standards and easy money led us into an unsustainable and inflated market. In the long term, it's good for housing and for the economy when banks become interested in whether loans will be repaid.

We are rapidly approaching the traditional normal market where home prices are stabilizing, the number of sales has been increasing, and more people are realizing the benefits that homeownership offers, for both personal and financial security. Because of historically low interest rates, affordable prices, government incentives, and motivated sellers, the housing market is experiencing solid signs of recovery.

All of these factors combine to get new first-time buyers the ability to afford a home and many are excited about a purchase. As these consumers enter the market, they will trigger other purchases, and the chain of transactions grows. Expect your real estate representative to reveal a wide range of affordable choices and guide you toward securing the financing you need to make your dream come true.

On Thursday November 12th, the kickoff party for the second annual Treasure Coast Walk Now for Autism was a tremendous success. Hosted at the Hutchinson Island Marriott Resort at Indian River Plantation on South Hutchinson Island in Stuart Florida.

Over 150 guests, members and organizers were treated to a wonderful dinner while organizers outlined the plans for the 2010 Treasure Coast Walk Now for Autism event to be held on March 20th at the Jensen Beach High School athletic field. We are planning for at least as successful an event as last year where we had over 2,000 walkers and raised over $100,000 for Autism Speaks. The leading advocate for understanding and a cure for this terrible affliction that now affects 1 in 94 children.

My partner Susan Maxwell of Premier Realty Group will once again co-chair this event and we are asking any of you that will be in the Treasure Coast are on March 20th to join us at the Jensen Beach High School for this worthwhile cause. Registration will begin at 11:00 AM and the walk will commence at Noon.

We also invite all supporters to join our team and make a contribution to this cause. The Premier Realty Group Walk Now For Autism Team can be joined on line at this link.

Or, if you desire, make a donation from my page here.

Thanks for your consideration and support.

The normally quiet skies of Stuart will be noisy this weekend with supersonic fighters, World War II vintage planes flying in formation, aerial acrobatic displays and much more. The 19^th annual Visiting Nurse Association, Veteran’s Day Weekend Air Show is this weekend at Stuart’s Witham Field.

This year the show is dedicated to Roberto Hernandez and Johnathan O’Neill, soldiers of the U.S. Army who were killed while serving our country in Afghanistan. There will be ‘Missing Man’ formation flown by the Shell Aerobatic team and this will be especially meaningful to one Martin County resident who was stationed in Afghanistan with the 549th MP Company, the same company as Hernandez and O’Neill. Charles Moon, U.S. Army Specialist 4th Class and son of Martin County Airport Director Mike Moon, was deployed overseas with the Company in April of 2008.

To view the schedule and information for this year’s event, please visit the VNA air show site here: http://vnaairshow.com/index.asp.

If you happen to be in or around Martin County this weekend, please stop by. I know you won’t regret it.

Martin County Residential Data
(Single Family Homes)

Absorption rates crept a little in October which is a normal seasonal fluctuation for Martin County. This will most likely continue through the early winter and then decrease further through our main season from March through August. If current trends continue we will be back to a balanced market by the summer and the average sales prices will start to increase. Current price trends have stabilized and we have seen modest increases in some segments of our market.

The Definition of Absorption Rate:
Number of weeks it takes to sell the current inventory at the present rate of sales. Knowing your area's Absorption Rate, helps to track trends. Understanding the market and where it is headed is part of our job as real estate professionals. Absorption rate is NOT an exact science. Figuring it is based on the premise that one will be looking for a TREND. It is advised to consistently do the numbers each month, to be able to track a trend.