BUSINESS OBSERVER

+ Demand for homes continues to rise
RE/MAX Alliance Group Oct. 17 released figures for September that show demand for homes continues to rise.

A report states a continued trend of shrinking inventory, coupled with steady demand, is steadily increasing home prices.

The median sold price in Sarasota increased by 14% and in Manatee by 6% compared to the same time last year. 

Pending sales also have increased by 36.3% in Sarasota and 76.6% in Manatee compared to the same time last year.

RE/MAX also reports available inventory is down to 26.1% in Sarasota and 16.6% in Manatee.

+ Realty company puts focus on health-care industry
Lakewood Ranch resident Ken Hughes has opened CNK Realty.

The company serves the health-care industry by representing physicians, investors and hospital groups in their needs for leasing, purchasing or disposition of medical-office space.

Hughes is a 16-year veteran of the commercial real-estate industry. He previously worked locally with Wagner Realty and, most recently, as the leasing director at Healthcare Realty Trust, a publicly traded healthcare REIT.

CNK Realty is located at 5216 Fourth Ave. Circle E., Suite 5, in Bradenton. For more information, contact Hughes at 741-9600 or [email protected], or visit cnkrealty.com.

+ Lennar Homes rings in $5M-plus in two months
Lennar Homes sold 40 condos in one northeast Manatee County community during the last two months — more than $5 million in total sales volume.

The condos sold at an average sales price of $140,000 to $150,000, according to a release. The sales, moreover, continue the upswing at River Strand, a gated golf and country club section of Heritage Harbour, off State Road 64.

Lennar, according to a release, also recently started construction of 16 new coach homes in the community, which will be priced from $239,990 to $269,900.

River Strand is built next to a 27-hole Arthur Hills-designed golf course.

+ Candice McElyea joins SNN Local News station
Manatee County businesswoman Candice McElyea Oct. 3 rejoined the SNN Local News team as a freelance news reporter. McElyea worked as a full-time news reporter/anchor at SNN from 1998 to 2001 and will now work one to two days a week as the news station expands into Manatee County. 

“As a Sarasota/Manatee County resident for close to 30 years, my roots here are deep, and I love telling the stories of my friends and neighbors,” said McElyea.

McElyea is a graduate of Riverview High School and of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. She worked as a news reporter at the ABC news affiliate in Salisbury, Md., before moving to SNN in 1998.

SNN Local News is on Comcast channels 6 and 400, and on Verizon channel 26.

+ Raymond James Financial moves to Lakewood Ranch
Raymond James Financial Services Inc. member FINRA/SIPC (RJFS), a national financial services firm, recently moved to a new office at 11009 Gatewood Drive, Suite 101, Lakewood Ranch. Jim and Jeff Zientara are co-branch managers.

The RJFS office offers a comprehensive range of financial and investment services, including asset management, mutual funds, insured CDs and stocks and bonds.

“We take our clients’ investing seriously. We’re not a transaction-driven firm,” said Jim Zientara in a press release. “Rather than trying to beat the market in the short term, we develop a financial strategy for our clients that we believe will carry them through the rigors of volatility in the marketplace.”

For more information, contact Jeff Zientara at 750-6818 or visit raymondjames.com/lwr.

+ WCI introduces Riverfront Estates
WCI Communities has introduced Riverfront Estates in Tidewater Preserve, the 373-acre gated master-planned community along the Manatee River in Bradenton.

Three available floor plans will offer three bedrooms, including an owner’s suite, den, great room, dining room, covered entry and lanai featuring riverfront views. Builders Design will create the model home interiors. Riverfront Estate homes are priced from $443,900.

For more information about Tidewater Preserve, call 465-4001 or visit TidewaterPreserve.com.