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Published on: 3/16/2007
Last Visited: 3/16/2007
"The correction in 2006 was very different than previous corrections" said Joe Hembree, the president of the Sarasota Association of Realtors.The drop-off did not occur, as most do, in a general economic downturn.In fact, it was quite the opposite, he said.
It was speculation that fueled the historic sales and price increases and it was "at levels that simply are not sustainable in a healthy economy," Hembree said.
Factors including high property taxes and insurance costs contributed to the scale of the correction, Hembree said.
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Last year's decline is directly attributable to the departure of investors, Hembree said.