Housing is back, but worries persist

A trio of prominent local real estate executives recently told a crowd of real estate agents and mortgage brokers that yes, the market is back, and in some cases, it's even booming again.

But the biggest applause at “Boom, Bubble or Bust,” an event hosted by the Homebuilders Association Manatee-Sarasota, came for the one person who was less cheery. That panelist, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch President and CEO Rex Jensen, says he sees good signs in the market, too, but he's concerned about future challenges.

The applause, however, wasn't because Jensen was simply being pragmatic. Instead, it was for Jensen's rip into the Sarasota County 2050 plan, which was ostensibly designed in 2002 to protect against urban sprawl. Sarasota County commissioners recently agreed to consider 2050 revisions — a move that can't come soon enough for Jensen and a host of others in real estate and development.