Housing data points to Romney victory in Fla

If the housing market is any sign, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will win in Florida today -- maybe the biggest swing state of the contest.

Swing state housing analysis conducted by RealtyTrac this week gives Romney the nod over President Barack Obama with real estate voters in Florida.

Romney would win the majority of swing states (5-3) and their electoral votes (58-37), but Obama would still secure enough to squeak out a victory in the overall electoral vote count, 274-264, according to the RealtyTrac survey.

Hopefully we will know the true outcome by tonight.

The presidential data was based on a recent Swing State Housing Scorecard by RealtyTrac that analyzed key housing market data like average home prices, unemployment, foreclosure inventory, foreclosure starts and percent of distressed sales.

Florida’s housing market is worse off compared to four years ago based on four of those metrics — falling average home prices, rising unemployment, increasing foreclosure inventory, and growing foreclosure sales — while only foreclosure starts have improved since Obama’s big win in 2008.

Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire also favor Romney in the housing study. Nevada, Virginia and Ohio go to Obama.

Please don’t forget to vote today, and stay tuned to Bradenton.com for all of the results!

Also, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

What the housing market looked like last election

A majority of the talk in political arenas has, and will continue, to focus on the U.S. economy until a president is elected in November.

It has been the focus of TV ads, debates and even new reports trying to sort out if the economic picture is brighter now than when President Barack Obama rode the wave of change into office four years ago.

A new study released by RealtyTrac shows the housing picture in Manatee and Sarasota counties has mostly improved, with home prices the slowest measure to rebound. While the job market also has shown signs of life this year, it has not yet restored to the rates of 2008.

Foreclosure inventory in Manatee has slimmed from the 4,587 in 2008 to 4,362 today. In Sarasota, the tally has shrunk from 6,838 to 5,660, according to RealtyTrac.

A drop in new foreclosure starts and continued demand for middle-class housing has fueled the trend, shrinking supply of all housing types in the area.

Manatee had 4,508 new foreclosure starts in 2008 and only 1,593 today. In Sarasota, the 6,349 new foreclosures four years ago has evaporated to 2,738.

Although those indicators show signs of progress, prices have been slow to respond.

The average sales prices in Manatee in 2008 was $319,201 compared to $216,527 today. In Sarasota, the $274,335 average also continues to run higher than the latest reported figure of $199,310, according to RealtyTrac.

Unemployment, which often drives trends in the housing market, has improved slowly of late. But it has yet to catch the pace of 2008.

Since 2008, the jobless rate in Manatee has risen overall from 8.7 percent to 9.7 percent. The same was true for Sarasota, where the rates climbed from 8.4 percent to 9 percent even during that time.

The share of sales that were distressed (foreclosures and short sales) fell in Manatee from 15 percent in 2008 to 13.5 percent now. Sarasota's dropped from 20 percent to 15 percent.

The housing health check looked at the measures for all 919 US counties with the information available.

“The U.S. housing market has shown strong signs of life in recent months, but many local markets continue to struggle with high levels of negative equity as the result of home prices that are well off their peaks. In addition, persistently high unemployment rates are hobbling a robust real estate recovery in most areas,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “While the worst of the foreclosure problem is in the rear view mirror for a narrow majority of counties, others are still working through rising levels of foreclosure activity, inventory and distressed sales as they continue to clear the wreckage left behind by a bursting housing bubble.”

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Lakewood Ranch sees housing surge

As I reported in my story Thursday, existing home sales in Manatee and Sarasota counties have climbed through summer, increasing prices and shrinking inventory.

The trend is evident in Lakewood Ranch, where strong housing numbers also have carried over to new home construction, the region's employment backbone.

There have been 397 new homes sales in Lakewood Ranch through Aug. 31, a 48 percent surge over last year’s pace, when a total of 391 closed during the entire year, according to Schroeder Manatee Ranch, the community’s developer.

So far this year, buyers have closed on 251 resales in the massive master planned community. That means 61 percent of all 2012 sales have been new homes, a number you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in Florida.

SMR has 27 builder retail contracts in The Lake Club this year. There are now 214 homes under various stages of construction.

Typically, new homes in Lakewood Ranch are priced about 10 percent above resales, but as the number of foreclosures continues to fall, prices of existing homes are regaining value.

That’s pushed resale prices in the community just 2 percent below new for a comparable property, a trend largely fanned by a lack of resale inventory and contributing to the construction demand.

During the downturn, there were more than 600 existing homes listed on the market in Lakewood Ranch; now there are 115.

About 36 percent of the resales this year have been all cash deals, according to SMR.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman.

Home building activity on the rise in Manatee

If you read the Bradenton Herald today, you hopefully caught my housing story on how recently thinning inventory of existing single-family homes has impacted the market. If not, catch up here.

As supply slides, bidding wars are erupting on foreclosures. Other desirable properties also are beginning to attract multiple offers, sometimes more than even a seller’s first asking price, records show.

The trend should ultimately increase values across the board –  giving underwater homeowners who have been stuck in an unfit property since the crash with a renewed opportunity to sell.

It also will boost interest in new home construction, which already has unfolded in many measures.

There were 137 new residential building permits pulled in Manatee County in August. While that’s down some from the 154 in July, it remains ahead of last year’s tally by one-third, according to the county.

So far this year, developers have pulled 1,041 new residential building permits in Manatee, a 24 percent jump from the 840 during the same time in 2011.

Much of the progress has come in Lakewood Ranch, which remains a hot spot for buyers seeking new.

For example, Taylor Morrison on Tuesday announced construction of a new model home in one of Lakewood Ranch’s newest communities, Haddington in Country Club East. The neighborhood includes 76 home sites, with houses ranging in size from 2,000 to 4,000 square feet.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Busy week at Bradenton Herald

This is a very busy week in the Bradenton Herald newsroom.

Just 45 minutes north, about 50,000 out-of-state visitors are convening in downtown Tampa for the Republican National Convention. We have several reporters covering all of the action live. For updates, check Bradenton.com frequently.

The event is expected to generate a huge economic boon for Manatee County -- filling up hotels rooms, tables at restaurants and other area attractions.

At the same time, we still have reporters covering any fallout from Tropical Storm Isaac, which turned out to mostly miss our area. Surfers are enjoying the rough waters, and the tourist who are still here are not afraid to make their way to the beaches. So far, no major damage has been reported in Manatee.

The good news: Piney Point, a former phosphate facility near Port Manatee, escaped the storm without any toxic runoff. This is one of the few positive developments to occur at the site since a liner tear in the gypsum stacks last year sent 170 million gallons of toxic water into Bishop Harbor on Tampa Bay.

You can read all about Piney Point here.

The bad news: The storm will increase gas prices in Manatee by as much as 20 cents a gallon in one week as refineries along the Gulf states halt production to protect themselves against potential damage.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Neal Communities off to strong year

If the sales by Neal Communities are any indication, 2012 is shaping up to be a good year for home builders.

The prominent Manatee County developer continued its speedy pace of new home sales in July, spurred by strong buyer interest in the Central Park neighborhood of Lakewood Ranch and Woodbrook, Neal’s newest community in south Manatee County, the company said.

The 22 sales between those two communities accounted for slightly more than half of Neal’s total of 44 in July and helped push year-to-date sales up to 325, almost 36 percent above the first seven months of 2011.

Also this month, Neal sold four homes in the East Manatee community of River’s Reach, five sales in Belleisle in Lakewood Ranch Country Club East, and four in Lakewood Ranch Country Club. Forest Creek added four sales and Sawgrass chipped in with two purchases.

The recent sales activity has come even after Neal increased its new home prices four times in several different communities within the last 60 days.

“Summer is normally the slow season,” Pat Neal, president of Neal Communities (pictured), said in a statement. “Despite some price increases, our team continues to please buyers with our offerings. This month’s performance nearly matches our year to date monthly average of 46 sales. We’re very pleased and are looking forward to a strong second half with the introduction of new inventory in existing communities as well as community unveilings.”

Market conditions now bode well for new homebuilders seeking to increase supply.

Existing homes for sale in the region have held below the six-month inventory threshold for most of the year, which traditionally signals a shift to a sellers’ market.

The Sarasota Association of Realtors reported that the inventory of homes for sale dropped to 4.1 months supply in June, a new 10-year low.

And Neal is striking while the iron is hot.

Neal’s newest community in Venice, Grand Palm, is set to open in early fall. The recently purchased Boca Royale Golf & Country Club near Englewood also will open in 2013.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Foreclosures show mixed bag

Foreclosures are on the rise again in some of the nation's largest metro areas, including Bradenton-Sarasota.

The region had 5,702 properties with a foreclosure filing during the first six months of the year, a modest 2 percent jump from the second half of 2011 and 20 percent spike from the same time last year -- when foreclosures were still slowed by lender fraud issues, according to data released by RealtyTrac that was embargoed until midnight.

One in every 70 housing units in the greater Sarasota area has been a foreclosure this year, for a rate of 1.42 percent -- placing the area 26 on RealtyTrac's national list of the 212 worst foreclosure rates.

Half of the nation’s 20 largest metro areas in terms of population documented increasing foreclosure activity from the previous six months, led by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater with a 47 percent climb.

Foreclosure activity in the first half of 2012 was up from the previous six months in 125 of the nation’s 212 metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more.

The recent surges were fanned by an uptick in new foreclosure starts, or lis pendens, which have been rising in Southwest Florida for much of the year as banks work to process the defaults that were temporarily put on hold during the robo-signing issues.

But a subsiquent report also released Wednesday by CoreLogic suggests the numbers might not be all that bad.

Foreclosure rates in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota fell in May from the same time last year, according to the CoreLogic data.

The report shows foreclosures represented 11 percent of all outstanding mortgage loans in the greater Sarasota area in May, a decrease from May 2011, when the rate was 12 percent. Foreclosure activity in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota was higher than the national foreclosure rate of 3.41 percent.

The local mortgage delinquency rate also slid, with 16 percent of mortgage loans 90 days or more delinquent, a 0.67 percentage- point yearly drop.

For the latest real estate news, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Real estate on the up and up

Real estate in Manatee and Sarasota counties is on the upswing.

As I first reported in my story this morning, which also will appear in Friday's Bradenton Herald, home sales across the area continue to move at their fastest pace since the historic boom.

Existing single-family home sales have been on the rise for much of the year, with 1,402 homes in Manatee County closing to date, a 14.4 percent jump over the same time in 2011 -- a year that saw the healthiest real estate market since the recession, records show.

At the same time, foreclosures have faced a lull for some time now. Although new home defaults have increased of late, the recent slowdown from the lender fraud issues have allowed buyers to catch up on the once overwhelming prensence of distressed housing.

The end result has been a housing market with its thinnest inventory in a decade.

Aside from bottom-dweller scratch-and-dent properties, which are causing problems of their own, and multimillion dollar estates,  there's simply not much left for the typical middle-class buyer who requires financing.

With just more than four months worth of existing inventory between the two counties, new home construction is picking back up. Developers typically like to see about six months worth of housing supply available before building speculation homes, the crossroads between a buyer's and seller's market.

We passed that benchmark months ago.

There were 174 new single-family building permits issued in Manatee in June, a 51 percent jump from the 115 and May and 49 percent climb over the 117 recorded at the same time a year ago, according to country records.

New home building permits measure when a developer is cleared to begin work on a new house, but it doesn't necessarily mean building activity will commence immediately.

Either way, it's a good sign.

When new construction picks up, construction hiring picks up.

And for the 350,000 construction workers in Florida who lost their job since 2006, that's the best news yet.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Mall deal progresses but nothing's final

Waiting, waiting and waiting some more. That's been the story with the DeSoto Square Mall deal now in the works.

As I first reported in my story early last month, Simon Property Group Inc. has found a dance partner for the aging Bradenton mall, which has slipped into foreclosure.

The buyer has not been identified, but a commercial broker familiar with the deal said the company carries a recognizable name and plans to renovate the property into a discount-oriented shopping center once the transaction closes.

Waiting and waiting.

More than a month later, the deal seems to be progressing, but nothing is final at this point. A special servicer assigned to case has not posted any new notes since June 6. The letter of intent on the property remains in place.

Simon, the world largest shopping mall owner, has been delinquent on its payment 10 of the last 12 months. The company's $61.9 million loan on the 492,997-square-foot portion of the mall it owns fell into danger of immanent default in 2010, according to Trepp, a real estate analytics firm.

Waiting and waiting.

Now, Patrick Berman, senior director of the retail brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc., has been ordered to stop commenting. This comes after he claimed last month to not only know the buyer, but also was aware of its intentions for the property as well.

Of course Simon, and the commercial firm it has hired to market the mall, won't comment.

Waiting and waiting.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Fresh Market store gears up

A new Fresh Market specialty grocery store now under construction on Manatee Avenue West has penciled itself for a late summer opening.

The store targets wealthy communities and consumers who are more health-conscious. Known for its massive produce department -- with many items locally sourced -- and organic groceries, the retailer has thrived through a period of tame consumer spending.

As I reported in my story today, construction is ahead of its initial schedule, which first called for a fall opening. The store will bring 90 new jobs to the area.

It also will bring competition for Publix and Sweetbay, which each have a strong base of loyal customers in Southwest Florida. Calls made to officials at both stores weren't responded in time for deadline, but the beauty of the Internet is I can share those comments with you now.

Shannon Patten, corporate spokeswoman for Publix Supermarkets on Bradenton's new Fresh Market store, which becomes the second in Manatee County:

"Over the years we have seen the retail grocery landscape change significantly.  We believe that competition is healthy; it makes us all step up our game and ultimately the customer wins.

Regardless of the stores that open in markets in which we operate, we are always reviewing aspects like promotions, product mix and store environment in an effort to provide our customers with the best overall shopping experience.

Publix has been a strong and stable company for more than 80 years. These days, people can get grocery items at many different places, but we have very loyal customers who appreciate the environment and service we offer them every single day."

So there you have it. Publix is not too concerned.

I'm a Publix guy myself, but my wife loves Fresh Market and constantly frequents the store on University Parkway. Where do you like to shop for groceries? Are you excited about the new Fresh Market? And could you see yourself shopping there regularly?

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

And Happy Fourth of July! Celebrate safely!

Fresh storm and health care coverage

Tropical Storm Debby has made for a busy week at the Bradenton Herald.

I'm sure by now you all have seen the array of stories and photo galleries, which actually helped Bradenton.com flirt with record high page views this week.

The storm also kept us working overtime on the business desk. The week opened with a story on how the storm impacted industries across Southwest Florida both positively and negatively. We also had an exclusive story tracking the restaurant sector, which had a bad start to the week to say the least.

Now, emergency management officials are soliciting businesses to report any uninsured storm losses for the possibility of reimbursement, while also keeping tabs on damage to public property.

We also today will be meeting Florida Power & Light President Eric Silagy to talk about all things going on with the utility giant. Both the proposed rate increase and Debby reaction will be among them, so look for that.

We will have local reaction at Bradenton.com today when the ruling is released on President Barack Obama's controversial health care reform. I know right now businesses across Southwest Florida are sitting on pins and needles.

(UPDATE 10:35 a.m.: The Supreme Court has upheld the entire health care law with a 5-4 vote.)

For a full primer on the health care reform, check this story out.

And be sure to follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman for the latest business updates.

Help a small business win $250,000

It appears to be contest season in Manatee County, small business contests that is.

As I reported in my story today, an entrepreneur who makes specialty bath soaps from her Lakewood Ranch home is one of five national finalists vying for $15,000 in small business support as part of a contest sponsored by PostNet, a Denver-based business solutions franchise.

Keep an eye out because the winner will be announced later this week, and we will have updates for you right here and on Bradenton.com. If you haven't checked out this company yet, do so.

Kristi's Klean Kreations makes some of the most unique products I have ever seen, with soaps ranging from college mascots to sea creatures and even foods like cheeseburgers and bacon. That's right, a bath soap that looks and smells exactly like the greasy breakfast staple. They're pretty popular too.

My personal favorite is the beer soap (pictured).

Also, area resident Cheryl Brady has entered her business Vet Care Express Animal Ambulance into the ongoing "Mission Small Business" contest sponsored by Chase Bank and LivingSocial. The program will be awarding a total of $3 million to U.S. small business to highlight their importance in the economy.

Brady needs 250 votes on Facebook for her application to be reviewed by the contest panel and a chance for $250,000. People can vote for Brady here.

In just two years, Brady has seen business climb significantly. She has transported more than 1,300 area pets, while tripling both call volume and revenues. Brady would use the winnings to add vehicles and increase the company's call service area.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Oh, and stay dry out there!

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. 101

The eight-member board of directors for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Wednesday unanimously named Barry Gilway, an insurance industry veteran from Maryland, as the state-run carrier's new president.

The vote displaced long-time banking regulator and Gov. Rick Scott supporter Tom Grady (pictured) from his interim post. Grady was among those seeking the permanent seat. Get all of the details here.

The decision comes just two days after Grady came to the Bradenton Herald newsroom to meet with editors and myself to discuss issues facing the industry giant. The stop was part of statewide tour to meet with lawmakers, policy holders and community leaders before he forms a recommendation on whether or nor to raise Citizens premiums.

Grady believes a rate increase will likely be needed to make Florida's insolvent insurance industry more competitive. Citizens, which was created to become the insurer of last resort, instead has become the insurer of default.

With more than $1.4 million customers, Citizens is growing a rate of 1,000 new policies a week. The insurer has $500 billion in total exposure and less than $10 in hand to cover those expenses, records show.

Industry experts say Citizens is destined for financial failure should major storm rip through the Sunshine State, likely causing many more private companies to bow from the market.

I'm writing a story that explains all of these financial problems, the pros and cons of a Citizens rate increase, and detailed explanation of how the state carrier works -- which many Citizens policy holders still don't understand. For all of that, be sure to grab a copy of the Bradenton Herald on Monday or check back at Bradenton.com.

UPDATE: You can read the story here, which has all of the details you could ever want to know.

Also today, the Manatee Chamber of Commerce will unveil its coveted small business awards during the annual luncheon. Of course, I will be covering the event.

I'll post updates as soon as the results are announced. I also will be tweeting live from the event, so if you don't already, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Who's the DeSoto Square secret buyer?

The unidentified buyer of DeSoto Square Mall has become the best kept secret in town.

Simon Property Group Inc. is more than $20 million underwater on the property, which was first built in 1973. The company has been delinquent on its payments 10 of the 12 months, allowing its $61.9 million mortgage to slip into foreclosure this year, according to real estate records.

The largest owner of malls in the world is poised to shed one from its inventory, as a deal is pending with an unidentified buyer that plans to turn the aging mall into a discount shopping center.

But who is this mystery party involved?

A retail broker familiar with the deal said the buyer carries a national brand name most will recognize.

Benderson Development Corp. seems to have a hand in almost all commercial activity going on between Sarasota and Manatee, including the proposed 115-store University Town Center. But a company official said Tuesday they were staying out of this one.

Taubman Centers Inc., also a partner on the Town Center project, is a national mall developer and big player in retail. But Taubman specializes mostly in upscale centers, and it's unlikely they would be the ones that opt to renovate DeSoto into a discount mall.

The biggest developer of Outlet-style shopping centers is Simon, which also owns Ellenton Premium Outlets, but they're the sellers not the buyers.

Wesfield, which owns two malls in Sarasota and another just north in Brandon, could be viable option. A spokesman for the company declined to speculate about any potential deals this week, but I get the feeling it's not them ... just a hunch. They like to stick to traditional and more upscale shopping malls, which again is different from the plans now being drawn up at DeSoto Square.

Who are we overlooking? What's your best guess on the new buyer? And will you shop there again if they make some renovations and add outlet stores?

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Chamber announces beautification awards

The Manatee Chamber of Commerce has recognized three area businesses for their beautification efforts.

The Image Manatee Beatification Awards for the second quarter were handed to River Wilderness Golf & Country Club for the multi-family residential category, Fish Hole Miniature Golf for the small retailers category and the Ellenton Premium Outlets (pictured) for the large retail category.

The chamber selects beautification award winners each quarter, with a final winner for the year announced during the annual meeting each February. Finalists are nominated by Chamber members, and the winners are voted through a committee.

Other finalists this quarter included: Lofton Meadows Apartments, Water’s Edge Bradenton, Atlanta Bread Company, Irene’s Resort Wear, Island Cabana, Rice’s Appliances, Budget Self Storage Cortez Road, Holiday Inn Airport, and Holiday Inn Express.

"First impressions are very important and lasting," Chamber President Bob Bartz said. "We need to make good first impressions on new residents that may be coming here, new businesses that may be coming here, and new tourists we want to come back. It's important to continue to work on this."

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

The real story of foreclosures

Everywhere you turn there's a different report tracking foreclosures. A new one is released just about everyday. The problem is they all conflict.

The same is true with bankers, Realtors and economists who weigh in on the topic.

Some say we're pretty much doomed because a tidal wave of foreclosures put off during the "robo-signing" fiasco are on their way to flood the market. Others argue that theory is over-blown because lenders know it would strip profits from their own pocket by causing home prices to bottom.

The unemployment picture is the kicker because it controls whether borrowers can afford their mortgage or not. But labor trends haven't given us a clear answer either.

(Screaming voice): What's really going on with the foreclosure picture in Southwest Florida?

Here's a few stats that might be able to help.

There were 66,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in April, compared to 78,000 in April 2011 and 66,000 in March 2012, according to CoreLogic.

Since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008, there have been about 3.6 million completed foreclosures across the country. Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure.

Approximately 1.4 million homes, or 3.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage, were in the national foreclosure inventory as of April, down 3.5 percent from a year ago, CoreLogic said.

Florida had the highest ratio of homes in foreclosure last month at 12 percent, or 92,137 properties.

But alas, help is on the way, as another report shows.

Foreclosure sales accounted for 26 percent of all U.S. residential transactions during the first quarter — up from 22 percent in the fourth quarter and from 25 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to RealtyTrac.

The average sales price of homes in foreclosure or owned by the bank was $161,214, the organization said.

Manatee County logged 572 foreclosure sales in quarter one, a 26 percent jump from the previous quarter and 2.5 percent rise from the first quarter of 2011.

What does all of this mean? Well, apparently foreclosures are still coming down the pike pretty strong, but there's also still a huge demand for them among buyers.

What do you think? Will foreclosures slow down any time soon? And are you getting tired of reading all of the reports yet?

For the latest stories on all things real estate check Bradenton.com regularly and follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

First impression from Robrady visit

I made a visit to ROBRADY Design in south Manatee today to meet with the product development firm's CEO Rob Brady.

In one word: wow.

It looks like you're everyday business center at first glance. But open the doors to the design studio, and you're immediately punched in the face with excitement.

The company helps design products for sectors ranging from electric power sport vehicles to health care. It's latest endeavor -- a specialized belt conceptualized by a chiropractor that eases women's menstrual pain when worn. 

Because I like power sports more, I'm going to focus on that for now.

Life-sized design printouts from their prototype models dress the walls of Brady's office. Downstairs in the design studio, the actual vehicles line the center of the room like a dealership ... talk about eye candy!

The part that really hit home for me was when Brady showed me the Styrofoam test design of an electric scooter next to the actual commercialized product (pictured). Just like that, the scooter went from concept to realty.

The firm, which has about 60 employees through five buildings in the Manatee-Sarasota area, even specializes in helping other entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market. That's accomplished, in part, through a partnership with the University of Florida, where ROBRADY has a hub.

The research initiative also gives UF students some practical experience in today's evolving economy. Pretty cool stuff.

To learn more about ROBRADY Design, and the broader picture of growth in the local high-tech industry, check out my story slated to hit the newsstands Monday. As always, you can also find it at Bradenton.com.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

News Train highlights evolving industry

Every day when I report to work,  I hope to give you an inside look into at least one or two businesses before I go home to my family for the night.

Today and tomorrow I'm in Coral Gables with East County reporter Nick Williams for the Miami News Train media conference at the University of Miami to brush up on my story-telling skills.

But I also saw the trip as a unique opportunity to give readers an inside look into the business of journalism, which unlike banks or real estate, you won't frequently read about in the paper.

There's an ongoing struggle in the industry over how to best keep operations viable as readership quickly shifts from the print newspapers, which we charge for, to our Bradenton.com content, which we don't. The primary business model right now relies on online advertising, a system driven by "clicks" or online page views in many cases.

Journalism always has been cut-throat, with reporters hustling to get the news correct (most important) and before the competitor (also important). The proliferation of the Internet has thrown that mindset into over-drive. The more quality stories you publish and the more breaking news you get first, the more page views you're likely to host on your website. That equates to the money that allows news companies to keep operating.

Many old-timers argue that model has changed the industry for the worse, with stories now just a three paragraph online post and a tweet before reporters move onto the next one. That's great, and it absolutely serves the community's vast hunger for information. But it also has made a lot of online news stories a mile wide and an inch deep.

According to presenters at the News Train conference, readership still is driven by in-depth writing that captures the emotion of the audience.

This weekend, we're learning better ways to deliver the best of both worlds -- throw up an online post, tweet about it, tell your Facebook friends, make a few calls and write a touching narrative for tomorrow's paper. Sprinkle in a multimedia component and you have full circle coverage.

That's what readers want, and that's what we want to deliver. Because essentially, the more readers and ads we have, the more revenue we have. The more revenue the company has, the longer I stay employed. That's simple business 101.

For the latest on all things business, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman

Welcome to Miami

Bradenton Herald East County reporter Nick Williams and I will be travelling today to Coral Gables, where we will spend the next two days attending the "Miami News Train" media conference at the University of Miami.

Why am I sharing this you ask? Well, this is a business blog, and most media organizations are businesses. That's right, we try to make a profit too.

During the course of the conference, I will be tweeting tidbits and news that will be of interest for both members of the media and outsiders who want to gain an inside look at the industry.

I also plan to post at least one blog here each day to give you a run down of the goings on, which I expect to be plenty. A quick look at the agenda includes seminars on interactive story telling, building a mobile strategy, the data mindset, social media reporting and beat mapping.

And don't worry, I left the paper with plenty of solid business stories to cover my absence, especially Monday, which will feature a look at the job market for teens seeking summer employment. You will be able to find the story at Bradenton.com.

Follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman or Williams @_1NickWilliams

Houses, planes and commercial deals

There's a lot happening in the business world this afternoon.

For starters, the Sarasota-Bradenton area was ranked in the nation's top 10 for "turnaround towns" for the third consecutive quarter during the weekend.

The area's No. 9 ranking was among seven cities in the Sunshine State to make the report’s top 10, which was compiled by Realtor.com, the online property search website for the National Association of Realtors.

The website dubbs the list as an index of the country's top housing markets helping drive an industry recovery.

The area reported homes in March were up 23.7 percent compared to February, dipping 1.4 percent from the same time last year. Median list prices also rose 12.6 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton market for the first quarter 2012, while inventory shrunk 27.7 percent over the year.

Other Florida cities listed in the top 10 included Miami at No. 2, Orlando at 3, Naples at 5, Fort Myers at 7, Lakeland at 8 and Tampa at 10. Punta Gorda just missed the cut at No. 11.

You can read more about that in the Bradenton Herald tomorrow.

Also, this morning, the airport announced Delta has added a new flight from New York's LaGuardia to the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. It becomes the third carrier to expand or add new service since the AirTran decision to cease all flights at SRQ was finalized in January.

You can read all about it here.

In the market for a new apartment? Well, the Tradition at Palm-Aire Apartments along the University corridor in South Manatee has changed hands for $13.5 million. Get the full scoop here.

And in case you haven't already, read by my story on how the economy impacts retirement plans for Baby Boomers. It's pretty good if I do say so myself.

That should keep you busy for a while.

For the latest business updates, follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman