Let us first examine how many permanent (those living in Sarasota for six months or longer each year,) residents occupy owned dwelling units. If you use figures from the Sarasota County Property Appraisers Office of homeowners' that claim homestead exemption, you will find that only 63% of owners claim their Sarasota residence as their permanent place of address. Out of 156,500 single family detached dwelling units, condominiums, and residential owned community units (mobile homes), only 98,700 claim homestead exemption.

According to the 2000 Census the number of "second" homes in the United States has more than doubled, to 3.6 million in 2000 from 1.7 million in 1980. "Second" homes now represent 3.09 percent of all housing units in America, compared with 1.87 percent in 1980. As can be confirmed by any Sarasota realtor it is the "Baby Boomers" - aged 38 to 56 - who are responsible for the majority of this growth. According to an analysis of the 2000 Census data by GeoLytics, "rural lakes and seashores within a two-and-a-half hour drive from cities" are the most popular markets for second homes. According to the National Association of Realtors, single-family homes sold as second homes in 1999 rose to 377,000, up 27.4% from the number sold in 1995. They estimate that in 2000 second-home sales were up to 415,000. The NAR estimates that second home new construction will average between 100,000 to 150,000 new second homes each year through 2010. In Florida 482,994 second homes account for 6.7 percent of all housing, up form 2.3 percent or 100,057, in 1980. According to WCI Communities, one of the largest developers on the West Coast of Florida, about 50 percent of the company's sales of single and multi-family residences in 34 developments are to second-home buyers.

With the affluence of the baby boomers, the advance in communications to wireless cell phones and computers, we are seeing a desire to have a second-home in a beautiful spot like Sarasota, without the year round community commitment. Based upon retiree behavior in the 50's and 60's we would have expected that as boomers reached retirement age they would have sold everything up north and moved to Florida as full-time residents and community participants. If there is a community concern, there should be recognition to the lack of attachment of this new population to the fiscal and social problems of our city and state. According to the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida by the year 2010, the population of the State of Florida is projected to include, approximately 7.2 million people over the age of 50, which will represent 40% of the state's population. With the transfer of wealth to the "baby boomers" from their parents, more and more will be able to afford the "second" home lifestyle without having to leave family and friends, except during the winter months, up north. According to the Cornell University Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, the "baby boomer" generation will realize a transfer of wealth unprecedented in our history. Already we have seen affluent households, those whose household earnings exceed $100,000 per year or who have net worth over $500,000, grow from 11 million in 1995 to 19 million in 2000. By the year 2005 it is expected that 33 million households will reach the state of "affluence," which is a compounded growth rate from now until then of over 12%. No longer is 65 a magic age where people pack up for the "green" benches of Florida. When American icons like Warren Buffett, the world's richest man, commit to continue working until death, most find that their highly-amenitized, up-scale lifestyles would be curtailed if they were to lapse into "full" retirement. Whether their connection is to serving on corporate boards of directors, or voluntary service in the community where they have developed familial roots, temporary stays in our "paradise" are socially acceptable, permanent ones are not. Until federal estate taxes for the wealthy change, or states eliminate death taxes, you will continue to see a net reported "in-migration" to Florida exceeding all other states. What you won't see is permanent population growth that participates or resides year round in Sarasota. You will see their buildings, but you won't see their bodies. Yes we'll have more buildings, but fewer of them will house permanent residents.

Change is never easy. In the case of Sarasota, where we have never had an integrated economy, our future has been determined not by succeeding generations of Sarasotan's, but by in-migration of new comers attracted by our natural environment and geographic location, improved by our arts, restaurants, and leisure activities. The question as to why after such a severe decline in the stock market has our housing sector held up, even seen prices increase, is answered by a transfer of wealth unprecedented in the history of our country. We face a challenge and an opportunity if we can convert our new "drive-by" residents into contributors to our community. If perceived to be a temporary island of self-gratification, we cannot expect new homebuyers to become a constructive part of our community. Our greatest challenge for the first quarter of the twenty-first century lies before us. How we respond and effectively make homeowners into "hometowners" will make the difference for Sarasota for the rest of the twenty-first century.