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Sarasota News Leader March 15, 2013 Page 35 In January 2012, the median sale price was "It was very, very strong," Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, said of the most $167,193. recent number. Houses and condos stayed on the market an average of 154 days in January, compared to "We've broken [tourism revenue] records now for two years," she added in a telephone inter192 days in January 2012, the data shows. view with The Sarasota News Leader. The county's Tourist Development Tax revenue remains another bright spot in the econ- At some point, she noted, if tourism continues to stay this strong, new hotels will be a omy, according to a report. necessity. The latest figures from the Sarasota County Tax Collector's Office show the December Already, she said, a new Comfort Suites is gocollections totaling just under $1 million, at ing up on Clark Road, and the transformation of the former Holiday Inn in Venice into a Ra$996,915.53. That was a 16 percent increase mada Inn has been completed. over the $855,638.54 collected in December 2011. (The December 2012 figure was the lat- "It's beautiful," she said of the latter property. est available.) "They've done an amazing job." Since the Oct. 1 start of the county's fiscal year, Siesta Key has collected 23.35 percent of all the Tourist Development Tax revenue, according to the latest figures available. Graph courtesy Sarasota County Tax Collector's Office