Click HERE to download and review the full statistical report or visit www.myrasm.com/statistics. January 2018 statistics will be released on February 21.
SARASOTA, Fla. (February 13, 2018) – The Sarasota and Manatee residential market wrapped up the year with more traditional closed sales and an increase in median prices, as compared to last year. Inventory is still tight and properties spent more time on the market in 2017.
Combined closed sales for single-family homes and condos in Sarasota and Manatee totaled 20,291, a 1 percent increase from 2016. Sarasota condo sales hit a new record with 3,840 closed sales, a 6.6 percent increase from last year. Manatee County condo sales decreased by 4.8 percent from 2016’s record setting number to 2,482 sales. Single family homes in Sarasota County increased by 1.1 percent to 7,912, while Manatee County stayed the same from 2016, with 6,057 closed sales.
Foreclosures and short sales continue to decrease in the two-county area. In 2017, there were 773 distressed sales across both counties, a 40.1 percent decrease from 2017. As a share of total sales, distressed sales represented only 3.8 percent of total sales in 2017.
“The Sarasota and Manatee markets had another strong year and early indications expect this trend to carry in 2018,” said Greg Owens, 2018 President of the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee. “The data spoke volumes about how our market has recovered and continues upward.”
Median sales prices continue to rise year-over-year in both counties. Sarasota single family home prices are up by 7.6 percent to $269,000. Manatee single family homes are at $295,000, a 7.2 percent increase from 2016. Sarasota condos increased by 7.1 percent to $225,000, while Manatee condos increased by 5.9 percent to $180,000.
Combined inventory for the two-county area decreased by 2.5 percent from 2016. For single family homes, Manatee increased by 1.2 percent, while Sarasota decreased by 8.4 percent. Sarasota condo inventory increased by 3.3 percent and Manatee decreased by 2.1 percent.
“Inventories remain tight in both areas,” said Owens. “We are also an upward trend in pricing with low supply and a continuous demand.”
Given the current market conditions, a seller’s market remains in the two-county area. The month’s supply of inventory, or the estimate of the number of months it will take to deplete the current inventory, increased in Manatee but decreased in Sarasota. Manatee condos are at a 4.5 month’s supply, while single family homes are at a 4.2 month’s supply. Sarasota condos are at a 5.3 month’s supply, while single family homes decreased to a 4.1 month’s supply.
Properties spent more time on the market in 2017 than they did in 2016. The median time to contract for single family homes in Sarasota increased by 20.5 percent to 47 days, while Manatee increased by 14.3 percent to 48 days. As for condos, time to contract increased by 25 percent to 55 days in Sarasota and by 11.4 percent to 49 days in Manatee.