2017 Market Closes with More Sales and Rising Prices in December

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SARASOTA, Fla. (January 24, 2017) – A strong market continues in the Sarasota and Manatee area, as indicated by December 2017 statistics. Compared to December 2016, combined numbers show an increase in closed sales, median sales price and pending sales. Overall, closed sales in December showed an increase from December of 2016. Closed sales for single family homes in Manatee County increased by 4.1 percent to 511, Sarasota County increased by 3.6 percent to 639. Sarasota condo sales increased by 9.7 percent to 327, Manatee condo sales increased by 0.5 percent to 221.

“Compared to other months throughout the year, December will typically show more closed sales and less pending sales,” said Greg Owens, 2018 President of the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee. “Buyers are closing out their major purchase for the year, while sellers ready their property for season.”

Pending sales are indicated by the number of listed properties that went under contract during the month. Manatee single family homes increased by 0.5 percent in pending sales, while Sarasota increased by 4.3 percent. Condo pending sales show improvement in Sarasota with a 26.1 percent increase, however, Manatee County condo pending sales decreased by 9.2 percent. Median sales prices continue to grow. Single family homes in Manatee increased by 11.4 percent to $317,500, while Sarasota increased by 4 percent to $275,000. Sarasota condo prices increased by 15.2 percent to $250,000. Manatee condos increased by 5.4 percent to $195,000.

“Sarasota condos continue to show a significant increase in dollar volume with a 64 percent increase from last year,” said Owens. “Overall, the sales volume is up across the board, indicating the continuation of a solid market in both counties.”

Inventory for single family homes in Manatee County increased by 1.2 percent from last year, while Sarasota decreased by 8.4 percent. Condo inventory experienced a 3.3 percent increase in Sarasota, while Manatee decreased by 2.1 percent. As for month’s supply of inventory, properties remain in a sellers’ market. Sarasota condos are close to a balanced market with a 5.3-month supply, while Manatee condos are at a 4.5-month supply. Manatee County single family homes are at a 4.2-month supply and Sarasota single family homes are at a 4.1-month supply.

New listings, or the number of properties put onto the market during the month, showed a decrease in December as buyers wait to list their property for the upcoming season. Combined in the two counties, new listings showed a 28.3 percent decline from last month, as well as a 12.9 percent decrease from last year. With fewer and fewer distressed sales, the market is healthy and median sales prices stay up. In December 2017, distressed sales for single family homes and condos in both counties experienced a 27.1 percent decrease from December of 2016. Respectively, the traditional sales (non-distressed) in the two-county area experienced an increase of 5.9 percent. According to a recent report from ATTOM Data Solutions, foreclosure filings in the U.S. dropped to the lowest level since 2005.

Monthly reports are provided by Florida REALTORS® with data compiled from My Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service. For comprehensive statistics dating back to 2005, visit www.MyRASM.com/statistics.