Click here for the March 2021 Press Release and Statistics. The April 2021 Year-End Stats will be released on May 21.
SARASOTA, Fla. (April 22, 2021) – Marking one year since the pandemic, the Sarasota and Manatee housing market continues to surpass all pre-pandemic levels in March of 2021. According to data from Florida REALTORS® and compiled by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), March 2021 reported more sales, more new listings, and higher prices than the same month last year. In this seller’s market, home sales continue to outpace the number of new listings.
Closed sales increased year-over-year by 47.2 percent to a total of 3,310 sales across the two-county market in March. For single-family homes, sales increased by 37.8 percent to 907 sales in Manatee County and by 40.2 percent to 1,169 sales in Sarasota County. As for the condo market, Sarasota condo sales increased by 62.6 percent to 738 sales, and Manatee condo sales increased by 63.7 percent to 496 sales.
“The astonishing pandemic rush continues with banner months for real estate nationally. Immense buyer demand continues to drive multiple offers; there simply aren’t enough homes for sale to satiate our market,” said 2021 RASM President Alex Krumm, Broker Owner of NextHome Excellence. “Half of all single-family homes are closing above list price, our sales volume is more than double what we’ve seen historically in March, and we have fewer than a quarter of the homes we would typically have available to sell.”
Single-family and condo prices increased year-over-year from March 2020. In Manatee County, the median price for single-family homes continues to surpass the previous months, with a reported price of $395,000 in March, a 23.6 percent increase from last year. Manatee County condos reported a median sales price of $245,000, a 14 percent year-over-year increase.
“The median sale price to original list price ratio was at 100 percent for single-family homes in March 2021, which means that fully half of these sales closed at or over the original list price,” added Krumm. “This is to be expected in this kind of seller’s market, and we can expect prices to rise sharply for the foreseeable future.”
In Sarasota County, the median price for single-family homes was $379,695 in March, a 20.5 percent increase, and condo prices rose by 18.3 percent to $289,750. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
“A balanced market reflects six months of available inventory. We currently have three weeks of available inventory – and that number is shrinking every day. It remains one of the best times in history to sell a home. Buyers will have to be very patient and more prepared than ever to compete,” added Krumm.
On the supply side, the combined inventory of both property types in the two counties decreased by 75.2 percent from March 2020. The month’s supply of inventory for single-family homes is below one month, with a 78.4 percent decrease to 0.8 months in Sarasota and a 79.4 percent decrease to 0.7 months in Manatee. Condo inventory decreased by 81.8 percent to 0.8 months in Manatee County, and by 76.1 percent to a 1.1-month supply in Sarasota.
With a limited supply of inventory, properties are selling at a much faster pace. The median time from listing date to contract date decreased across the two counties with a 65.8 percent decrease to 13 days for Sarasota single-family homes and a 79.5 percent decrease to 9 days for Manatee single-family homes. The median time to contract for condos decreased by 56.3 percent to 21 days in Sarasota and decreased by 55.8 percent to 19 days in Manatee.
Compared to a slow month of pending sales in March of 2020, the total number of pending sales across the two-county market increased by 88.9 percent. For single-family homes, pending sales increased by 67.9 percent in Manatee and by 75.4 percent in Sarasota. The condo market showed even greater increases in pending sales with a 151.1 percent increase in Sarasota and a 98.1 percent increase in Manatee.
New listings, or the number of properties put onto the market during March, increased for both property types in both counties. For single-family homes, new listings increased by 7.8 percent in Manatee and by 17.5 percent in Sarasota. In the condo market, new listings increased by 19 percent in Sarasota and by 21.6 percent in Sarasota.
Monthly reports are provided by Florida Realtors® with data compiled from Stellar MLS. For comprehensive statistics dating back to 2005, visit www.MyRASM.com/statistics.
For more real estate market metrics, visit myrasm.com/statistics