Housing Prices Rise, Inventory Plummets In Sarasota, Manatee

SARASOTA, FL — Housing prices and demand continued to rise in Sarasota and Manatee during August 2021, according to a report by the REALTOR Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM) using data from Florida REALTORS.

That may not be immediately evident, since August showed a decreased amount of closed sales for all property types in the two counties. 2,125 sales took place in August 2021, a 7.5% decrease from what realtors say was a pandemic-induced buying frenzy in late 2020. Still, closed sales improved 8.4 percent from August 2019, according to the report.

Single family home sales decreased by 6% in Sarasota County, and 2.7% in Manatee County. Condo sales decreased by 15.6% in Sarasota and 12.1% in Manatee.

“We’re just a few months out from our high season, and right now we have about half the number of
available homes than we did this time last year. There is still enormous buyer demand—expect
competition, and therefore prices, to continue to rise,” said 2021 RASM President Alex Krumm, Broker Owner of NextHome Excellence. “Inventory almost always creeps up in the late summer and this year is no exception. It will be interesting to see what happens as we enter season with one-third of the available homes we had last year.”

Meanwhile, single-family prices have risen. The median price of single-family homes in Sarasota County increased by 18.2% from August 2020, to $390,093. Sarasota condo prices rose 26.3%, to a median price of $315,000. In Manatee County, the median price for single-family homes was $430,000, a 19.4 percent increase from last year, and condo prices rose 23.3% to $275,000.

Meanwhile, inventory decreased by 63.6% in Sarasota, to 0.8 months. Condo inventory dropped by 83.8%, to a 0.6 month supply, and by 78.8 percent to .7 months in Manatee.

“High competition for the limited number of available homes is tempting buyers to make sacrifices in
price or condition in order to purchase. Buyers should be patient in finding their home, aggressive when offering for a home, and above all, make sure that their offers allow them the opportunity to do their due diligence,” added Krumm.