Sarasota, Manatee Counties See 11 Percent Dip In Housing Sales During September

SARASOTA, FL — The housing market in Sarasota and Manatee counties experienced a slower month of sales in September compared to the same month last year.

According to data from Florida Realtors and compiled by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), fewer listings on the market impact the number of sales and pending sales each month, as well as the continued year-over-year price gains.

Realtors in Sarasota and Manatee counties represented a total of 2,072 sales in September, an 11 percent decrease from the same month last year.

Single-family home sales in Sarasota County decreased by 5.1 percent to 835 sales, while Manatee County single-family sales decreased by 4.5 percent to 675 sales. Condo closed sales decreased by 22.3 percent to 331 sales in Sarasota and decreased by 26.4 percent to 231 sales in Manatee.

“The market has taken a very typical breather through the late summer but we're still most likely in the ‘calm before the storm.’ The same factors that have made this year one of the busiest on record are still in play, and prices will almost certainly be driven higher by a very limited supply of homes,” Alex Krumm, RASM president and broker/owner of NextHome Excellence, said.

Prices rose year-over-year for both counties in September. In Manatee County, the median price for single-family homes is $430,000, a 22.9 percent increase from last year. In Sarasota, the median price is $407,000, an increase of 27.8 percent. Condo prices increased by 28.8 percent to a median of $325,000 in Sarasota and by 29.5 percent to $285,000 in Manatee.

“Cash offers are still dominant in our market but there is hope for buyers who need mortgages. It's also telling that our average list-to-sale-price ratio has held steady at 100 percent for months — buyers should be prepared to be patient and work through multiple offer situations, but ultimately the list price tends to be the final sale price for most homes,” Krumm said.

Of all closed sales this month, 42.6 percent of single-family sales were paid in cash and 60 percent of all condo sales were paid in cash. In the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton region, cash sales increased by 40.1 percent for single-family homes and by 3.7 percent for condos.

Since June, new listings have been outpacing pending sales and causing inventory to slowly rise month-over-month, RASM said. Combined between the two counties, new listings decreased year-over-year by 3.7 percent for single-family homes and decreased by 17.2 percent for condos, RASM said.

As for pending sales, the combined data showed a 16.2 percent decrease for single-family homes and a 24 percent decrease for condos.

“This year, our market was driven by a tsunami of buyers who wanted to own real estate,” Krumm said. “Next year we'll still have the buyers, but this time, there aren't enough homes to sell to them — and we won't be able to build enough homes to assuage the pressure. The forecast is very, very strong for higher prices in 2022.”

The inventory of all active listings in the two counties decreased by 58.9 percent to 1,870 listings at the end of September. The month’s supply of inventory is at 0.8 months for single-family homes, a 61.9 percent decrease in Sarasota and a 57.9 percent decrease in Manatee. Condo inventory sits at 0.6 months in both counties, a decrease of 82.9 percent in Sarasota and of 79.3 percent in Manatee County.

The median time from listing date to contract date continues to hover around one week. For single-family homes in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA, the median time to contract was seven days in September, a 69.6 percent decrease from the same time last year. For condos, combined in the two counties, the median time to contract decreased by 85 percent to six days.