Housing Market Shows More Signs of ‘Leveling Out’ in Sarasota-Manatee

SARASOTA, Fla. (September 21, 2022) – For the second month in a row, the months’ supply of inventory for single-family homes is at a supply of 2 months or more in Sarasota and Manatee counties. According to data from Florida REALTORS® and compiled by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), the housing market in August showed a decrease in sales and a rise in the median number of days from listing date to contract.

Closed sales for both property types in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA decreased year-over-year by 15.6 percent to 1,794 sales. When compared to July of 2022, closed sales within the MSA increased by 3.2 percent in August.

In Manatee County, single-family sales decreased by 17 percent to 576 sales and condo sales decreased by 11.3 percent to 244 sales. As for Sarasota County, there were 678 single-family home sales in August, a 16.8 percent decrease from last year, and there were 296 condo sales with a 13.2 percent decrease from last year.

“As expected, and as it’s been trending all year, the residential real estate market seems to have peaked, and the curve is flattening out,” said 2022 President of the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee Tony Veldkamp, a Senior Advisor at SVN Commercial Advisory Group. “We see very similar numbers between July and August in relation to number of closed sales, pending sales and active inventory, indicating a steady but leveling market.”

The median sale price for single-family homes in Sarasota County increased year-over-year by 21.8 percent to $475,250 but is lower than the record-breaking price of $525,000 reported earlier in July. In Manatee County, the median sale price for single-family homes was $525,000 in August, a 22.1 percent increase from the same month last year. For the first time since March of 2021, the median percent of single-family homes sold at or above the original list price was reported below 100 percent in the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton MSA, dropping by 2 percent to a 98 percent list-to-sale ratio.

In the condo market, Sarasota County reported a median sale price of $375,000, which increased by 19 percent from last year, while the median condo price in Manatee increased by 28.2 percent to $352,495.

“The median and average sale prices have either flattened out or dropped slightly over the past few months but is still significantly higher than this time last year. However, as we have been saying for the past few months, the time to contract is still only two weeks and we still only have a 2 to 2.5-month supply of home inventory, which means we need more inventory to support lower year-over-year price gains,” added Veldkamp. “The velocity of the market is still here, and it is still an excellent time to sell.”

At the end of August, there were 4,288 active listings combined in the two counties for both markets, which is a 133.6 percent increase from last year. The months’ supply of inventory, or the estimated number of months it will take to deplete the current inventory, has increased from last year by a whole month or more across the region in August.

In the single-family home market, the months’ supply for Manatee County increased by 212.5 percent to a 2.5-month supply while Sarasota increased by 150 percent to a 2-month supply. Condo inventory increased by 166.7 percent to a 1.6-month supply in Sarasota County, and by 157.1 percent to a 1.8-month supply in Manatee County.

The number of properties put onto the market during the month decreased year-over-year in August. In the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton MSA, new listings decreased by 8.1 percent for single-family homes and by 8.7 percent for condos. Compared to July of 2022, new listings decreased by 23.6 percent from last month for both property types in the MSA.

“New listings for single-family homes, which had seen a steady increase since the first of the year, has been declining since June in Sarasota and showed a drastic drop from just last month in Manatee County,” added Veldkamp. “This is partly due to the time of the year but can also be indicative of a ‘wait and see’ mentality among sellers.”

Compared to last year, it took about eight days longer for single-family homes to go under contract in August, with the median time to contract at 13 days in Manatee County and 14 days in Sarasota County. For condos, the median time to contract was 14 days in Sarasota, an increase of eight days from the same month last year, while Manatee reported a median time of 13 days, which is six more days than last year.

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.

Click here for the August 2022 Press Release and Statistics.

Sarasota County Single Family Homes
(Month to Month 2018 – Present)

Manatee County Single Family Homes
(Month to Month 2018 – Present)