The Sarasota-Bradenton area’s real estate market has undergone a “market correction,” with conditions now more akin to those before the COVID-19 pandemic than the buying boom that emerged after the health crisis eased, with bidding wars and record prices, a report of July sales shows.
The most recent monthly report from the Realtors Association of Sarasota and Manatee noted that both counties experienced a “cooling in market activity” in July, indicating that properties are sitting on the market longer than has been typical in the past three years.
Other signs that the real estate market has fully returned to pre-COVID conditions include the number of homes on the market exceeding 2019 levels and a decline in the median price of a home sold. Prices of properties just coming on the market have also fallen.
Despite the not-so-rosy statistics, real estate professionals see a return to a balanced market as a positive thing, as buyers have more leverage and sellers have to be more realistic about pricing.
Previous news: Sarasota-Manatee condo market declines, while single-family home prices remain high
“The market is getting back to where it was before the pandemic, and while it may seem like things are cooling off, that’s actually a good thing,” said Tony Barrett, 2024 Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee president and broker-owner of Barrett Realty. “It means we’re in a more balanced market, which is great news for both buyers and sellers.”
In July, Sarasota County homeowners sold 642 single-family homes, which was 1.4% more than in July 2023. That indicates demand for real estate hasn’t evaporated, though the median price for which a single-family home sold fell 12.1% to $470,000, according to the RASM report.
The average sales price in Sarasota County also fell 2.1% to about $679,000.
While Sarasota single-family home prices have declined slightly, the number of homes for sale has increased dramatically. There are now 3,068 single-family homes for sale in Sarasota County. That’s a 59.5% increase from July 2023 and July 2024.
The average time to sell a home in Sarasota County has risen to 94 days, the highest since the start of the pandemic after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a lockdown in April 2020.
Property sales have seen extended closure periods, meaning the full impact of the lockdown was not felt until June and July 2020, when the number of days to sale exceeded 100 days.
Sarasota and Manatee County typically experience slower markets in the summer, where days to sell typically peak. However, excluding the spike in July and June 2020, this is the longest it has taken for the average Sarasota County property to sell since June 2019.
Single-family homes in Manatee County saw a bigger increase in closed sales than Sarasota, up 9.9% from July 2023 with 686 homes sold in July 2024. Still, the median home price fell 3.3% to $499,000. The average sales price rose 3% to about $661,000, according to statistics tracked by RASM.
There were a total of 2,488 single-family homes for sale in Manatee County at the end of July, which represents a 55.2% increase from July 2023. It will take longer to sell a home in Manatee County, as the average home sold in 100 days in July.
Both Sarasota and Manatee County saw declining median sales prices in the townhome and condo market. In Sarasota County, 285 multifamily properties sold with a median sales price of $365,000, a 6.3% decline from July 2023.
In July, 225 sales closed in Manatee County, with the average sales price of those sales decreasing 6% from July 2023. The average sales price in Manatee County for a townhome or condo was $329,000.
This article originally appeared on the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota-Manatee saw prices fall and homes stay on the market longer in July
