Sarasota Real Estate Information

May 2013 Sales Hit New 8-Year High

The following report is from the Sarasota Association of Realtors as published on June 20, 2013.

Members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors® sold 1,020 properties in May 2013, the second consecutive month that sales have hit four figures since June 2005. In many respects, April and May were statistical mirror images of each other in terms of total sales, pending sales, steadily increasing median sales prices and declining inventory. There have now been only 11 months in SAR’s 90-year history that sales have topped 1,000, with the other nine occurring in 2004 and 2005.

SALES
The spring sales surge in the Sarasota real estate market hit 737 single family homes and 283 condominiums in May 2013. That compared to 591 single family homes and 263 condos sold in May 2012. Sales were 19.4 percent above last May, when there were only 854 total sales. In April 2013, closed sales were at 1,017.

PENDING SALES
Pending sales were also up in May 2013, with 1,157 combined pendings reported. In April 2013 there were 1,097 pendings reported, and last May there were 1,075 pendings. Pending sales have now topped 1,000 every month this year. This important statistic represents properties that went under contract during the month, and indicates sales in June and beyond could also be at near record high levels.

MEDIAN PRICES
The high sales volume was accompanied by yet another increase in the median sales prices. The figure for single family homes was $220,000 - the highest level since August 2008 and up 18.8 percent over last May’s figure of $185,000. For condos, the median was $194,250, almost 8 percent higher than last May’s figure of $180,000. The condo figure has continued to fluctuate substantially over the past few months, dropping to a low point of $130,000 in January 2013 before recovering.

“There hasn’t been any let up to this very strong spring market,” said SAR President Roger Piro. “With the continuing high level of pending sales, it appears that June will continue to show a very high level of closings. This spring surge appears to be poised to continue into the summer months.”

INVENTORY
The available inventory hit a new low for the decade, declining to 3,297 from the April figure of 3,479. The inventory is down almost 16 percent since May 2012.

The May 2013 months of inventory stood at 3.0 months for single family and 3.9 months for condos, with both property categories at the lowest level in the past decade. Months of inventory represents the time it would take to deplete the current inventory at the current sales rate. Last May there were 4.3 months of inventory for single family homes and 5.2 months of inventory for condos. At the worst point of our market in November 2008, there were 24 months of inventory for single family homes and 41.7 months for condos.

DISTRESSED PROPERTIES
Currently, only 333 properties listed for sale in the MLS are short sales or foreclosures, down 43 from last month’s figure. This represents about 10.1 percent of available properties, down from last month’s figure of 10.8 percent and a big drop from May 2012 when the figure represented 14 percent of the market.

Sales of distressed properties represented about 23 percent of the overall sales in May 2013, up slightly from the April figure of 22 percent, but still far lower than the 51 percent figure experienced in the fourth quarter of 2010.

“At the current sales rate, 2013 could wind up as the second highest year for sales in SAR’s 90-year history, topped only by 2004,” said Roger Piro. “Many local real estate agents are reporting their busiest year ever, and the buyers seem to be everywhere. With the tight inventory, prices are heading up, so for those looking to buy in Sarasota, you shouldn’t put off the purchase.”

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