Sarasota Real Estate Report: June 2020

The following report, information and statistics are from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee as published for their Realtor Membership on July 22, 2020 for closed June 2020 business.

Pending Sales Rise Amid Declining Inventory in June

SARASOTA, Fla. (July 22, 2020) – The residential housing market in Sarasota and Manatee is showing signs of recovery with a rebound of pending sales and new listings reported in June 2020. According to the reports compiled by Florida Realtors® and provided by the Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee, closed sales increased year-over-year in Manatee County but decreased in Sarasota County. Inventory, on the other hand, continues to decline among rising prices.

Closed Sales

Manatee County closed sales increased year-over-year with a 7.2 percent increase to 668 single-family sales and a 2.5 percent increase to 250 condo sales.

In Sarasota, single-family home sales decreased by 6.5 percent to 768, and condo sales decreased by 2.9 percent to 334 sales.

Combined, closed sales in both markets decreased by 0.6 percent from June 2019, a much smaller percentage decrease from the declines reported in April and May. When compared to May of this year, combined closed sales increased by 44.4 percent from last month, a good indicator that sales are catching up to pre-pandemic conditions.

“What is becoming apparent to us now is that our stalled seasonal buying market of the winter has shifted into summer,” said David Clapp, 2020 President of the Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

“We continue to see a high demand from buyers and week-over-week sales continue to outpace this year’s pre-COVID-19 numbers, while home values stay on the rise.”

Pending Sales Increase

The number of properties that went under contract in June increased by 35.4 percent, combined for both markets in the two-county area.

For single-family homes, pending sales increased by 34.6 percent in Manatee and by 32.9 percent in Sarasota.

The condo market showed a 30.5 percent increase in pending sales in Sarasota and a 53.7 percent increase in Manatee.

New listings also showed year-over-year improvements in June 2020. Combined for the two counties, new listings increased by 13.6 percent from the same time last year. Condo new listings increased in Sarasota County by 51.8 percent and in Manatee, new listings increased by 19.3 percent. For single-family homes, new listings increased by 11 percent in Manatee and decreased by 1.8 percent in Sarasota.

Inventory Decrease

The months’ supply of inventory has decreased across all markets in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Single-family homes have reached a historically low supply, falling under 3 months’ supply in June.

If You Want to Sell Your Home - Now is a Good Time

“Low inventory has been a nationwide challenge for a few years, but this is the first time we’ve seen it at this level in our own backyard, especially for single-family homes,” added Clapp.

“As the number of sales exceeds new listings, inventory will stay low and prices will stay up. Now is the time to sell with a Realtor® who can ensure safe marketing and showings of your home in a COVID-19 environment.

There’s a high demand from buyers, interest rates are at their lowest levels in years, and prices continue to remain very strong.”

Single-family home inventory decreased by 35.7 percent to a 2.7-months’ supply in Sarasota and by 27.8 percent to 2.6-months in Manatee.

For Manatee condos, the month’s supply decreased by 7.3 percent to 3.8-months. Sarasota condos decreased by 18.9 percent to 4.3-months’ supply.

Year-over-year, the combined inventory in both counties decreased by 24.8 percent. Condo inventory decreased by 9.4 percent in Manatee and by 14.2 percent in Sarasota.

The supply of single-family homes decreased by 28.6 percent in Manatee and by 33.7 percent in Sarasota.

Low inventory continues to drive up median prices. Single-family home prices in Manatee County increased by 3.2 percent to $325,000 and in Sarasota, prices increased by 5.2 percent to $305,000. Condo prices increased by 7.7 percent to $214,230 in Manatee and rose by 6.8 percent to $249,990 in Sarasota.

Monthly reports are provided by Florida REALTORS® with data compiled from My Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service. For comprehensive statistics dating back to 2005, visit www.MyRASM.com/statistics.