Sarasota Year End 2020 Real Estate Report

The following report, information and statistics are from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee as published for their Realtor Membership on January 22, 2021 for closed December 2020 business.

Sarasota and Manatee's Housing Market Breaks Record in 2020, Despite Pandemic

SARASOTA, Fla. (February 11, 2021) – Despite the many challenges faced in 2020, the Sarasota and Manatee real estate market exceeded expectations and shattered records for sales at year end. According to data from Florida REALTORS® and compiled by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), home sales surpassed 2019’s totals with 10.4 percent more single-family sales and 15.1 percent more condo sales. The busy year of sales was met with shrinking inventory – compared to last year, the month’s supply dropped by nearly 2 months in all markets.

The two counties reported a combined total of 25,031 closed sales in 2020 which is an 11.8 percent increase from 2019 totals. These sales increased the dollar volume of sales to $10.6 billion (combined for single-family homes and condos in both counties).

“When the pandemic hit early last year, we weren’t really sure what to expect for real estate. These record number of sales just show the strength and resiliency of our local housing market,” said 2021 RASM President Alex Krumm. “Sales are up while the number of available homes is down. Importantly, this is not a 'housing bubble.' This is purely supply and demand, and as long as we have more buyers than sellers, we'll continue to see this incredibly strong market in 2021.”

Closed Sales

In Sarasota County, single-family closed sales increased by 8.9 percent to 9,521 sales, and condo sales increased by 11.8 percent to 4,635 sales. In Manatee County, single-family sales increased by 12.3 percent to 7,663 sales, and condos increased by 20.1 percent to 3,212 sales.

Foreclosures and short sales represented 1.4 percent of all closed sales in 2020. The two counties combined reported 355 distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) which is a 30.9 percent decrease from 2019.

Prices

Single-family home prices rose to a median of $325,000 in Sarasota, a 12.1 percent increase from last year’s reported median of $290,000. As for Manatee County single-family homes, the median sales price for the year reached $345,000, an 8.5 percent rise from the $318,000 price reported in 2019.

In Sarasota County, condo prices increased from $235,980 in 2019 to a median of $255,000 in 2020. The median condo prices in Manatee County rose from $200,400 in 2019 to $225,000 in 2020.

“These numbers point to a market filled with opportunity for sellers. There is still a lot of demand from buyers who are choosing to purchase at record low interest rates and rapidly increase their equity,” added Krumm. “As the total number of sales increases–and critically, the number of homes available to purchase decreases–we'll continue to see rapidly increasing prices which could impact attainable and affordable housing in our area.”

Inventory Levels

Combined for both counties, inventory fell to 3,725 active listings which is a 45.7 percent difference from 2019’s total of 6,858. The year-end inventory for single-family homes decreased by 50.3 percent to 2,182 listings while condos dropped by 37.6 percent to 1,543 listings.

The month’s supply of inventory is the estimated number of months it will take to deplete the current inventory. In Manatee County, condos fell to 2 months of supply, while single-family homes dropped to a mere 1.5 months. Sarasota condos fell to 2.6 months’ supply, while single-family homes decreased to 1.6 months’ supply.

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.