Sarasota real estate continues to follow the pattern of high demand and tight supply. This trend emerged in summer 2020 and shows no sign of abating. The primary indicator of the brisk market came in the median time to contract figures, with the average taking less than a week, while house prices posted double-digit increases in February.
High demand for property in Sarasota
Earmarked at the nation’s hottest real estate market in 2022, Sarasota has started the year much as it left 2021 – high levels of demand and low supply. “There simply aren’t enough homes to sell,” commented Tony Veldkamp, President of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM).
He points out the solid demand at local level, boosted still further by strong migration coming into Florida from other states. Sarasota County has long been a firm favourite with relocating Americans and the trend for remote working has accentuated this preference.
Sales see downward tendency
Unprecedented demand and lack of inventory have led to fewer sales of Sarasota real estate. RASM figures for February show that transactions fell overall by 17% compared to the same month in 2021. Sales did, however, go up in monthly terms, with February registering a 2.6% increase on January.
The single-family home is particularly tight – sales of this type of real estate in Sarasota dropped by 16.8%. Condo properties saw an even higher plummet, falling by 39.4% in the year to February.
Faster than ever sales
However, despite fewer sales, competition to buy was hotter than ever. Sarasota realtors have reported brisk business so far this year, an impression backed up by the statistics.
In February, properties took less than a week to go to contract. The 6-day average lies far below the figure for a year ago. In February 2021, the time between listing and contract for single-family homes stood at 16 days, while for condos, it was 30.
Rock-bottom inventory
The main reason behind the speedy sales in Sarasota lies in supply. In February, inventory levels for single-family homes in the county fell by 35.2%. As a result, supply stands at 0.6 months.
Availability for condo properties is no better. Having nosedived by 63.2% in the year to February, supply currently sits at just 0.5 months.
Higher prices for Sarasota real estate
As Veldkamp explains, “this imbalance of supply and demand contributes to the rapidly increasing prices we continue to see each month.” As a result, upticks are often double-digit.
In the case of single-family homes in Sarasota, prices went up by 25% in the 12 months to February, bringing their median to US$449,900. Condo properties saw a 29.9% price increase and their value now stands at US368.630.
(Source: RASM)
