The Sarasota-Bradenton area real estate market has undergone a “market correction,” with conditions more similar now to those before the COVID-19 pandemic, than the supercharged a buying frenzy that resulted after the health crisis eased, with bidding wars and record prices, according to a report on July sales.
The Realtors Association of Sarasota and Manatee’s most recent monthly report noted that both counties “experienced a cooling in market activity” in July, pointing to properties sitting on the market longer than has been typical over the past three years.
Other signs the real estate market has fully returned to pre-COVID conditions include the number of homes on the market above levels in 2019 and a decrease in the median price of a sold home. The pricing of properties just entering the market has also been on the decline.
Despite the less than rosy statistics, real estate professionals view a return to a balanced market as a good thing, when buyers have more leverage with sellers needing to be more realistic on pricing.
Previous coverage: Sarasota-Manatee condo market dips, while single-family home prices remain high
“The market is getting back to how it was before the pandemic, and while it might 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 property owners sold 642 single-family homes, which was 1.4% more than in July 2023. This indicates that demand for property has not evaporated, although the median price that a single-family home sold for fell 12.1% to $470,000, according to the RASM report.
The average sales price in Sarasota County also fell by 2.1% to about $679,000.
While it was a modest decrease in single-family home pricing in Sarasota, the number of properties for sale has increased dramatically, shooting up to 3,068 single-family homes for sale in Sarasota County — an increase of 59.5% comparing July 2023 to July 2024.
The average time to sell a home in Sarasota County has increased to 94 days, the highest it’s been since early in the pandemic after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis instituted a lock down in April 2020.
Real estate sales have extended closing periods, meaning the full impact of that lockdown wasn’t felt until June and July 2020, where days to sale reached above 100 days.
Sarasota and Manatee counties typically experience slower markets in the summer where days to sale typically spike. Still, aside from the July and June 2020 spike, this is the longest it’s taken to sell the median property in Sarasota County since June 2019.
Manatee County single-family homes saw a larger increase in closed sales than Sarasota at a 9.9% increase compared to July 2023 with 686 homes selling in July 2024. Still, the median home price decreased by 3.3% to $499,000. Average sales price increased by 3% to about $661,000, according to the statistics maintained by RASM.
A total of 2,488 single-family homes were for sale in Manatee County at the end of July, representing a 55.2% increase compared to July 2023. It will take longer to sell a property in Manatee County as the median home sold in 100 days in July.
Both Sarasota and Manatee counties saw declining median sales prices in the townhome and condo market. In Sarasota County, 285 multifamily properties were sold with the median sale price coming in at $365,000 — a 6.3% decrease from July 2023.
Manatee County had 225 closed sales in July with the median sale’s price on those sales decreasing 6% compared to July 2023. The median sales price in Manatee county for a townhome or condo was $329,000.