Sarasota home sales remain strong during normally weak summer months

The Sarasota Association of Realtors reported a slight drop in single-family home and condo sales in June in the metro Sarasota and Manatee County area. 728 homes and condo sales closed during June compared to 796 in May.

Two positive signs of the overall health of the Sarasota real estate market were (1) that the median sales price for single-family homes, at $175,000, was the highest level in over a year and (2) the inventory of homes for sale dropped to the lowest level in over a decade.

According to Bob Henley, Sarasota Realtor, "in four of the six months of 2011 to date, Sarasota real estate sales have exceeded the 700 level." Pending sales of 754 in June were also down slightly from the May level of 841 reflecting the area’s typical seasonal slowdown as snow birders return home.

There were 510 single-family home and 218 condo closings in June. The current level of home sales is the strongest it has been since the real estate boom of 2003-2005. June's real estate sales volume reflect a high level of buyer interest; close to the mini-boom level that occurred during the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit incentive program last year.

The total available inventory of properties for sale dropped to 4,830, the equivalent of 5.9 months of inventory of single-family homes and 8.2 months of condominium inventory both far below the highs of 25.3 months for single-family homes in early 2009 and 41.7 months of condominium inventory in late 2008. A 6 month level of inventory is considered to be the point at which buyer and seller interest are in equilibrium. “It is encouraging to see how the Sarasota real estate market has continued its strong momentum in the face of continuing weakness in the national and state economies,” said Sarasota Association of Realtors President, Michael Bruno. “The inventory of available properties, which is lower than it has been since the 1990s, is a very important statistic," he said. Historically, a reduction in the inventory of homes for sale leads to increased prices as buyers begin once again to "compete" for the most attractive properties.

The percentage of distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) was 38% in June compared to the high point of 51% in November, 2010.

"All of this points to a Sarasota real estate market continuing to recover across the entire market area from Bradenton on the north to Venice on the south including the barrier islands, Longboat, Siesta, Lido and Casey Key," says Judie Berger, a well known Sarasota Florida real estate associate broker. Those who have been considering buying a primary or second home anywhere in Sarasota or Manatee County would be well advised to come to town now while home and condo prices are still more attractive than they have been in the past or are likely to be for much longer.