Archives for July 2017

Continued Increase in Median Sales Prices – Sarasota Real Estate

Market statistics for June 2017 show an increase in inventory, median sales prices and the median time to contract. Compiled each month from My Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service, the data also indicates an increase in pending sales and a decrease in closed sales, as compared to last year, for the combined two county area.

Single family home sales are down by 0.4 percent, while condos made a slight increase of 1.5 percent, mostly in Sarasota. Pending sales can be a good indicator of future closed sales. Pending sales increased by 7.9 percent for condos and single-family homes in the two counties combined.

Among a decrease in closed sales and new listings, the Sarasota condo market stands out with a significant 36.2 percent increase in pending sales and a jump in new listings, but a decrease in median price.

Inventory has also shown an increase year over year. When compared to last month, however, inventory showed a decrease. Condos decreased by 6.2 percent from last month and single-family homes dropped by 3.6 percent.

“With most sellers aware of the market being a sellers’ market, they are testing the waters with higher listing prices,” says Xena Vallone, 2017 RASM President. “And now we’ve been seeing a longer period of time between the listing and the contract.”

New listings showed improvement between April and May, but didn’t continue in June. This month, condos decreased in new listings by 5.8 percent and single-family homes decreased by 3.4 percent.

The time between the listing date and the contract date has been increasing for the last three months. Sarasota condos spent 67 days, while Manatee spent 54 days on the market. For single family homes, Sarasota is at 61 days on the market and Manatee at 47 days.

Median prices also continue to rise. Single family homes in Sarasota are at a median price of $275,000, an increase of 10.9 percent from last year. Manatee single family home prices increased by 4.5 percent to $297,750. Condo prices are up 4.9 percent to $182,500 in Manatee County, but showed a 2 percent decrease for Sarasota County at $215,000.

“An increase in median prices isn’t always favorable for a seller,” says Vallone. “While they are able to sell their home at a higher price, the challenge is finding a replacement home and at the right price.”

 

Realtor® Assn. Sarasota and Manatee July 24, 2017

Local Home Prices Rise 6.3% – Sarasota Real Estate

Home prices rose 6.3 percent in May in Sarasota-Manatee, a rate that was slightly slower than in the state and nation.

Charlotte County, however, topped them all by posting a 7.9 percent jump in home prices compared with May 2016, real estate researcher CoreLogic reported Wednesday.

Florida posted the nation’s 10th-highest rate of year-over-year price hikes, at 6.4 percent. Prices nationwide moved up 6.6 percent.

Home values in Florida still remain nearly 20 percent off their pre-recession peaks.

“The market remained robust with home sales and prices continuing to increase steadily in May,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “While the market is consistently generating home-price growth, sales activity is being hindered by a lack of inventory across many markets.

“This tight inventory is also impacting the rental market where overall single-family rent inflation was 3.1 percent on a year-over-year basis in May of this year compared with May of last year,” he said. “Rents in the affordable single-family rental segment — defined as properties with rents less than 75 percent of the regional median rent — increased 4.7 percent over the same time, well above the pace of overall inflation.”

Prices in Florida are projected to increase by 6.8 percent over the next 12 months, outpacing the 5.3 percent U.S. forecast.

  • From April to May, home prices rose 1.1 percent in Sarasota-Manatee and 1.0 percent in Charlotte, CoreLogic said.
  • Local home price activity was mixed in a recent Florida Realtors report. A re-sale house in Sarasota County traded for a median $260,000 in May, down 1.1 percent over the year, while a home in Manatee sold for $299,000, up 7.8 percent. Prices in Charlotte rose 12.5 percent, to $216,513.

“For current homeowners, the strong run-up in prices has boosted home equity and, in some cases, spending,” said Frank Martell, president/CEO at CoreLogic. “For renters and potential first-time home buyers, it is not such a pretty picture. With price appreciation and rental inflation outstripping income growth, affordability is destined to become a bigger issue in most markets.”

States with the highest year-over-year home appreciation were Washington, at 12.6 percent; Utah, at 10.4 percent; and Oregon, at 9.0 percent, according to CoreLogic.

States where home prices fell were Wyoming, down 2.2 percent; West Virginia, off 1.2 percent; and Alaska, down 0.3 percent.

Herald-Tribune July 5, 2017