Balancing Act: Insights into the 2023 Housing Market of Sarasota and Manatee Counties

REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee

SARASOTA, Fla. (January 19, 2024) – The 2023 housing market for Sarasota and Manatee counties are showing signs of stabilization, marked by a return of housing inventory to pre-COVID levels. A crucial metric to assess the housing market’s state is the Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI). According to Florida REALTORS®, a balanced market (favoring neither buyer nor seller) has an MSI of 5.5 months, signifying the estimated time to deplete current inventory at the existing sales rates. MSI in Sarasota increased 76 percent to 4.4 months for single-family and 136.4 percent to 5.2 months for condos, the highest since 2018. Manatee County saw a 10 percent increase to 3.3 months for single-family and a 70.4 percent increase to 4.6 months for condos.

Indicators like MSI suggest a shift in Sarasota and Manatee County housing markets, moving away from a seller’s advantage. Buyers now have a broader range of options and may not be as inclined to forgo contingencies or offer above the asking price, as observed in recent years.

With median prices remaining at a record high, sellers can still potentially secure top dollar for their homes. However, the process might take a bit longer, and buyers may be less willing to waive contingencies, such as inspections, in the current environment.

Yearly Market in 2023

The total number of closed sales across the two counties in 2023 decreased by less than one percent to 21,760 sales. For single-family homes, yearly closed sales decreased from 2022 by 4.2 percent to 7,608 sales in Sarasota County and increased by 7.3 percent to 7,480 sales in Manatee County. Condo sales decreased by 6.7 percent to 3,830 sales in Sarasota and decreased by 0.8 percent to 2,846 sales in Manatee County.

The median sale price for 2023 surpassed the previous record reached in 2022 for condos in Sarasota and Manatee. The yearly median price for Sarasota condos was $410,000 and $363,620 for Manatee condos, a year-over-year increase of 6.5 percent and 5 percent respectively. For single-family homes, the median price for 2023 increased by 4.5 percent to $515,000 in Sarasota and decreased by 2.1 percent to $509,240 in Manatee County.

The median time to contract increased significantly from 2022. In Sarasota County, the median time to contract for single-family homes increased by 200 percent to 27 days and increased by 250 percent to 28 days in the condo market. For single-family homes in Manatee County, the median time to contract increased by 266.7 percent to 33 days and increased by 350 percent to 36 days for condos.

The dollar volume in 2023 increased year-over-year for both property types in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA. Single-family homes brought in $10.3 billion in volume for the two counties, a 1.8 percent increase from the previous year. The dollar volume of condo sales increased by 4.3 percent to $3.6 billion.

Cash sales decreased in 2023 for both property types in the two-county region. For single-family homes, yearly cash sales decreased by 10.6 percent in Sarasota County and decreased by 4.9 percent in Manatee County. In the condo market, cash sales decreased by 8.4 percent in Sarasota and by 5.8 percent in Manatee.

Across both counties, new listings added to the market in 2023 decreased for single-family homes but increased for condos. For single-family homes, 19,117 new listings were reported, a 1.9 percent decrease from 2022. For condos, new listings increased by 13 percent from 2022, with 9,472 new listings added to the market.

December Market in 2023

In the last month of 2023, the combined closed sales of all property types in both counties increased year-over-year by 5.8 percent to 1,619 sales. For single-family homes, closed sales increased by 6.6 percent to 518 sales in Sarasota County and by 13.6 percent to 610 sales in Manatee County. Condo sales increased by 15.6 percent to 318 sales in Sarasota and decreased by 25.4 percent to 173 sales in Manatee.

December 2023 reports a year-over-year rise in prices across all markets except for single-family homes in Manatee County. In the condo market, the median sale price was $468,933 for Sarasota condos and $350,000 for Manatee condos, an increase of 20.2 percent and 1.6 percent respectively. For single-family homes, the median sale price increased by 2.7 percent to $519,000 in Sarasota and decreased by 1.4 percent to $499,900 in Manatee.

The median time from listing date to contract date was reported at 35 days for single-family homes in Manatee, an increase of 29.6 percent, and 37 days in Sarasota, an increase of 60.9 percent. As for condos, the median time to contract increased year-over-year by 100 percent to 38 days in Manatee County and increased by 21.1 percent to 23 days in Sarasota.

The month’s supply of inventory in December was 5.2 months for Sarasota condos, a 136.4 percent increase and the highest supply reported since 2019. There was a 4.6-month supply of Manatee condos, a 70.4 percent increase year-over-year. In the single-family home market, there was a 4.4-month supply for Sarasota homes and a 3.3-month supply for Manatee homes, a year-over-year increase of 76 percent in Sarasota and 10 percent in Manatee.

At the end of December, the inventory of all active listings was 7,469 for both property types in the North-Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA, a 54.8 percent increase from the same time last year. Broken down for each property type, there was 4,848 active listings for single-family homes and 2,621 active listings for condos.

Monthly reports are provided by Florida Realtors® with data compiled from Stellar MLS. For comprehensive statistics dating back to 2005, visit www.MyRASM.com/statistics.