SARASOTA, Fla. (February 21, 2020) – According to monthly reports from Florida Realtors®, the Sarasota and Manatee housing market experienced another robust month of sales in January. Compared to the same month in 2019 when there was a decrease in sales and an increase in inventory, the opposite can be said for January 2020; an increase in sales and a decrease in inventory.
“We typically see a lot of market activity this time of year and when compared to a slower month the same time last year, 2020 is off to a great start,” said David Clapp, 2020 President of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. “The current volume of sales is outpacing inventory and properties are selling fast, with a decrease in median time to contract as low as 34 days in some markets.”
Cash sales continue to rise with a 46.4 percent increase for Sarasota single-family homes and an 11.8 percent increase for single-family in Manatee. Condo cash sales increased by 51 percent in Sarasota and increased by 11.6 percent in Manatee.
Combined inventory in both counties decreased by 18.2 percent from January of 2019. Single family home inventory decreased by 16.3 percent in Manatee and by 23.8 percent in Sarasota. Condo inventory in Manatee decreased by 2.8 percent while Sarasota decreased by 18.9 percent.
Pending sales increased in both markets in both counties, indicating more closed sales in the future. With the two counties combined, single-family pending sales increased by 25.4 percent and condo pending sales increased 6.2 percent.