Manatee, Sarasota home prices stay high as sales stagnate

MANATEE -- As more homes and condos came on the market last month in Manatee and Sarasota counties, pricing and sales volumes in some sectors of the existing housing market continued to cool.

Sales generally fell behind January's numbers, which were also down from a rambunctious December. Even so, selling prices were generally higher than one year ago, according to Multiple Listing Service statistics compiled by the Realtors Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Total Manatee County existing home sales were down 2.4 percent from February 2015. A 10.7-percent decrease in single family sales was offset by a 19.5-percent increase in condo sales. Home sales in Sarasota County dropped 6.4 percent overall. Single-family sales were down 13.2 percent. Condo sales increased by 9.6 percent.

Statewide, the trend differed. Single-family sales were up .4 percent, while condos were down by 5.4 percent.

Linda Formella, the association's president, said the slowdown in the market makes sense, considering the record volume of home sales in the two counties last year. Existing home

sales in Sarasota and Manatee counties in 2015 totaled 20,691, the highest total recorded in a century.

"With record sales last year and extremely low inventory, it only makes sense that we would slow down a bit," she said Monday. "However, we are seeing an increase in inventory, as owners appear to be entering the market to take advantage of the price recovery we have experienced."

The number of existing homes on the market is considerably higher than a year ago. As of the end of February, 5,540 single-family homes were on the market in the two counties, up about 300. Condos were even more plentiful, with the supply jumping about 17 percent to 2,729.

Even with the additional inventory, prices remained near or at a five-year high. Single-family median prices in Sarasota County were up 28.7 percent year over year, hitting a 61-month peak of $252,250. In Manatee County, selling prices slipped from $274,900 in January to $255,000. That median price level is also down just under 1 percent from the same time in February.

Condo prices were up 9.3 percent year over year in Manatee County to $165,000, and stable at $190,000 in Sarasota County.

Florida as a whole saw price increases in both housing categories. The median selling price for a single-family home last month was $200,000. The condo median price was $150,000, according to MLS figures.

Continued high price levels may be pricing some potential buyers out of the market. Faith Pennybaker, a real estate agent with the Manatee office of Keller Williams, said there are few existing homes left for sale in the low $200,000 range.

"Prices have gone up so much, you're seeing a segment of the market pushed out," she said. "They're going to be forced to rent."

The continued high pricing may not only lure more sellers into the market, but could make house flipping even more profitable. A common practice during the run-up to the 2007 housing collapse, flipping is a practice of buying a home, then putting it on the market at a much higher price within six months. Often, flipped homes receive some renovations.

According to residential property data company Realty Trac, 8 percent of all home sales in Florida in 2015 were flips. The United States as a whole in 2015 saw its first year-over-year increase in the practice in four years, despite a steady drop in the number of foreclosures and short sales.

Formella said the flipping industry is alive and well in Manatee and Sarasota counties. While her association does not track flipping statistics, she and her colleagues see the flip sales regularly.

"Yes, it's happening and I do think it's profitable," Formella said. "The recovery in the prices we've seen in the last couple years makes it worthwhile to buy a home in distress and put it on the market."

One such property that could qualify as a flip is one of Pennybaker's listings. The home is on the edge of a golf course at 4857 Palm Aire Drive, Sarasota, purchased for $215,000 in September. After extensive interior and exterior remodeling, it is now back on the market at $489,000.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Manatee, Sarasota home prices stay high as sales stagnate ."