Home sales decline in Manatee, Sarasota, but prices remain on rise

Single-family home sales in Manatee County fell 16.5 percent in October from the same month a year ago, while condos and townhomes dipped 6.8 percent, but prices and inventory are on the rise.

The trends were the same in Sarasota County, though single-family home sales experienced only a 0.5 percent drop, with condos and townhomes falling 2.8 percent, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Manatee County had 431 sales of existing homes last month, a big dip from 516 in October 2015. Moreover, there was a 19.7 percent drop from September, when there were 537 closed sales. Condos and townhomes went from 191 in October 2015 to 178 last month.

The good news for sellers: Prices continue to rise, with median prices up 8 percent from a year earlier to $280,000. The median price in September was $269,000. For condos and townhomes, the median price was $174,750, a 2.5 percent year-over-year increase.

Inventory for single-family homes in Manatee County was up 11.3 percent from October 2015 and up 11.4 percent for condos and townhomes.

“We saw more properties listed in October, especially condos, an indication that sellers are preparing for our seasonal sales season,” said Linda Formella, the president of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Sarasota County had 593 sales of existing homes last month, a small dip compared to 596 in October 2015. But there was a 6.6 percent drop from September, when there were 635 closed sales. Condos and townhomes went from 283 in October 2015 to 275 last month.

Like in Manatee County, though, prices are on the rise. Median prices were up 3.2 percent from a year earlier to $236,125. For condos and townhomes, the median price was $205,000, a 10.8 percent year-over-year increase.

New pending sales are up from last month in both counties. In Manatee, single-family homes increased 6.3 percent, while condos and townhomes jumped 24.5 percent. In Sarasota, there were 24 and 17.2 percent increases, respectively.

“This is a reversal of the trend for most of this year, when contracts written were lower than the previous year,” Formella said. “This should lead to more closed sales in the next 60 days.”

STRONG PACE FOR NATIONAL SALES

Across the nation, Americans bought homes in October at the fastest pace in nearly decade, helped out by low mortgage rates that have since started to climb following the presidential election of Donald Trump.

The National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes rose 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.6 million. Sales reached their strongest pace since February 2007, a sign that the market is still healing from the collapsing prices and foreclosures that ignited the 2008 financial crisis.

A stable job market and historically cheap borrowing costs have spurred demand from homebuyers this year. But sales growth has been tempered somewhat by accelerating prices and a shortage of properties on the market. Sales gains could possibly slow in the coming months as rising mortgage rates are making home loans more expensive.

Falling mortgage rates helped boost sales for much of the year, but rates surged following this month’s presidential election. The increase means that yearly debt payments for a median-priced home would increase by more than $500 on average for people attempting to buy homes in November and December.

This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Home sales decline in Manatee, Sarasota, but prices remain on rise."