Big jump in home values in 2016 in Manatee, Sarasota

Good news for those who owned a home in 2016 in either Manatee or Sarasota counties: You likely saw a significant increase in value.

Manatee County’s median price at the end of 2016 for existing single-family homes was $275,146, nearly 6 percent higher than a year earlier, according to statistics released Thursday by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Sarasota County homeowners fared even better, with an 11.4 percent year-over-year increase to $250,050.

“Tight inventories continued to put upward pressure on median prices, as demand exceeds supply,” RASM president Xena Vallone said.

Prices across the two-county area are significantly higher than they were five years ago, as the market continues to rebound from housing’s meltdown during the Great Recession.

Consider:

▪ The median price in Manatee County has jumped from $195,000 at the end of 2012 to $275,000 to close 2016, a 41 percent increase.

▪ In Sarasota County, the median price has soared from $175,000 in 2012 to $250,000 at the end of 2016, a 43 percent increase.

As Vallone noted, low inventory was evident as both counties had fewer year-over-year closed sales (Manatee fell from 6,109 to 6,057, Sarasota dropped from 8,355 to 7,825).

“With a steep decline in distressed sales and indications of a balancing market, 2016 closed out as a healthy and sustainable year for our market,” Vallone said.

Nationally, 2016 was another solid year for home ownership, with the country’s stock rising 5.3 percent to $29.6 trillion, according to a Zillow analysis.

The Zillow report noted that the U.S. housing market has regained all of the value it lost during the housing crisis. The cumulative value of all homes in the nation had declined by $6.4 trillion from 2006-12 as the housing market collapsed.

LOOKING AHEAD

The National Association of Realtors forecasts a 4 percent increase in home values in 2017, following jumps of 5 percent and close to 7 percent the past two years.

“I would characterize 2017 as another good year for housing – not great or robust, just a decent year for housing,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.

Florida could be an exception and outperform the national projections, Yun said, since job growth continues to improve across the state.

“Job creation seems to be pretty robust, and that would advocate for a strong home-buying season,” said Holden Lewis, a senior mortgage analyst at Bankrate.com.

The Tampa (11.8 percent), Orlando (10.7 percent) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale (9 percent) areas were among the regions that saw the most growth in home prices in 2016, according to Zillow.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Big jump in home values in 2016 in Manatee, Sarasota."