Solid start to spring selling season in Manatee-Sarasota

The end of one season and the start of another provided a big boost to the housing market in the Manatee-Sarasota region.

Sales and median prices for existing single-family homes increased in both counties in March, according to numbers released by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee on Friday.

In Manatee County, 581 homes traded hands last month, an 11.7 percent year-over-year increase. Median prices surged 7.4 percent in reaching $290,000.

In Sarasota County, there were 784 closed sales on existing homes, a 2.6 jump from March 2016. The median price was $262,621, a 7.6 percent increase from a year earlier.

Indeed, the start of the traditional spring buying season – one in which families look to purchase a home in anticipation of the next school year – was a boon for the Manatee-Sarasota region.

“It’s common to see an increase in sales when we near the end of our season,” said Xena Vallone, the 2017 RASM president. “And the bump in pending sales in March will likely lead to more closed sales in April and May.”

After a slight drop in both counties in February, pending sales of existing single-family home increased significantly in Sarasota (7.6 percent) and slightly in Manatee (0.3 percent) last month.

Inventory also continues to improve, up 13 percent in Sarasota County and 10.5 percent in Manatee. A shortage of homes for sale has plagued the two-county region in recent years, but inventory levels have been on the rise during the first three months of 2017.

Condo sales in Manatee County slipped slightly in March, but median prices jumped 9.4 percent to $175,000. Sarasota County had a robust month, with a 13.5 percent increase in sales and a 17.3 percent surge in the median price, which reached $230,000.

NATIONAL SALES AT 10-YEAR HIGH

Americans purchased homes in March at the fastest pace in more than a decade, with sales of existing homes climbing 4.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.71 million, the National Association of Realtors said. This was the fastest sales rate since February 2007.

The U.S. housing market faces something of a split personality: A stable economy has intensified demand from would-be buyers, but the number of properties listed for sale has been steadily fading. The result of this trend is prices rising faster than incomes, homes staying on the market for fewer days and a limit on just how much home sales can grow. It’s a situation that rewards would-be buyers who can act quickly and decisively.

“The early returns so far this spring buying season look very promising as a rising number of households dipped their toes into the market and were successfully able to close on a home last month,” said Lawrence Yun, a chief economist for National Associated of Realtors. “Sales will go up as long as inventory does.”

Sales have risen 5.9 percent during the past year, but the inventory of homes for sale has fallen 6.6 percent to 1.83 million properties. This means there are essentially more buyers chasing fewer properties.

The consequences can be seen in home values and days on the market. The median sales price in March climbed 6.8 percent during the past year to $236,400, significantly outpacing wage growth.

In March, sales rose in the Northeast, Midwest and South but declined in the West.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Solid start to spring selling season in Manatee-Sarasota."