Home values continue to climb in Manatee-Sarasota region

A continuing shortage of available single-family homes didn’t slow sales in Manatee County last month, with August marking one of the strongest stretches of the year – even in a market seemingly stacked against buyers who often face the difficult choice of paying more for the house they want.

Sales of existing single-family homes jumped 4.2 percent in August from a year earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. The 592 closed sales last month were topped only by strong showings in May (625) and June (608).

Moreover, year-over-year prices continue to climb in the county, with the median increasing 6.2 percent to $286,855.

It was more of the same for single-family homes in Sarasota County, with a 9.2 percent surge in closed sales (725) and a 1.5 percent increase in the median price ($258,000).

“Housing market trends we have been seeing for months in Florida continued in August,” said Maria Wells, the 2017 president of Florida Realtors. “Homes are continuing to sell quickly, though tight inventory is putting pressure on rising median prices and creating affordability challenges for many first-time buyers.”

That’s certainly the case locally, where Manatee and Sarasota counties had 4.1-month and 3.8-month supplies of single-family homes for sale in August, meaning that’s about how long it would take to sell all of the properties if no others came up for sale. A 5.5-month supply is considered the ideal balance between buyers and sellers in the Manatee-Sarasota region.

Looking ahead, even though Hurricane Irma didn’t leave a tremendous amount of destruction in the two-county region, “There is no way to determine (the storm’s) effect on the market at this date,” said Xena Vallone, the 2017 president of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

“We are seeing some delays due to financed transactions that require reinspections or a lift of the disaster designation to close,” Vallone said.

As for condos and townhomes, the year-over-year median price in Manatee County surged 10.9 percent to $183,000 but fell 2 percent to $213,500 in Sarasota County.

Across the state

The statewide median sales price for existing single-family homes in August was $240,000, up 6.7 percent from the previous year, and the condo-townhome median was $170,000, up 6.3 percent. August marked the 69^th consecutive month that statewide median prices for both sectors rose year-over-year.

Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 25,235 last month, up 0.9 percent compared to August 2016.

“We’re seeing strong price growth year-over-year, but it’s actually quite modest relative to the double-digit percentage growth we’ve experienced in recent years,” Florida Realtors chief economist Brad O’Connor said.

Across the country

U.S. home sales fell 1.7 percent in August, pulled down by the effects of Hurricane Harvey and a worsening shortage of available properties, but the median sales price increased 5.6 percent from a year ago to $253,500.

Sales listings have tumbled 6.5 percent during the past 12 months to 1.88 million. The supply of homes for sale should continue to decline through February because the fall and winter generally are slower for home sales across most of the country.

The decline in housing supply is having “ripple effects throughout the economy,” said Robert Frick, an economist with Navy Federal Credit Union.

Higher housing costs mean that “many people who want a new, higher-paying job are finding that moving to a new city is too expensive,” Frick said.

Said Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtor’s chief economist: “Sales have been unable to break out because there are simply not enough homes for sale.”

Borrowing costs for would-be home buyers have lessened in recent weeks, helping to preserve a degree of affordability despite the price increases.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate last week was 3.78 percent. This marked a steep decline from this year’s peak of 4.3 percent, which was reached in March.

This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Home values continue to climb in Manatee-Sarasota region."