Own a home in Manatee County? Here’s some good news for you

The Manatee County housing market continued its positive track in November, with rising median prices, more closed sales, more pending sales and an increase in new listings.

According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee’s monthly report released Wednesday, the median sales price of an existing single-family home last month was $289,000, a 3.6 percent year-over-year increase and up from $285,995 in October.

Also, closed sales jumped 7.5 percent to 461, pending sales surged 13 percent to 488, and new listings increased 8.8 percent to 644 as the marked continued to rebound after the effects of Hurricane Irma took a big toll on home sales in September.

All this comes when, “Historically, home sales will slow down around this time,” 2017 RASM president Xena Vallone said.

Meanwhile, Sarasota County’s median sales price jumped 7.5 percent year-over-year to $285,000 and pending sales increased 4.5 percent to 599, but closed sales (549) and new listings (861) saw slight decreases.

The condo market had a strong November across both counties. In Manatee, the median sales price increased 12.9 percent to $181,250, while Sarasota saw a 22.1 percent surge to $240,000.

Closed sales (16.3 percent in Manatee, 26 percent in Sarasota), new pending sales (16.5 percent in Manatee, 21.4 percent in Sarasota) and new listings (9.6 percent in Manatee, 22.8 percent in Sarasota) also enjoyed significant increases.

“Sarasota condos are selling quickly and at a higher price with the dollar volume of sales showing a 92.7 percent increase from last year,” Vallone said. “This could be pointing to the lower volume of condo sales in the past two months.”

Around the state

Just as in the Manatee County market, Florida also saw rising median prices, more closed sales, more pending sales and an increase in new listings.

The statewide median sales price for an existing single-family home in November was $240,000, up 9.1 percent from the previous year.

The median price for condo-townhouse properties was $176,000, up 8.6 percent year-over-year.

November marked the 71st consecutive month that statewide median prices for both sectors rose year-over-year.

“(The) November statistics paint a picture of a market that looks a lot more like what we were seeing throughout 2016 and in 2017 prior to (Hurricane Irma),” Florida Realtors chief economist Brad O’Connor said.

Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 19,990 last month, up 1.3 percent compared to November 2016. New listings rose 1.8 percent year-over-year, and pending sales increased 5.5 percent.

“Even with the increase in new listings, inventory was still tight and buyer demand was great,” 2017 Florida Realtors president Maria Wells said.

Around the country

Americans purchased homes at the fastest pace in nearly 11 years, as sales climbed 5.6 percent in November.

The National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes rose last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.81 million units. Home sales were last this strong in December 2006, when properties sold at annual pace of 6.42 million.

“The housing market is on relatively stable ground, despite the ongoing inventory squeeze and difficult conditions for buyers at the lower ends of the market in particular,” said Aaron Terrazas, a senior economist at the real estate company Zillow.

The median home sales price increased 5.8 percent from a year ago to $248,000 in November.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Own a home in Manatee County? Here’s some good news for you."