Manatee County home values fell in March. Was it a temporary blip?

Rising home prices had been the trend in Manatee County for several months before hitting what likely was a temporary blip in March as the season comes to an end.

According to Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee statistics released Monday, the median sales price for an existing single-family home in Manatee County last month was $285,000.

That's down from $300,000 in February and $290,000 in March 2017.

It was the first time since November 2017 that Manatee's median sales price was less than $300,000.

While Manatee had prices fall, Sarasota County saw its median jump to $287,053, up from $272,500 a month earlier and $262,621 a year earlier.

With the season drawing to a close, pending sales increased in both counties, including 5.2 percent in Manatee.

"This increase indicates a strong finish going into summer," said Greg Owens, the 2018 RASM president.

As for the townhouse-condo market, Manatee County saw a 15.1 percent increase to $201,500, while Sarasota had a 4.3 percent jump to $240,000.

Across the state

March marked the 75th consecutive month that the statewide median sales price for a single-family home increased year-over-year, according to the Florida Realtors research department.

Last month's median was $250,800, an 8.2 percent jump from March 2017.

" Buyer demand is high, but the shortfall of inventory – particularly around $250,000 and under – is impacting affordability in many areas," said 2018 Florida Realtors president Christine Hansen, broker-owner with Century 21 Hansen Realty in Fort Lauderdale.

Meanwhile, the statewide median for townhouse-condo properties surged 7 percent from a year earlier to $183,000.

"Year-to-date, single-family home sales are down a little under 1 percent, so it will be important to watch the April numbers very closely when they come out next month," Florida Realtor chief economist Brad O'Connor said.

"At that point, we’ll have a better idea if March was just a blip, or perhaps whether it was the beginning of a very gradual slowdown in sales growth that appears to become more inevitable the longer our statewide housing shortage persists.”

Across the country

According to the National Association of Realtors, the national median sales price for existing single-family homes in March was $250,400, a 5.8 percent increase.

“Demand is outstripping supply, and builders have been constrained in their efforts to add new homes by tight labor, zoning restrictions, and most recently a run-up in materials costs,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities.

The housing market continues to be in the grip of an inventory crunch that has restricted sales and growth in home ownership. Even as the overall economy has improved, there has been a 7.2 percent decline in listing from a year ago to just 1.67 million homes.

The decline in listings could bottom out later this year because there has been a recent uptick in people listing homes that are then quickly purchased. But rising mortgage rates are also making it less likely that homeowners will choose to sell in order to buy another property at a higher interest rate.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage climbed to 4.47 percent last week.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This story was originally published April 23, 2018 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Manatee County home values fell in March. Was it a temporary blip?."