Bradenton homes selling significantly faster and for more money than they did a year ago
Manatee County saw another super-heated sales month in September for existing single-family homes with the median price rising by $35,000 to $350,000, compared to the same month in 2019.
The median is the midpoint of all sales prices. Half the homes sold for more, half for less.
Homes were not only bringing higher prices in September than a year earlier, they were also selling faster: 23 days to contract, compared to 43 days in 2019, according to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
There were 730 new pending sales in September, compared to 492 a year earlier, further depleting inventory and making the Bradenton area even more of a seller’s market. A balanced market is considered one with six months of inventory. There were 1.9 months of inventory in the Bradenton area in September, compared to 3.3 months of inventory a year earlier.
Buyers’ appetite for Bradenton area townhouses and condos also grew in September with 314 closed sales, compared to 181 a year earlier.
The median price for Manatee County condos and townhouses grew to $220,000, compared to $199,000 a year earlier, and they moved to contract in 40 days, compared to 72 days a year earlier. Inventory fell to a 2.9 month supply,compared to a 3.8 month supply a year earlier.
Sarasota County experienced a similar real estate market in September.
Sarasota saw 880 sales of existing single-family homes, compared to 689 a year earlier. The median price rose to $318,500, versus $298,000 a year earlier. The inventory of homes for sale in Sarasota County fell to a 2.1 month supply. In 2019, there was a 3.4-month supply.
The Sarasota market for condos and townhouses also saw gains with 426 selling in September at a median price of $252,240. A year earlier, there had been 315 sales at a median price of $232,000. Inventory fell to a 3.5 month supply, compared to 4.4 months a year earlier.
“The September numbers show us more of what we have been seeing for the last several months,” David Clapp, president of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, said in a press release. “But, the months’ supply of inventory continues to go down, now at a painfully low level of just two months of supply for single-family homes and three months for condos. Keep in mind that six months is considered a balanced market.”
Year-to-date, closed sales have increased by 3.6 percent for the combined markets in both counties. The year-to-date report is calculated using data totaled from January 2020 to the current month.
“September’s reported year-to-date increases for closed sales, prices, pending sales, and dollar volume show that we’re no longer playing ‘catch-up’ from the challenges we faced this spring,” said Clapp. “The exception to having caught up in sales is the low number of active listings. While new listings continue to increase, we have not been able to have any net increase because we continue to sell more properties than we replace with new listings on a weekly basis.”
