Bradenton’s single family homes flew off the market in April. Prices hit record high
For anyone seeking to buy an existing single-family house in the Bradenton area in April, the numbers were breath-taking. Not that the sticker shock slowed the surge to new record high prices.
The median sales price for Bradenton area houses reached a record $405,500. It was the first time that the benchmark passed $400,000, representing a 19% increase from the same month a year ago.
The median is the exact midpoint of all homes that sold during the month.
“All the bidding wars are pushing the price of everything up,” said Beth Barnett, a real estate sales associate for Coldwell Banker based at Lakewood Ranch.
As an example, a Florida buyer this month bid $800,000 on a home in Panther Ridge in East Manatee listed at $760,000 to ensure that she got the home over five other bidders, Barnett said.
“As soon as it comes on the market and it is decently priced, its gone within 24 hours. The pool homes are the ones jumping off the market. For $425,000, you can get a three-bedroom house with a swimming pool, and possibly a den,” she said. “I don’t see the market coming down any time soon.”
Greg Owens, broker and operating principal of Keller Williams on the Water, said that in the tight buyers’ market, some sellers are insisting on inserting an occupancy clause into their sales contract that allows them to stay in their house for a period of time until they can find a new home. Buyers are so frantic that they are agreeing to the clause.
“I can’t tell you exactly what kind of a house you will get at the median price. It depends on the location,” he said.
Buyers are challenged and should be prepared to compete hard for a seller’s attention, said Alex Krumm, broker-owner of NextHome Excellence, and president of the Realtor Association of Manatee and Sarasota.
“We see people coming in with no qualms about going above the asking price. Some people are waiving inspections now. It’s that competitive. Its tough for first-time buyers with a limited budget. You are competing against people buying with cash,” Owens said.
It is a complete reversal from this time last year when Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order on April 1, 2020, which lasted through the month. The housing market experienced a pause in activity, affecting sales, new listings, and pending sales.
“It’s hard to compare to last year because of the lockdown, but we’re in a historically incredible market regardless. 2021 is turning out to be a fascinating year — an acute shortage of new homes and record migration to our area are driving prices skyward,” Krumm said. “It’s a good year to be a seller.”
In Manatee County, single-family sales increased by 69.7 percent to 847 sales, and condo sales increased by 126.8 percent to 415 sales.
In Sarasota County, single-family sales increased by 67.7 percent to 1,060 sales, and condo sales increased by 113.1 percent to 669 sales.
In Sarasota County, the median sales price for single-family homes was $380,000 in April.
As for condos, the median sales price was $235,000 in Manatee and $310,000 in Sarasota.
On the supply side, the combined inventory of both property types in both counties decreased year-over-year by 75.5 percent. The month’s supply of inventory for single-family homes stayed below one month in April, with an 80 percent decrease to 0.7 months in Sarasota, and an 81.8 percent decrease to 0.6 months in Manatee.
Condo inventory decreased by 80.4 percent to a 0.9-month supply in Sarasota and dropped by 84.1 percent to 0.7 months in Manatee County.
Combined for the two counties in April 2021, the reported median time to contract was seven days for single-family homes and 11 days for condos.
The total number of pending sales across the two-county market increased by 99.2 percent, a complete rebound from the decline in pending sales during the April 2020 lockdown.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 12:12 PM.
