Bradenton area home sales slow a bit in September, but the record price holds steady
For the third consecutive month, the median price for existing single-family houses sold in the Bradenton area during September was a record $430,000.
Although fewer houses were sold in the Bradenton area this September, compared with a year ago — 675 versus 707 — the median price jumped $80,000, an increase of 23%, according to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
The median price represents the exact midpoint of all homes sold during the month with half being more expensive and half being less expensive.
This September, 267 buyers paid cash for their new homes, compared with 174 a year ago.
The Bradenton market overwhelmingly favors sellers due to a less-than-one-month inventory of homes available. A balanced market favoring neither buyers nor sellers has a six-month supply of homes available.
“The market has taken a very typical breather through the late summer but we’re still most likely in the ‘calm before the storm.’ The same factors that have made this year one of the busiest on record are still in play, and prices will almost certainly be driven higher by a very limited supply of homes,” said 2021 Realtor association president Alex Krumm, broker owner of NextHome Excellence.
The Bradenton market also saw fewer townhouse and condo sales in September. Those sales were down 26 percent, with 231 units changing hands compared to 314 in the same month a year ago.
Prices were up 30 percent with a median price of $285,000, compared with $220,000 a year ago.
In the Sarasota market, the median price for existing single-family houses was $407,000, an increase of 27.8 percent. Condo prices increased by 28.8% to a median of $325,000 in Sarasota.
“Cash offers are still dominant in our market but there is hope for buyers who need mortgages. It’s also telling that our average list-to-sale-price ratio has held steady at 100% for months — buyers should be prepared to be patient and work through multiple offer situations, but ultimately the list price tends to be the final sale price for most homes,” Krumm said.
Since June, new listings have slowly risen month-over-month.
“This year, our market was driven by a tsunami of buyers who wanted to own real estate,” Krumm said. “Next year we’ll still have the buyers, but this time, there aren’t enough homes to sell to them—and we won’t be able to build enough homes to assuage the pressure. The forecast is very, very strong for higher prices in 2022.”
The median time from listing date to contract date continues to hover around one week.
