New record set for Bradenton home prices. But interest rates, inflation start to hit market
Although a market shift seems to be underway, that didn’t stop the Bradenton area from setting a record median price of $550,000 for existing singe-family houses sold in the month of May.
The new record is $25,000 more than the previous record set in March, and 37.5% more — an increase of $150,000 — from the median price 12 months ago.
“Prices, both average and median, remain very strong and are still increasing, while we continue to see the time from listing to contract measured in days, not weeks,” Tony Veldkamp, president of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee,” said in a press release.
“Our active inventory of single-family homes has finally exceeded one month of supply in both counties, but we deem a healthy balanced market as a six-month supply,” said Veldkamp, a senior advisor at SVN Commercial Advisory Group.
The prices buyers paid for townhouses and condos in the Bradenton area in May showed an even larger increase. The May median of $369,900 was up 51.9%, or $126,305, from the same month last year.
Sarasota County also posted strong sales numbers with the median price for existing single-family houses increasing 21.6% to $495,000 and the median for townhouses and condos increasing 29% to $403,000.
That said, there were fewer sales closed in both counties than a year ago. The Bradenton area recorded 685 existing home sales in May, compared to 739 a year ago, while single-family home sales in Sarasota fell to 910 from 985 a year ago.
Condo and town home sales fell 1.7% in Sarasota, but rose by 6.3% in Manatee County.
“With everyone talking about rising interest rates and inflationary pressures, the number of sales begins to decrease and the number of properties actively on the market starts to increase. Some of this is cyclical based on the time of year since we are in our summer slowdown, but certainly higher interest rates and inflation are beginning to impact our market,” Veldkamp said.
At the end of the month, there were 2,556 active listings combined in both counties, a 58.5%increase from May of last year.
Greg Owens, broker and operating principal of Keller Williams on the Water, said that the record run-up in home prices across the country is starting to slow down and eventually that trend will come to the Bradenton-Sarasota area.
“It’s great that prices and supply are up, but you’re starting to see some economic headwinds. As more inventory comes on the market, you won’t see prices continue to go up. It’s economics and they can’t continue to go up all the time,” Owens said.
Unsold inventory for single-family homes is now at a 1.2-month supply, a 100% increase in Manatee County and a 71.4% increase in Sarasota County. As for the condo market, the months supply of inventory is at one month, a 66.7% increase for Manatee County and a 42.9% increase for Sarasota County.
“If the time is right for someone to purchase a home, they should not let interest rates deter them if they can afford the increase in payments. Homes can be permanent, whereas interest rates are temporary. You may live in the home for the next 20 to 30 years or more, but you can refinance that loan in two years, five years, or ten years; whenever interest rates become more favorable,” Veldkamp said.
The median time it took for properties to go under contract was six days in May in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA, which showed no change for single-family homes and a decrease of 33.3 percent for condos.
