Manatee County home sales fell in April. It’s a sellers’ market, even in a pandemic
Home sales in the Bradenton area fell dramatically in April because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet the median sales price rose.
Bradenton area single-family home sales were down 21 percent to 499 sales and condo sales fell 31 percent to 183 sales. In Sarasota, single-family sales decreased by 20.3 percent to 632 sales and condo sales decreased by 29.3 percent to 314 sales.
“For some, this pandemic caused a shift in their attention away from their real estate needs, yet it seems it was only for a short time, and nowhere near the extent we thought possible,” David Clapp, 2020 president of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, said in a press release.
“The end of March to mid-April was the lowest period we experienced and ever since then we’ve been watching a consistent week-over-week increase in new pending sales, which is positive as we move forward,” Clapp said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stay-at-home order for the month of April brought an expected slowdown in the housing market, reflected in significant decreases in overall market activity when compared to April 2019. Manatee and Sarasota counties experienced declines in closed sales, pending sales and new listings, while median prices stayed on the rise.
Median sales prices continue to increase year-over-year, even amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The median single-family home price in Manatee County increased by 7.9 percent to $340,000. In Sarasota, single-family home prices increased by 8 percent to $313,250. Condo prices increased by 7.9 percent to $212,000 in Manatee and decreased by 0.4 percent to $234,863 in Sarasota.
New listings, or the number of properties added to the market this month, decreased year-over-year. For single-family homes, new listings decreased by 30.4 percent in Manatee and by 34 percent in Sarasota. Condo new listings decreased by 44.1 percent in Manatee and by 33.8 percent in Sarasota.
The number of properties that went under contract in April 2020 decreased in both counties. For single-family homes, pending sales decreased by by 36.7 percent in Manatee and 39 percent in Sarasota. The condo market showed a a 53.3 percent decrease in Manatee and a 52 percent decrease in pending sales in Sarasota.
“One thing that is for sure is that we still have an inventory problem,” Clapp said. “There is not enough inventory to meet the demand as the buyers continue to come back into the market, yet new listings are slower to come on the market than expected.”
Year-over-year, the combined inventory in the two counties decreased by 18.1 percent. Single-family home inventory decreased by 15.6 percent in Manatee and by 23.6 percent in Sarasota. Condo inventory fell by 4.7 percent in Manatee and by 19 percent in Sarasota.
The month’s supply of inventory reflects a sellers’ market in April. Manatee single-family homes fell to 3.3-months, a 17.5 percent decrease from last year. Sarasota single-family homes decreased by 30 percent to a 3.5-months’ supply.
Manatee condos decreased by 6.4 percent to a 4.4-months’ supply. while Sarasota condo inventory decreased by 25.8 percent to a 4.6-months’ supply.
“While there were fewer sales this month, of the sales that did occur, properties spent less time on the market,” Clapp said. “Single-family homes spent 40-45 percent less time on the market than the same time last year. This could also be low supply coupled with buyers who are eager to complete a sale in these current conditions.”
The median time to contract for single-family homes decreased by 45.8 percent in Manatee County and by 40 percent in Sarasota. For condos, the time from listing to contract went down by 34.5 percent in Sarasota and by 4.7 percent in Manatee.
Monthly reports are provided by Florida Realtors with data compiled from Stellar MLS. For comprehensive statistics dating back to 2005, visit www.MyRASM.com/statistics.
