Sarasota Real Estate Market Report - October 2012

October Stats Shows Sarasota Home Sales Going Strong

October 2012 marks a great month in Sarasota real estate sales. Home sales are up 24% over last year. Pending sales are also up 24% for the same period. Single family home prices have jumped 17% in the past twelve months while Sarasota condominiums have increased by 11%. The amount of inventory available is at its lowest level since 1998. Sales are going strong into the winter sales season after a brisk summer and steady autumn.

A year ago, real estate professionals sold 577 properties in the month of October. This year, that number jumped to 719. That is a 24 percent increase in just twelve months. These numbers support the 2012 real estate recovery that real estate agents have seen for several months.

To further bolster the good news on October sales, Sarasota real estate agents are reporting a 24% increase in the number of pending sales. Last October, the number of pending sales was 772. This year the number jumped to 954. That increase shows how strong this real estate market is becoming. This marks a 110 pending sale increase over September's 844.

This upward trend in October bucks the usual lull that happens in September and October in Sarasota home sales. The brisk foot traffic of the summer seems to have spilled over into the early fall months. This bodes well for a healthy winter sales season as well.

The inventory of available home is at a decade low now. This drives buyers to attend open houses and make strong offers. Many agents are reporting multiple offers on the same property. For those about to decide whether to list or not, now is the time to jump in. With a strong sales market and the beginning of the winter sales season just around the corner, signs are good for quick sales near or above the asking price.

Sales prices on Sarasota single family homes have gone up nicely. In October, the median sale price for a single family home was $176,000. To compare, that number in September was $169,950. A year ago, that number was $149,838. Single family home sales prices are up 17% average in the last year. The listing prices are following this sales trend with more listings coming in at higher initial sales prices.

Sarasota Condominiums for sale are increasing in price, but with some dips. In October, the median sales price of condominiums was $160,000. That was actually down from September when the median was $175,400. However, the October number is substantially higher than the same number a year ago which was $143,000. That marks an 11% increase over the past twelve months.

Sarasota Foreclosures and short sales make up 14.8 percent of the market at this point with 519 properties listed. This is down from 15.4% in September and 17% from the beginning of January.

As mentioned before, inventory is at a decade low with 3,517 properties available at the end of October. Last year that number was 4,525 available properties. That marks a twenty percent decrease. This tightening inventory means buyers have fewer properties from which to choose. Multiple offers are becoming more common after several years of absence from the real estate scene.

One of the strongest indicators of the growing strength of the Sarasota real estate markets is the months of inventory available. If sales continue at current pace, it would take 4.4 months to deplete the available listings in single family homes and 6.6 months for condominiums. That might seem like a large inventory. Comparing that to late 2008 shows that is not true. In November of that year, there were 24 months of inventory in single family homes and 41.7 months in condominiums.

So, what does this mean for the home buyer and seller out there? The average home seller should speak with their real estate agent about listing their property before the winter sales season hits. Placing the home on the market will make it available to interested buyers. Buyers are seeing record low mortgage rates available and this is driving many to buy. Multiple offers are becoming a common thing again. This bodes well for a good real estate winter season for both sellers and buyers.

If you have any questions about Sarasota homes for sale or the overall market, we'd love to help. Please contact Key Solutions Real Estate Group, or call (941) 894-1255.