There could be early signs of a leveling off of the housing market in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
According to the latest Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee’s report, inventory growth is slowing, “indicating a potential shift toward market stabilization as new listings and pending inventory increases begin to level off.”
The cooling trend in the Sarasota-Bradenton area real estate market accelerated in April, according to a new report, with median sale prices dropping and inventory continuing to grow.
The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee’s April findings noted some of the steepest drops in median sale prices that the region has seen in years. The association attributed those declines, as well as a cooled pace as measured by rising inventory, to a lingering post-pandemic market stabilization.
Median sale prices in single-family homes and townhomes/condos in both Sarasota and Manatee counties experienced a year-over-year decline from April 2024, according to the report. It’s the first time those metrics have all dropped by double digits since the Realtor Association published its first available market activity report in 2016.
In Sarasota County, the median sale price on a single-family home sank 13% — from $540,000 to $470,000 — from April 2024. The median townhome and condo sales price fell 14.9% since last April, from $399,000 to $339,500.
Manatee County fared similarly, with a 12.5% drop in median sale price from $530,000 last April to $464,000 this year. Townhomes and condos declined 14.8%, from $352,420 to $300,220.
The Realtor Association’s April report attributes these drops to a natural market correction: a persisting stabilization that’s followed a pandemic-fueled housing boom in the region. Inventory, though slowing in the pace of its growth, is still the highest it’s been in years. Sarasota County currently has a 7-month inventory of single-family homes, which is a 37.3% year-over-year increase. Manatee County saw a similar jump, with a 33.3% increase in single-family home inventory.
Townhome and condo inventory followed the same pattern. Sarasota County experienced a 43.3% increase from last April and Manatee County’s inventory rose 30.2%.
The numbers are still surging, but the inventory spikes are tame compared to those in 2022 and 2023. The market experienced year-over-year increases reaching as high as 200% and 300% in those years as the market cooled after the pandemic-fueled buying frenzy.
The Realtor Association says the slowdown in the rate of inventory growth is another sign of a stabilizing market. The numbers are encouraging overall, the Realtor Association said in its report, pointing to a market that will continue to see more balance.
