Sarasota's February Sales Results Are In . . . Sales Continue Strong and Pending Sales Soar! Pending sales in the Sarasota real estate market rose to 1130 in February representing an eleven month high for homes under contract. Total property sales in the Sarasota real estate market stood at 591 in February representing a 15 percent increase over January. The breakdown was 414 for single family homes and 177 for condos.
"I have heard nothing but positive reports from our members about the seasonal surge in our real estate market," said Sarasota Association of Realtors President Laura Benson. "Sales are up, prices are stable and much higher than last year at this time, and we are seeing multiple offers on many transactions."
The median price for single family homes in the Sarasota real estate market rose to $167,500 in February from January's figure of $162,000. The median price for condos in the Sarasota real estate market dropped to $150,000 from January's high of $180,000. Median sales figures will vary month to month depending on the mix of properties sold, but year over year median prices for both single family homes and condos are up!
The number of properties in inventory has dropped to 4,588. At the present rate of sales, this represents a 7.2 month inventory of single family homes and a 9.1 month inventory of condos. A figure of 6 months of inventory is considered a healthy market for both buyers and sellers. The Sarasota real estate market appears to be moving towards that figure.
The percentage of distressed sales, bank-owned or short sales, has dropped to 37.4 percent. This is a very positive number, but there are several disturbing factors lurking in the background. According to Jack McCabe, a noted Florida economic forecaster, in the state of Florida there are currently 150,000 bank-owned properties not on the market, 371,000 foreclosure cases are currently clogging the courts, 530,000 mortgage loans are 90 days past due and in default, 265,000 homeowners have not made a payment in more than two years. In addition, one million residences in the state of Florida are in some form of distress and 46 percent are "under water", that is the homeowner owes more to the bank than the home is worth. How these scenarios play out over the next year will greatly affect the real estate markets all over the state.
In the meantime, sales in the Sarasota real estate market are HOT in all price ranges and inventories are declining. For buyers still waiting for the 'bottom" they may miss out! Competition for properties has become fierce in many price ranges and the time to wait is over!
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