Up, Up And Away! Second Quarter Market Report For Sarasota, FL.

Up, Up And Away!  Second Quarter Market Report, Sarasota, FL.  Closed sale transactions in the Sarasota Market for the second quarter of 2012 hit their highest level in seven years with 2,604 transactions closed.

There were a total of 864 closed transactions in June, the second highest month since September of 2005.  Broken down there were 603 single family homes sold and 261 condos.  Sales in the Sarasota Market generally cool off as the season ends after Easter.  This year strong sales have continued into the summer months and are just now beginning to slow.

Pending sales in June did decrease to 860 after four straight months over 1,000.  Pending sales are a strong indicator of future months.  The fact that pending sales have remained strong much longer after the typical season implies that the Sarasota Market is continuing its upward trend.

"I've been observing this market for some time, and the enthusiasm of local agents hasn't dropped a bit," said Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR) President Laura Benson.  "Sarasota is clearly the place to be if you work in the real estate industry.  Agents I've spoken to are very, very busy trying to keep up as the buyers explore our market for the best deals."

The median price for a single family home in the Sarasota Market in June was $178,500 down slightly from the $185,000 in May, but still higher than the twelve month average of $167,000.  The median price for a condo in June was $195,000, an increase from $!80,750 in May and much higher than the last twelve month average of $165,000.

The available inventory of properties available in the Sarasota Market also dropped again to a decade low of 3,816.  This represents a 4.1 month inventory of single family homes and a 5.2 month inventory of condos in the Sarasota Market.  These monthly figures represent the months of inventory available for sale at current sales levels.

The lower supply of properties available for sale in the Sarasota Market should result in the continuation of increasing prices as buyers compete for fewer properties.  However, current levels of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) remain high at 32.4 percent of all sales. 

The shadow inventory of foreclosed and other distressed properties continues to haunt the optimism in the Sarasota Market.  That along with tight lending standards.  Although the Sarasota Herald Tribune recently featured an article about the increase in lending.  One banker was quoted as saying that last year seven out of ten loan applications were turned down while this year it is only five out of ten that are turned down.  This is not overly promising, but it is an improvement.

There are still many great properties available in the Sarasota Market.  To search for available properties visit my website at KeithKropp.com or contact me directly at keith@keithkropp.com for further information on making Sarasota your permanent or second home.