Sarasota Home Sales Exceed 1,000 For The First Time In A Year!

Sarasota Home Sales Exceed 1,000 For The First Time In A Year!  The Sarasota Real Estate Market continues to hum along at a pace not seen in years.  Repeating the spring surge in sales of the last few years, the Sarasota Real Estate Market appears to be healthy and steady.

The median sales price for single family homes in the Sarasota Real Estate Market for the last year stands at $188,000, about 20 percent higher over the previous year.  For condos, the median sales price was $166,529, about 9.2 percent higher than the previous year.

Specifically, closed sales in March totaled 1,050, an increase of 33 percent over the previous month.  Of those sales 787 were single family homes and 352 were condos

Of the 1,050 March sales in the Sarasota Real Estate Market only 51 were short sales, a major drop from over 200 in June of 2010.  With the increase in sales prices banks have been less reluctant to grant short sales, hurting homeowners who are trapped in homes with mortgages that are still greater than the home's current value.  Realty Trac currently estimates that 31 percent of Florida homes with mortgages are underwater.  Florida is second in the nation for percentage of homes underwater in the first quarter of this year.

Foreclosures continue to haunt the market with 183 of the month's sales sold as bank-owned properties.  1 out of every 580 homes in Sarasota County with a mortgage is in some state of Foreclosure.  As a state Florida continues to be one of the highest ranking states for foreclosures.

Pending sales in the Sarasota Real Estate Market continue to be strong with 1,200 at the end of March.  Pending sales are indicators of sales activity in the coming months.

The inventory of available properties in the Sarasota Real Estate Market has dropped and is currently at 4,810.  The low point was 3,747 in July 2013.  Increased inventory gives buyers greater choices and helps balance the market between buyers and sellers.

"The spring has seen very robust sales, just like last year at this time," said Sarasota Association of Realtors President Peter Crowley.  "Agents have been extremely busy and buyers are actively investing in our local market.  It's a great time for our local real estate industry, and judging by the pending sales figures April and May should also put up great numbers."

Well it appears Spring Has Sprung in Sarasota.  It's no wonder that Sarasota Home Sales Exceed 1,000 For The First Time In A Year!