Graphic courtesy SmartAsset

The real estate market continues to ride high in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As real estate professionals continue to report record sales each month, expert analysis shows the Sarasota-Manatee region remains one of the best places in Florida to secure a home loan.

A SmartAsset study shows Manatee County as the No. 5 market in Florida for securing a mortgage, with Sarasota County coming in right behind at No. 6. Sumter County, home of The Villages, is the No. 1 Florida county in the rankings.

In Manatee, the loan funding rate is around 64.61% percent; it’s about 63.67% in Sarasota. The annual mortgage rate for both counties sits at $13,506, while property taxes sit around $300 higher each year in Manatee than in Sarasota. Overall, the study shows there’s still a lot of interest in the Florida market and a desire by lenders to accommodate the demand.

“You’ll probably still want to shop around for a lender when you’re ready to refinance your mortgage,” the SmartAsset study states. “You don’t have to use the same lender who provided you with your first home loan and you may get a better refinance mortgage rate by switching lenders.”

The study came out about a week after the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee reported record-setting June sales. Closed sales in June leapt 41% in the region to about 2,849. That means there’s been a full 12 months of year-over-year sales growth. Year-to-date, there’s been about $5.8 billion in single-family home sales in the region in 2021, an 85.1% increase from the prior year. On top of that, there have been some $2.6 billion in condo unit sales, a 65.2% increase in that sector.

“These first six months of 2021 have consistently demonstrated the demand for housing in our area. This past month reported the largest volume of sales ever recorded for the month of June,” said Alex Krumm, broker-owner of NextHome Excellence and 2021 RASM President. “Interest rates are still playing a big role in the home-buying ‘frenzy’ here, as well as the desire to live and invest in Sarasota and Manatee counties.”

Graphic courtesy SmartAsset