Graphic courtesy RASM.

The median sales price for homes in Sarasota and Manatee counties may be leveling off but the number of sales remains on the rise.

Data on October sales, released this week by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, shows combined sales in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area jumped 4.3% year over year.

But in both counties, the median sales price for single-family homes saw the biggest October-to-October decline so far this year. In Manatee, the median home price slid 12.8% to $479,000, while in Sarasota, it went down 3.3% to $520,000. Notably, condo prices remain on the rise in both counties — up 10.3% to $426,500 in Sarasota and up 0.4% to $370,000 in Manatee — but single-family homes remain a much larger segment of the market.

But overall, RASM leaders see the data as a sign the local market remains in a much healthier state than the nation as a whole.

“Compared to the rest of the country where home sales are declining in most markets, our housing market is telling a different story,” said Brian Tresidder, 2023 RASM President and vice president of operations at William Raveis Real Estate. “This month’s data showcases an increase in sales, a rise in new listings, a leveling of the time from listing to contract, and strong inventory growth – all signs that point toward a more balanced market in our future.”

Realtors generally consider a six-month inventory of listed homes as a balanced market. Locally, the inventory has remained much lower, but in October it came much closer to that figure. For homes in the combined metro market, inventory climbed to 3.6 months, compared to 2.5 months in October 2022. There’s a 4.2-month inventory of condo units, up from 2 months a year ago.

That leaves the region firmly in seller’s market territory, with a supply of homes that’s still limited but higher than experienced since 2020.

“Inventory has been on this steady increase since 2022, and while we’ve hit the highest it’s been all year, it’s still not quite back to pre-pandemic levels,” Tresidder said. “The good news is that we’ve been trending upward and we’re getting closer to the benchmark for a balanced market, which is a 5.5-month supply.”

The number of active listings appears to be jumping up rapidly, with 2,614 listings for both home types throughout the market in October. That’s 18.1% more listings than September, and 46.3% more listings than in October 2022.

Graphic courtesy RASM.