Graphic courtesy RASM.

As 2023 came to a close, the local market finally approached a balanced market after years of supply shortage.

While both Sarasota and Manatee remain seller’s markets, the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee indicated the North-Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area had a 3.9-month inventory of single-family homes and a 4.9-month supply of condominium and townhome units. By comparison, there was just 2.8-month supply of homes and 2.4-month supply of condos.

The Florida Realtors, considers a 5.5-month inventory as a balanced market favoring neither buyers or sellers. 

Sarasota has come closer to that balance, with a 5.2-month condo inventory and 4.4-month home supply. By comparison, Manatee has a 4.6-month condo supply, and the home market still has just a 3.3-month inventory.

“We are seeing good adjustments in this market that will benefit both buyers and sellers going forward,” said Tony Barrett, 2024 RASM President and Broker/Owner at Barrett Realty. “The days on the market have increased, along with inventory and we are starting to see buyers having a little more flexibility in negotiations.”

The tempering of the market closes a period of extremely high demand that started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices for properties have increased significantly in the years since.

As 2023 ended, there were several signs the market may be reaching toward normalcy. After a long “cash is king” period, cash sales for homes decreased by 10.6% in Sarasota and 4.9% in Manatee. There were about 19,117 new home listings in the two-county area, about 1.9% fewer than the prior year. But as some large condo complexes came online in 2023, new listings for condos jumped 13% from 2022, to a total of 9,472 new listings.

The median sales price for homes in the metro market in December was $504,990, slightly lower than the $506,000 media price in December of 2022. But for condos, the media sale price jumped from $370,000 last December to $400,000 the last month of 2023.

The length of time it took for listings to go to contract more than doubled over the course of the year, but remains at 27 days for homes and 28 for condos. And the total volume of sales in the region continued to rise, with almost $14 billion in volume over the course of 2023, about $10.3 billion of that in homes with condo sales accounting for $3.6 billion.

Graphic courtesy RASM.