SARASOTA, Fla. (March 18, 2022) – In February 2022, the Sarasota and Manatee housing market continues to be affected by a historically low supply of homes. According to data from Florida REALTORS® and compiled by the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), closed sales took a dip last month along with a decrease in pending sales and new listings combined for both property types.

The overall closed sales combined in the two counties decreased by 17 percent from February 2021, with a total of 1,811 sales in February 2022. Compared to last month, February sales are up by 2.6 percent from January 2022.

In the single-family home market, closed sales in Manatee County increased year-over-year by 4.3 percent to 559 sales and decreased in Sarasota County by 16.8 percent to 691 sales. Closed sales for condos decreased in both counties; down by 16.8 percent to 247 sales in Manatee and down by 39.4 percent to 314 sales in Sarasota.

“The February 2022 housing statistics indicate just how low inventory is and its impact on our market. There simply aren’t enough homes to sell, leaving us with fewer closed sales than the previous year,” said 2022 RASM President Tony Veldkamp, a Senior Advisor at SVN Commercial Advisory Group. “The recent uptick in mortgage rates is beginning to impact affordability for many, especially for first-time home buyers looking to buy as a reaction to rising rent prices. Meanwhile, there is still a large demand coming from out-of-state transplants who are looking to buy in our area of Florida. This imbalance of supply and demand contributes to the rapidly increasing prices we continue to see each month.”

With only around half a month’s supply of inventory, the median sales prices continue to increase year-over-year in both counties. Single-family homes in Sarasota County increased year-over-year by 25 percent to $449,900 in February 2022. In Manatee County, single-family home prices increased by 25.8 percent to $478,000. For condos, the median price in Sarasota increased by 29.9 percent from last year to $368,630, while Manatee condo prices increased year-over-year by 41.3 percent to $325,000.

The number of properties added to the market in February decreased year-over-year by 0.4 percent for single-family homes and by 11.2 percent for condos. Since last month, new listings for condos increased by 3.4 percent from January 2022, while single-family new listings decreased by 0.8 percent from January 2022.

Properties are selling in just under a week with the median time from listing date to contract date reported at 6 days for both property types, compared to 16 days this time last year for single-family homes and to 30 days for condos.

Of the 1,811 total sales in February 2022, only one was classified as a foreclosure. As for cash sales, the number of single-family homes bought with cash increased by 5.8 percent from February 2021, while condo cash sales decreased year-over-year by 22.3 percent.

At the end of February, there were 1,287 listings combined in both counties, down by 4.5 percent from January 2022 and down by 42.6 percent from February 2021. Unsold inventory sits at a 0.6-month supply for single-family homes and at 0.5-months for condos.

The inventory of single-family homes decreased year-over-year by 35.2 percent in Sarasota County and by 27 percent in Manatee County. As for condos, Sarasota is down by 63.2 percent from last year and Manatee decreased by 48.8 percent.

Monthly reports are provided by Florida REALTORS® with data compiled from Stellar MLS. For comprehensive statistics dating back to 2005, visit www.MyRASM.com/statistics.