Sarasota Real Estate Market Recap April 2011
AS LONG AS UNSOLD INVENTORY LEVELS ARE SHRINKING THE MARKET IS IMPROVING. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU READ ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT, THE NEXT BIG WAVE OF FORECLOSURES, OR HOW THE COURT SYSTEM IS CLOGGED. AS LONG AS THERE ARE FEWER CHOICES FOR BUYERS THIS MONTH THAN LAST MONTH, PRICES WILL EVENTUALLY STABLIZE. AS LONG AS INVENTORY CONTINUES TO DECLINE, WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Sarasota Single Family Home Market
As of the end of April, there were just 3,426 unsold homes listed for sale in the MFR MLS. That is a reduction of 3.5% from last month, 11.9% from April 2010, and the lowest level of inventory since September 2005.
In the past 12 months, 5,978 single family homes have sold across Sarasota County. In calendar year 2010, 5991 homes sold. Aside from calendar year 2010, more Sarasota County single family homes have sold in the past 12 months than since 2005 when 6,392 homes sold. The resulting months of supply statistic is just 7.0 – very near the 6.0 months generally considered a balanced market
Sarasota Condo Market
As of the end of April, there were just 1,823 unsold condos listed for sale in the MFR MLS. That is a reduction of 3.3% from last month, 14.2% from April 2010, and the lowest level of inventory since October 2005.
In the past 12 months, 1,944 condos have sold across Sarasota County. That is the highest unit sales volume since 2005 when 2,391 condos sold. The resulting months of supply statistic is a high 11.2 months (strong advantage for buyers).
Full Price Sales
I have added a new statistic to the monthly update charts and labeled in Full Price + sales. This stat represents the percentage of sales that occurred at or above the full asking price of the listing.
I have included only non-distressed sales in this calculation as bank-owned and short sale listings are often listed at prices that spur tremendous competition for buyers. It is common for short sales and bank-owned inventory to sell for above the full listing price. To include those sales here would overshadow the statistic and effectively just reflect the % of distressed sales during the month.
By eliminating the distressed sales, I am trying to get at the percentage of buyers that felt some sort of competition for the home or that recognized the home as a great deal and paid the seller his full asking price. Either way, the change in this statistic should support the months of supply statistic in providing information on the direction of the market.