Record Sales in 2015
Similar to the statewide data reported by Florida Realtors®, both Sarasota and Manatee counties wrapped up 2015 with more closed sales, fewer days on market, tightening inventory and higher median prices compared to the year before.

“Throughout 2015, our monthly reports pointed to a record-breaking year. The numbers recently released proved it to be so,” said Linda Formella, 2016 President of the Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

According to data from Florida Realtors® Industry Data and Analysis department, the combined 2015 closed sales of single-family homes and townhouse-condos in Sarasota and Manatee County totaled 20,691, a 6.7 percent increase from 2014.

• In Sarasota County, 8,371 single-family homes were sold, a 6.4 percent increase from 2014.
• Closed single-family sales in Manatee County totaled 6,129, up 6.3 percent from last year.

Both Manatee and Sarasota County experienced larger increases in median prices than those reported statewide by Florida Realtors®, which reported a median for single-family homes of $196,000, a 10.1 percent increase.

• The median sales price of single-family homes in Manatee County was $259,900, up 14.5 percent from 2014.
• In Sarasota County, the median sales price was $224,000, up 14.9 percent from the previous year.

The year-to-year comparison for sales of townhouse-condos also showed an increase, with a total of 3,763 units sold in Sarasota County, up 5.6 percent from 2014. Sales of townhouse-condos in Manatee County totaled 2,428 in 2015, an 11 percent increase.

The median price for townhouse-condo properties in Sarasota in 2015 was $195,000, up 8.3 percent over the previous year. As for Manatee, the median price in 2015 was $159,900, up 14.2 percent. This is a significant jump compared to the statewide increase of 7.1 percent over the previous year.

“Supply and demand had a huge impact on prices in our two-county area, as our inventory of homes for sale continued to decline,” said Formella. “By the end of the year, the number of homes for sale was down 1.8 percent, which is less than a four month supply.” A six month supply of homes is typically considered a balanced market, so both counties were in a seller’s market.

The report also reflected fewer foreclosures and short sales in 2015, with only 3,013 compared to 4,314 the previous year, a decrease of 30.2 percent. Manatee County accounted for 1,210 distressed sales, a decrease of 35.9 percent. In Sarasota County, there were 1,803 distressed sales, a drop of 25.7 percent. In both counties, distressed sales made up only slightly more than 14 percent of all closed sales, down significantly from several years ago when it was nearly half of all sales.