Healthiest Housing Markets: Sarasota, Florida

Good news for the Sarasota FL real estate market. Builder magazine using Hanley Wood Market Intelligence to compile a list of the healthiest housing markets in the United States, based on forward projections for the metrics that drive housing production--jobs, price appreciation, population growth, and income growth. The projections come from Moody's Economy.com. Sarasota, Florida was named in the list of the top 20 housing markets in the country. You can read the article here - Healthiest Housing Markets: Mid-2011 Update.

Top 20 Housing Marketing According to Builder Magazine

20. Greeley, Colorado

19. Houston - Sugarland - Baytown, Texas

18. Austin - Round Rock, Texas

17. Kennewick - Richland - Pasco, Washington

16. Lexington - Fayette, Kentucky

15. Richmond, Virginia

14. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin

13. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.

12. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.

11. San Antonio, Texas

10. Denver, Colorado

9. Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida

8. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

7. Colorado Springs, Colorado

6. Charlottesville, Virginia

5. Jacksonville, Florida

4. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida

3. Salt Lake City, Utah

2. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Minn.-Wisconsin

Sarasota, Florida Inventory

Above are the numbers of properties for sale in Sarasota county over the last 5 years. We are now below 5,000 properties which is a far cry from when we had over 13,000 properties for sale.

Below are figures from Trendgraphix.com which pulls data from the Mid Florida MLS. There is 26.6% fewer properties for sale when comparing August 2011 to August 2010. There is nearly 60% fewer properties for sale when comparing August 2011 to August 2001. Pretty impressive.

	Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago			Curnt vs. Same Month 5 Yrs Ago
	Aug. 11	Aug. 10	% Change	Aug. 11	Aug. 06	% Change
For Sale	4960	6761	-26.6%	4960	12150	-59.2%
Sold	703	626	12.3%	703	495	42%
Pended	882	711	24.1%	882	442	99.5%

Sarasota Association of Realtors Press Realease

“We’re starting to see a definite trend line developing, and it’s very positive,” said SAR President Michael Bruno. “No one has a crystal ball, and it wouldn’t be wise for anyone to make a solid prediction on the future of our market. But we can clearly see the normal market forces of supply and demand as Sarasota is becoming a seller’s market, in which price appreciation would be expected.”

Sarasota Properties Under $350,000 - Seller's Market?

In some price ranges, the available inventory is even tighter. For example, combining single family homes and condos priced under $200,000, there were 350 sales last month, and there are 1,653 properties available under that price, or 4.7 months of inventory. This number represents a clear seller’s market, in which bidding competition and price appreciation would be expected.

For properties priced under $350,000, most price ranges are indicating a seller’s market has returned. This is in marked contrast to three years ago, when a buyer’s market was in full force.

Give us a call at 941.812.6272 if we can help you buy or sell a home or condo in Sarasota, Florida.