Sarasota-Bradenton posts nation's 7th biggest home price drop

Some interesting news came out today about housing markets across the nation. The National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that home prices fell in nearly nine out of every 10 U.S. cities in the first quarter as first-time buyers looking for bargains dominated the market. Read the article here - Sarasota-Bradenton posts nation's 7th biggest home price drop.

With its median sales price at $155,200 in the first quarter, the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice market saw a 40.8 percent drop from a year ago, the seventh biggest nationwide.

I would be interested in seeing if North Port were included in these statistics. I don't work that market but I have some friends down there who say it is a bloodbath. If they were included that really brought the median home price down.

This article really does not surprise me. If you work in this market on a daily basis you know that prices have dropped dramatically. For home sellers and owners it is a bit depressing how oversold the market seems to be. However, for home buyers this is a fabulous time to be making offers.

The chart above shows the supply of single family homes for sale (light green bar), pending sales (red line) and closed sales (dark green bar). Currently there is 10 months of inventory based on closed sales and 5.5 months of inventory based on pending sales. The closed sales figure is a better one to watch. Many of the pending sales are short sales. Those transactions can fall out of contract.

A few observations:

There are 888 pending single family homes in April of 2009 compared to 577 pendings in April of 2008. That is huge.

The number of closed sales in April of 2009 was 480 versus 472 in April of 2008

There were 7,965 homes for sale in April 2008. In April 2009 there are 4,855. That is huge. Love to see it.

What does all of this mean?

For Buyers - those of you trying to time the bottom need to get serious now. Pick the best house soon. Once the general public believes that the bottom has set in a lot of fence sitters will buy. Don't expect a huge increase in price. We still have enough inventory. We will enter into a balanced market.

For Sellers - Don't get stubborn. The buyers are still driving the car. If you get a realistic offer don't turn your nose up to the buyer. You still have competition in other sellers. Don't think your property is one of kind. There aren't many of those out there.

As always, I would be happy help you buy or sell a Sarasota home. If you are looking to buy visit my Sarasota homes for sale page to view thousands of properties for sale. I love representing realistic sellers who can look at market statistics objectively. Please call me at 941.812.6272 if I can sell your home for you.