The Sarasota-Bradenton market produced 1,310 new single-family housing starts during the final quarter of 2018, down 24.8 percent from the previous quarter but up 5.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017. That's according to new data published by Metrostudy, a national real estate research firm, on Monday. Overall, the number of housing starts increased by 9.8 percent between 2017 and 2018. Top areas for new starts were Lakewood Ranch, West Villages and Palmer Ranch.