After dropping in January, sales of single-family homes in Sarasota and Manatee counties increased in February when compared to a year prior, according to new statistics released by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. Sales in Sarasota County were up by 4.2 percent, while in Manatee County they were up by 4.8 percent. Sales of townhouses and condos, meanwhile, remained down: They decreased by 12.1 percent in Sarasota County and by 14.9 percent in Manatee County.