Although home sales in Sarasota and Manatee counties have decreased compared to the same time last year, February 2023 sales surpassed January's, according to the latest report from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM). Inventory continues to increase from the same time last year ,and the number of days from listing to contract has also increased—from six days in February 2022 to 27 days last month.

"We went from low inventory and minimal decision time to now having an expanded variety of inventory with a longer time for buyers to make a decision," says Seth Westerberg, a local realtor with Keller Williams on the Water.

At the end of February 2023, there were 5,240 listings in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA, a 307.2 percent increase from the same time last year. 

For single-family homes, sales decreased year-over-year by 24.7 percent, to 520 sales in Sarasota County, and by 10 percent, to 503 sales, in Manatee County. Similarly, condo sales decreased by 5.4 percent in Sarasota County, to 297, and by 21.1 percent, to 195 sales, in Manatee County. However, there were more sales in February than in January–1,168 sales–with a 29.7 percent increase from last month for both property types in the two-county region.

The overall monthly supply of inventory for both property types in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is now at three months, versus just under a month a year ago–a five-fold increase. Although these increases are steep, it remains a sellers’ haven since it takes a five to six months' supply of inventory to indicate a balanced market.

"Although inventory is still only around half of what it was pre-Covid, it has gone up almost 300 percent from last year’s peak in February and March. Prices for single-family homes continue to hold high; however, much of the current inventory is unrealistically priced," Westerberg says.

Despite increases in inventory, median prices continue to increase year-over-year in both counties. In Sarasota County, the median sale price for single-family homes increased by 10 percent to $495,000 and increased by 4.4 percent to $385,000 for condos.

In Manatee County, single-family home prices increased by 2.5 percent, to $490,000, and condo prices increased by 13.8 percent to $369,900.

And the fast and furious movement we saw last year is slowing.

February marked the ninth straight month of year-over-year increases in the median number of days between the listing to contract date. In Sarasota County, the median time to contract for single-family homes increased by 250 percent to 21 days, while condos increased by 216.7 percent to 19 days. The median days to contract in Manatee County was 39 days for single-family homes and 29 days for condos, a year-over-year increase of 550 percent and 480 percent, respectively. 

Statewide, closed sales of single-family homes fell 21.3 percent from February 2022, to 18,627, and condo and townhouse sales fell 30.2 percent, to 7,665. When compared to January this year, however, single-family home sales were up 26.14 percent, as were condo and townhouse sales, which were up by 26.11 percent.

Meanwhile, the median price for both property types in Florida was up compared to a year ago, by 3.5 percent for single-family homes, to $395,000. And for condo and townhouse units, up by 8.6 percent to $315,000.

Nationally, median sale prices overall dropped slightly and stand at $363,000.