Closed sales are up this month, new listings are down, and home values have stayed higher overall in the North Port-Sarasota-Brandenton metropolitan statistical area (MSA) when compared to the same time last year, according to the latest report compiled by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM).

Home sales in Manatee County increased year-over-year for the second consecutive month in June. Single-family home sales increased year-over-year by 17.7 percent, to 759 sales, and condo sales increased by 12.1 percent, to 297 sales. The median sales price for a single-family home in June in Manatee County was $525,000, vs. $550,000 last June.

In Sarasota County, single-family sales decreased by 4.1 percent, to 769 sales, while condo sales increased year-over-year by 1.3 percent, to 381 sales.

However, the median sales price for single-family homes in Sarasota County is up to $522,500 versus $500,000 during the same time last year. For the entire North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA, the median sales prices is $524,450.

But the median percentage of the original listing price received has ticked down to 96 percent in the MSA for both property types, versus 100 percent in June last year, showing that there's room for more negotiating between buyers and sellers. 

The median number of days from the listing date to contract date has significantly increased from June 2022. Last month, Manatee County single-family homes went under contract within a median of 37 days vs. six days last year. For Manatee condos, the median time to contract was 34 days vs. 7 days last year.

In Sarasota, the median time to contract for single-family homes increased year-over-year to 23 days vs. 7 last year and to 35 days vs. 7 in the condo market.

"But those times to contract are no canary in the coal mine," says local realtor and broker Roger Pettingell, of Coldwell Banker Realty. “Time to contract is still great. We really should compare numbers to pre-Covid, because last year and the year before will always stand out as anomalies, where there was pent-up demand for creating a new lifestyle of working from home and being outside. And bonus—our restaurants were open and you could still have a life here on top of lower taxes.

"We also seem to forget that the government added $2 trillion into the system, creating an inflationary environment. It was unrealistic to think those low-interest rates [roughly 3 percent] would persist," he adds.

Pending sales—the number of homes that went under contract last month—increased for both property types in Manatee County but decreased in Sarasota County when compared to last year.

For single-family homes, pending sales increased year-over-year by 8.3 percent in Manatee and decreased by 3.6 percent in Sarasota. In the condo market, pending sales increased by 31.3 percent in Manatee and decreased by 4.5 percent in Sarasota.

"An interesting point today vs. a year ago is that you may be paying higher interest now [roughly 6.5 to 7 percent], but you would have certainly been paying over the listing price last year and the year before," Petingell says. "Buyers were more likely to be in a bidding war. Even though interest rates are higher now, you're probably getting 3-5 percent off of the listing price, so buyers are having to borrow less. You're probably better off as a buyer now. You have more choices and are not being pushed into an unrealistic situation. You can get an inspection and have more negotiating power."

The month’s supply of inventory continues to show a year-over-year increase this month. In Manatee County, single-family home supply increased by 55.6 percent, to a 2.8-month supply, and condo supply increased by 126.7 percent to a 3.4-month supply. This is the third consecutive month of Manatee condos hovering at that level of supply.

In Sarasota County, there was a 3.2-month supply for single-family homes and a 3.5-month supply for condos, a year-over-year increase of 88.2 percent and 133.3 percent, respectively. This is the second consecutive month with Sarasota condos maintaining that supply. Three to six months of supply is considered a balanced market.

But even though inventory is up, prices aren't dropping. "The higher interest rates are keeping people in their homes because they don't want to give up their 3 percent mortgage," Pettingell says.

Another side effect of the pandemic Pettingell says he sees is that most buyer demand lays with new construction, newly renovated homes, and addresses with waterfront views—and that, overall, the market is "getting far more balanced."