The single-family home market for Manatee County is continuing to find its way towards balance between buyers and sellers. YoY closed sales are still down, but not as much as the rest of the country. Also, median sales prices are continuing to creep up, but at a much more reasonable rate than in 2022. Overall, the market appears very healthy in Manatee. The infographic below from Florida Realtors shows more of the story.
While Sarasota’s results aren’t too different from Manatee County, there continues to be some variance. Prices are continuing to rise faster, and cash sales are a bigger piece of the pie. Overall, the season is shaping up to only slightly favor sellers over buyers as many sellers continue to be sitting on the sidelines this year. The infographic from Florida Realtors below has more detail on the latest month of results.
While closed sales continue to trend significantly down year over year, the market has not shifted to favor buyers. Prices continue to rise and inventory levels are moderate (3-4 months of sales), at best. As sellers aren’t jumping to get their homes on the market, it looks like leverage will stay relatively balanced between buyers and sellers this busy season in Manatee. The infographic from Florida Realtors below has more detail.
Mortgage interest rates were largely flat over the last 30 days. The minor recent change will only cost new borrowers about $1 per month for every $100,000 borrowed. Average U.S. interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages were at 6.33% as of this week. Last month at this time, they were sitting at 6.31%.
Closed sales were down 50% year on year in Sarasota County for single family homes in November. That is a massive drop; however, the market still doesn’t favor buyers at many price points. Inventory levels are at 4 months of sales (on average), so we are still a little short of the 6 months usually referenced as a balanced market. The signals are generally favorable for buyers though as cash sales are no longer the majority of sales in the county. That said, buyers shouldn’t be expecting to cash in on low offer to list price transactions at this time. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has more information.
