It was good to see continued year on year growth in single-family home transactions in Manatee County in November. Further, as inventory grew at a slightly higher pace, the market continues to look like it is in balance heading into our busy season in Florida. It is still a reasonable time to be either a buyer or seller, but a little patience goes a long way in this market. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has more information.
As 2023 draws to a close, numerous forecasters are sharing their insights for 2024. Currently, the consensus suggests little deviation from the trends observed in 2023. However, experience has taught us that forecasts often miss the mark.
Many people believe that selling a home during the holidays or winter is not a good idea. In Florida, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. While it’s historically true that the spring market is typically more favorable for selling a house in most regions, Florida tends to pick up momentum around this time.
Inventory rapidly expanded in Sarasota County in October. While increased transactions in Q1 2024 should slow down the inventory expansion, we will likely continue to see the median sales price trend down for the next month or two. Sarasota continues to be a seller’s market, but it is closer to being in balance than Manatee. Cash is still king in Sarasota as almost half of transactions in October were in cash. As with Manatee, it looks to be a reasonable time to be on either side of a transaction in Sarasota at the moment. Let’s hope it stays that way through our busy season.
We continued to see the same pattern in Manatee this month as new listings exceeded closed sales, so our inventory continued to expand. While we are still in a seller’s market, the trend is towards market balance. The median sales price decreased by 13% in October, which was the largest decrease we have seen in years. Busy season is now upon us, so the next few months will be telling. It certainly seems like a reasonable time to be either a buyer or seller in Manatee, although the low transaction volume will likely cause sellers to have to be a little patient. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has more information for October.
