The Sarasota-Bradenton real estate market has seen a dramatic pullback in vacation and second-home sales, suggesting the pandemic-era buying spree is over and consumers are holding off on big-ticket discretionary purchases.
What was once a “feeding frenzy” of out-of-state buyers snatching up second homes or vacation properties has slowed due to higher mortgage rates, soaring insurance costs and growing uncertainty about the broader economy, economists and some local Realtors told Suncoast Searchlight.
Second-home purchases in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan area plunged 67% between 2021 and 2025, according to a recent study by SellMyTimeshareNow, a global timeshare resale and rental organization. The report analyzed nationwide vacation home purchases financed with a mortgage…