Sarasota and Manatee homebuyers had fewer properties to choose from in July, and some responded by getting off the sidelines.
Closed sales increased from a year earlier in all four major residential segments—single family homes and condos in Sarasota and Manatee counties—while inventory declined across both counties and property types. Single-family homes reached contract faster, sellers received a greater share of their original asking prices and Sarasota’s luxury market produced some of the month’s largest gains, all according to the July data report by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM).
Still, July wasn’t a return to a seller-dominated market. Sarasota condos took considerably longer to reach contract, new pending single-family sales dipped in Manatee County and buyers continued to scrutinize prices, property condition and condo finances…