Good news for sellers of downtown Sarasota condominiums, says Linda A. Page of Michael Saunders & Company: With just 171 units on the market at year-end, there’s under a year’s worth of inventory; “the lowest for a long time,” she says.

“People love the vibrancy of downtown. They’re buying, and they’re staying put,” says Page, whose current listings range from a one-bedroom, 1 ½-bath at 1350 Main to a three-level townhouse at Burns Court Villas and a penthouse at Embassy House. Buildings with lots of amenities are hottest; in 2011 there were 12 sales at 1350 Main, 20 sales at Alinari and 15 at Broadway Promenade.

Among her listings in the curvy Beau Ciel building on Boulevard of the Arts is a 3,135-square-foot, ninth-floor unit with two bedrooms, three baths and both family and large living rooms, a large chef’s kitchen and travertine marble flooring. List price: $1,349,000.

Who’s buying downtown? Page, herself a longtime downtown resident, says it’s mostly empty nesters downsizing and a few young professionals. “The only segment not buying is families with young children,” she says.

DOWNTOWN BY THE NUMBERS

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67

Number of downtown Sarasota condo buildings

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273

Number of units sold from November 2010 to November 2011

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$44,000 to $4 million

Range of sale prices

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486

at citrus square to 6,580 at tessera Range of square footage

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*Resales don’t include Dolphin Towers, currently evacuated because of a structural problem.