Record-low inventory has resulted in record-high prices in the Sarasota and Manatee housing market. According to data from Florida Realtors and compiled by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), May 2021 shows an increase in sales from the same time last year, with single-family homes closing within a median of just six days. Realtors in Sarasota and Manatee counties reported a total of 2,584 closed sales in May, an 84.7 percent increase from the same month last year, with 100 percent of properties closing at or above the original list price. Condo cash sales increased by 250 percent in Manatee County and by 152.8 percent in Sarasota. For single-family homes, cash sales increased by 168.9 percent in Manatee and by 154 percent in Sarasota.

Prices also rose in May; the Sarasota County median sales price for single-family homes reached a new record, with a median price of $407,000 in May 2021, a 36.6 percent increase from last year. In Manatee County, the median price for single-family homes was $400,000 in May, a year-over-year increase of 23.1 percent.

Additionally, inventory of all property types actively for sale in the two counties decreased by 74.6 percent, amounting to 4,755 fewer properties for sale than there were in May of 2020. The month’s supply of inventory, or the estimated number of months it will take to deplete the current inventory, stayed below one month in May. The month’s supply for single-family homes decreased by 78.1 percent, to 0.7 months in Sarasota, and decreased by 80 percent, to 0.6 months in Manatee. Condo inventory decreased by 84.4 percent to a 0.7-month supply in Sarasota and dropped by 86.4 percent to 0.6 months in Manatee County. For a full report, click here.