Mortgage rates decreased last week following the Trump administration’s tariff announcement. The sharp sell-off in the stock market prompted investors to flock to the bond market, which led to a drop in bond yields. Since mortgage rates tend to follow the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, this decline resulted in lower mortgage rates.
In February, Sarasota County saw more than double the number of new listings compared to closed home sales. Inventory levels continue to grow as we approach the tail end of our busy season. While pending sales exceeded closed sales in February, they were not enough to curb the expected increase in inventory. I anticipate that Sarasota County will experience a buyer’s market for the next few months. However, just because buyers have more leverage doesn’t mean they have all the control. Sellers should focus on positioning their homes strategically in the market to achieve the best results. The infographic below from Florida Realtors offers more detailed information.
Inventory for single-family homes crossed the six-month threshold in February. In other words, at the current pace of sales, it will take over six months to run out of homes to buy if no new listings appear. Many experts believe that is when a market officially turns into a buyer’s market.
As we are approaching the end of our busy season, it sure feels like buyer leverage is increasing in Manatee. That said, leverage for buyers is greater at the higher end of the market than the lower end. I continue to recommend that sellers put their best foot forward to help ensure they get the outcome they desire because it is not as easy to sell your home as it was a year ago. The infographic below from Florida Realtors offers more detailed information.
Unlike Manatee County, Sarasota County’s market clearly favors buyers at this point. Unless we see a major uptick in sales over the next three months, there will be a significant amount of inventory left on the market heading into our slower season this summer. Cash buyers are still out there in a big way, so I am not sure pricing leverage is quite as high for typical buyers as they would like. That said, if you are interested in a property in Sarasota County, we have significantly worse times to buy. The infographic from Florida Realtors below contains more information.
While closed sales saw solid year-over-year growth in January, they didn’t keep pace with new inventory on the market. Accordingly, the market continued to shift toward buyers in January. It is still relatively balanced, but it is in better shape at lower price points than the higher end of the market. Due to more transactions at the lower to middle end of the market, the median sales price was down a whopping 8.6% when compared to January of 2024. Overall, it feels like opportunities exist for home buyers in the market. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has more data from the month.
