While I focus most of my time on what’s happening in Manatee and Sarasota counties, it’s also important to follow the broader real estate trends. Overall, the real estate market in the United States is seeing significant price increases. Over the past 12 months, average sale prices for homes have risen by 7.0%.
Category: Home Buying
The Sarasota and Manatee county markets for condos & townhomes remain disconnected at the luxury end of the spectrum. While buyers have the leverage in condos & townhomes over $600k in Manatee, that isn’t the case in Sarasota. In fact, the more expensive the condo in Sarasota, the more likely the transaction will favor sellers.
Whether you are looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate, it is important to understand market conditions. Real estate is hyper-local, with market dynamics changing from subdivision to subdivision. However, county trends will give you a good idea of what to expect.
Although the luxury single family home market ($1M+ homes) is much better balanced this year than last, it is still a strong buyer’s market in both Manatee and Sarasota counties. Markets are generally considered in “balance” when there is about six months of inventory for sale at the current pace of home sales. When the inventory gets greater than that, buyers tend to have more leverage than sellers in negotiations.
There are plenty of articles full of useful tips for home buyers, especially for first-time home buyers. Accordingly, I am not going to repeat them. Instead, I am going to offer some additional tips that most articles don’t tell you.