Inventory Drops to New Decade Low; Sales Remain High

The inventory of available homes in the Sarasota market fell to 3,114 in June, which is the lowest level in longer than a decade, and an 18 percent drop from this time last year. Declining inventory results in greater competition for homes and price escalation.

The latest results from the Sarasota Association of Realtors® shows that SAR members sold 883 properties in June, a drop from the May figure of 1,020 which represented an eight-year high, but up 2 percent over June of last year.

For the first half of 2013, sales are up 13.8 percent over last year at this time. If the current trend continues, 2013 will go down as the second highest sales year in the 90-year history of SAR, surpassed only by 2004's record figure of 11,267 closed transactions.

Pending sales stood at 1,024 in June, which is the sixth consecutive month that pendings have topped 1,000, an historic first for SAR. Pending sales have now topped 1,000 every month this year. This important statistic represents properties that went under contract during the month, and indicates sales in July and beyond could also be at near record high levels.

Median sales prices moderated in June 2013. The figure for single family homes was $200,000, down from the May figure of $220,000 but still 12 percent higher than last June's figure of $178,500. For condos, the median was $192,500, slightly below May's figure of $194,250 and below last June's figure of $195,000.

The available inventory hit yet another new decade low in June, dropping to 3,114 from May's figure of 3,297. The inventory is down almost 18 percent since June 2012, when it stood at 3,816.

The June inventory stood at 3.2 months for single family and 4.3 months for condos, with both property categories very near the lowest level in the past decade (achieved last month - 3.0 and 3.9, respectively). Months of inventory represents the time it would take to deplete the current inventory at the current sales rate. Last June there were 4.1 months of inventory for single family homes and 5.2 months of inventory for condos. At the worst point of our market in November 2008, there were 24 months of inventory for single family homes and 41.7 months for condos.

Click HERE for the complete press release in PDF format, plus several pages of statistical charts.