Prepared by Michael Moulton, CRS, Broker-Associate
Michael Saunders & Co
As I have reported in my last several Monthly Real Estate Reports and blogs, the overall listed inventory of residential properties for sale locally is maintaining a steady and healthy decline toward the equilibrium level of six months, which is a well-balanced condition and considered neither a Buyers nor Seller’s market. Our current monthly average of 692 closed residential properties indicates we have just over six months of inventory, a good sign that the marketplace is on a positive and stable course. The overall inventory is lower than the end of 2010 by 1,269 listed properties, a 22% decline and 1,642 listed properties less than the end of 2009. It has been a long tough road but our local market is showing every sign of a recovery.
During June, 697 properties sold vs. 735 in the same month last year. There are 721 pending sales from June vs. 646 pending sales at this same time last year. As a result of the past month’s closings activity, there is just a 5.1 month inventory for properties listed under $500,000 – the market that has had the most activity in the last several months, compared with 7 months at the beginning of the year and 11 months at the beginning of 2010. In the segment between $500,000 and $1,000,000, there is currently an 11.5 month inventory, certainly an improvement from the 19 months at the end of 2010. For inventory over $1,000,000, there is 24 months of inventory, equal to the number of months inventory at the end of 2010. At the close of 2009 there was a 45 month supply of inventory at the over $1,000,000 price-point.
In Michael Saunders’ recent blog she wrote, “Now is an opportunistic moment to list your home for a potentially faster and more satisfying outcome.” Of course, the same can be said for buying! Add to the current diminished inventory the steadied mortgage rates, and this is clearly a most advantageous time for our market and parties on either side of the table. With the absorption of properties reducing our inventory and the strong gains in contracts, the next outcome can only be an uptick in home values.
Distressed sales, which are either a bank owned property or a short sale, are going to affect pricing locally for the short-term. However, the percentage of total sales in the distressed classification is trending downward each month, and significantly fewer than 2010. Studies show that Sarasota is below both Florida and the US in terms of foreclosure activity. The majority of these are under a $500,000 list price. Of the listings in our market at that price point, 19% are distressed sales. Listings priced from $500,000 to $1,000,000 only 57 or 7.5% are distressed sale listings and over $1,000,000 there are only 25 or 4% of the listings. Of the properties sold year to date, 44% were distressed sales – 1,830 of the 4,155 properties sold year to date. All but 62 of these were under $500,000 and only 11 were over $1,000,000.
The following statistical data is provided through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Sarasota Association of Realtors. The table summarizes what happened in each price segment. The Sold (Closed), Pending and Listings columns are sales and listings for the month of the report, and the Pending and Listed are the current totals of each in the MLS system. The Sold YTD column is the total sales for 2011 and 2010 Year-to-Date. The Listed YE ’10 (Year-End) column shows the listing inventory at the end of 2010.
This pdf report contains statistical data is from information provided through the Multiple Listing Service of the Sarasota Association of Realtors.
We are always available to answer any questions you may have regarding market conditions and the optimum time to buy or sell your property. Please contact us with any questions.
