Graphic courtesy RASM: Single-family home prices in Sarasota County climb to record highs as inventory grows scarce.

Prices skyrocketed in an already hot real estate market in the month of November.

The median price on single-family homes in Manatee County climbed to $450,411, a record high 28.5% higher than the same month in 2020, as reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. In Sarasota County, that statistic climbed 19.9% year-over-year to $419,225. Meanwhile, the median price on condos leapt to $349,900 in Sarasota and $300,000 in Manatee, spikes of 28.6% and 26.4% respectively.

“It's not surprising that our market is now priced higher than it's ever been before,” said Alex Krumm, NextHome Excellence owner and RASM president. “New listings that come to market are being sold in a matter of hours and there are far more buyers than there are homes to sell them. I expect we'll continue to see higher prices next year.”

At the same time, the number of sales for the month declined in the region. There was a 2% drop in Sarasota in home sales and a 16.8% drop in condo sales, and Manatee saw condo closings dip 22.3% and home sales slip 2.5%.

But in total, $1.14 billion in total volume moved in the market in a single month on the virtue of the price of homes. And the money continues to move quick. The median time to contract is seven days in Sarasota; it’s just six days for homes in Manatee and all of nine days for condo units there.

Meanwhile, there’s just over 7 months of inventory in condos and over eight months worth of inventory for homes as supply continues to grow more scarce. The total active listings in the two counties dropped by 59.4%, to 1,654 as of the end of November.

All this means a market that should continue to see robust movement in the immediate future, Krumm said. “High season for home sales is upon us. Florida—and Sarasota and Manatee Counties in particular—continues to be the go-to destination for buyers from around the country. Expect a very busy winter and spring,” he said.

Graphic courtesy RASM: Single-family home prices in Sarasota County climb to record highs as inventory grows scarce.