Graphic courtesy RASM.

Realtors enjoyed a much better September this year than last, though that’s largely attributable to Hurricane Ian disrupting market activity in 2023.

The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee reports 1,770 sales across the North Port-Sarasota-Beadenton metropolitical region. That’s a 40.1% increase over September 2022, when 1,263 units sold, but just a 0.7S% increase from August. Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sept. 28, but largely stopped for days before that, and recovery from the storm particularly in South Sarasota disrupted the market afterward.

“Despite the current market fluctuations, median sale prices in Sarasota and Manatee counties remain relatively stable,” said Brian Tresidder, 2023 RASM President and Strategic Growth & Sales Manager at William Raveis Real Estate. “Home prices are maintaining their value and only experiencing a marginal decrease from previous highs.”

The median sales price on single-family homes in the market was $499,945, a 1% drop from last year. For condos, the median sales price remained exactly the same as a year ago, at $375,000.

So while the volume of total sales was up $49 million in condos and $277 million in homes, the cast of homes remains roughly the same as it was last year and where it has been the last couple months. While sales activity comes and goes, prices stay largely the same.

“The real estate market in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA is a constant ‘tug-of-war’ between new listings and pending sales,” said Tresidder. “This dynamic is contributing to a slow but steady rise in the month’s supply of inventory.”

But inventory reports signal this remains distinctly a seller’s market. There’s a 3.2-month inventory of homes and a 3.3-month supply of condos. Real estate professionals consider aix-month inventory of homes to be a balanced market. In Manatee County, the home inventory remains at less than a 3-month supply.

Graphic courtesy RASM.