Sarasota monthly property sales surpass 1,000

SARASOTA — More than 1,000 properties were sold in Sarasota County in April, the first time the tally crossed that mark since June 2005.

There were 714 single-family home sales and 303 condo sales in the county last month, according to the Sarasota Association of Realtors, for a total of 1,017 closings. That beat the April 2012 total of 886 closings by 14%, the association says in a statement. In April 2012 there were 589 single-family home sales and 297 condo sales.

The 1,000 sales mark, further, has historical significance. The association says there have been 10 months in its entire history, dating back 90 years, when total sales topped 1,000. The other nine months occurred in 2004 and 2005, including an all-time high of 1,233 sales in April 2004.

In addition to the increase in total sales volume, the association, in its monthly statistical report released this morning, talks up the mostly good news on prices and the good news on inventory. On the median sales price, the figure for a single-family home was $217,000 in April, the highest since 2008 and a 24% increase over April 2012, when it was $175,000. The median sales price for condos dropped slightly, from $191,000 in April 2012 to $185,000 last month.

Available inventory, meanwhile, remained near the lowest level in a decade, the association reports. It dropped to 3,479 in April from 3,643 in March. The inventory is down, the association adds, almost 19% since April 2012. “Obviously, we hope this strong market continues indefinitely, and the pending sales figure indicates the market still has some legs,” says Sarasota Association of Realtors President Roger Piro in the release. “With the tight inventory and improving national and local economic picture, this is still shaping up as an historic year for local real estate.”