Sarasota home sales hit 10-year record

SARASOTA — With nearly 1,200 sales, the month of April was the second-best for total closed transactions in the history of Sarasota County.

There were 1,195 sales in the county in April, according to a release. The only month with more sales was April 2004, when there were 1,223 total closed transactions. The break down last month in transaction type was 759 single-family homes and 436 condos. The April total also surpasses the March total, 1,050 transactions, by more than 100 sales.

“Activity has been robust, and clearly there continues to be tremendous interest in buying properties in Sarasota County,” Sarasota Association of Realtors President Peter Crowley says in the release. “Last year, June and July also continued to show a high level of sales and activity in the local real estate industry, so we are hoping for a repeat in 2014.”

In addition to total volume, the median sale price in the county is also on the upswing. The median sale price for single-family homes in April was $196,250, up 3.8% over March and 4.4% over April 2013, according to Sarasota Association of Realtors data. The median sale price for condos was $183,500, an 8% increase over March and a 14.7% increase over April 2013.

Other data from the monthly Sarasota Association of Realtors report includes more good news: Distressed sales were down year-over-year from April 2013, for example, and pending sales for future months remained at a high level.