'Fantastic' real estate data for March

March was a stellar month for residential real estate sales in the Sarasota-Manatee region, according to new data.

Sarasota County, with 1,201 closed property transactions in March, nearly topped the all-time one-month sales figure of 1,228 from April 2004. “These are fantastic sales numbers,” Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee President Stafford Starcher says in a statement, “and certainly welcome news and evidence that the market remains on a good roll.”

Some of the key Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee data from March includes:

• The number of closed property transactions in Sarasota County increased in March by 14.3% over March 2014 and 43.5% over February, when there was 837 closings;

• Closed transactions rose in Manatee County 20.1% in March over March 2014, from 666 to 800 closings. The figure rose 34.9% from February, when there were 593 closings;

• The 2015 first quarter sales pace is up in both counties, with a 6% increase in Sarasota County and nearly a 9% increase in Manatee County. That translates to 2,604 closings in Sarasota County in the quarter and 1,737 closings in Manatee County;

• The median sale price in Sarasota County is $207,500 for single-family homes, up 9.5% over March 2014, and $180,745 for condos, up 5.8% over March 2014. The median sale price in Manatee County for single-family homes is $265,000, up 17.3% over March 2014, and $157,000 for condos, up 21.2% over March 2014.