Sarasota-Bradenton area housing starts spike 20%

SARASOTA — Residential closings jumped 26.3% in the final quarter of last year in the Sarasota-Bradenton region, according to statistics released by real estate researcher Metrostudy.

Housing starts in the same area, meanwhile, ended the final three months of 2016 on an annualized basis 20.2% ahead of the same time period a year earlier, according to the company.

Charlotte County topped the region with a 64.2% spike in annual housing starts, with 813. Sarasota and Manatee counties increases were in the teens, percentage wise.

Led by demand from retiring baby boomers, builders continued to focus on new homes priced at or above median figures in the two counties. Metrostudy found that new residences priced in excess of $250,000 rose 30.2% in the fourth quarter, on a year-over-year basis.

As a result, the research firm expects 2017 will be another robust year for residential sales and starts in the region.

“Metrostudy expects another strong season in 2017 and several more to follow in the coming years,” says Tony Polito, Metrostudy's regional director for the Sarasota-Bradenton area, in a statement. “The region is still in the early days of “Baby Boomer” demand for retiree housing. The peak of the boom was 1957 and they will turn 60 in 2017.”

Polito notes, however, that housing could face potential setbacks such as a lack of affordability, rising interest rates and public sentiment toward growth.

The final quarter of 2016 also was noteworthy in that closings — typically strongest in the final months of any calendar year — actually lagged behind the second quarter, from April through June.

At the same time, inventory stood at 6.5 months at the end of 2016, on the low side of equilibrium, Metrostudy says.