Home sales report: Sarasota-Bradenton leads nation in slashing prices

Three residential housing markets on the west coast of Florida are among the national leaders in slashing prices, with the deepest cuts nationwide coming from the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton market, according to a new report from real estate data company Redfin.

Nearly half, 48%, of all listings in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton experienced a price cut, according to Redfin. Next up is Tampa, where 44% of listings had a price cut, followed by Indianapolis with 43% and Cape Coral with 41%.

Some Florida metro areas are also seeing about double the housing supply, Redfin reports, driven in part because of the number of homes being built in the Sunshine State. Cape Coral and the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton areas have the most pronounced housing supply increases, with 51% and 48% more homes for sale in those areas, respectively, compared with March 2023. Overall, six of the top 10 metro areas that saw the greatest increase in inventory are in Florida, according to Redfin:

1. Cape Coral (51%)
2. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton (48%)
3. Fort Lauderdale (30%)
4. Tampa (29%)
5. McAllen, Texas (25%)
6. Orlando (23%)
7. Knoxville, Tennessee (23%)
8. Dallas, Texas (20%)
9. West Palm Beach (20%)
10. Cincinnati, Ohio (17%)

“Two years ago, the North Port metro was one of the most competitive housing markets in the country because it was affordable for remote workers and there was a shortage of homes for sale, but none of those things are true today,” Eric Auciello, a local Redfin sales manager, says in a statement. “Sarasota, in particular, has been overvalued for decades, and the chickens have finally come to roost. The Tampa metro has been faring a bit better.”

Overall, prices are falling and it is taking longer for homes to sell in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area, according to the data, which show median sale prices dropping and median days on market increasing. 

The trend is a divergence from what the rest of the country is seeing.

Nationally, the median sale price was up 4.8% in March year over year. However, the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area was one of only three metros where median sale prices fell, according to Redfin. Median sale prices fell by 4.6% in North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, by 1.5% in Oklahoma City and by 0.3% in San Antonio.

The median days on market across the United States was 40 days in March, Redfin reports, down from 44 days in March 2023. Two metro areas that saw the greatest uptick in days on market were Cape Coral, where it took 31 more days to sell than a year earlier; and North Port-Sarasota, where it took 20 more days than in 2023.

Insurance has been a factor in snarling some home sales in the Sunshine State, according to Redfin, which reports 70% of Florida homeowners say they have been affected by rising insurance costs or changes in coverage. It is one of several factors steering buyers to other areas, the real estate data company reports.

"Out-of-town homebuyers no longer see Florida as a place to get amazing value. Now they’re moving to North Carolina or Tennessee to get a good deal. Many local blue-collar workers have been priced out of homeownership, too," Auciello says. "We’re seeing sellers offer a lot of concessions to hold deals together."