Stabilizing Inventory to Spur Home Buying

SARASOTA, FLORIDA, February 7th, 2014 – More resale homes became available in Manatee and Sarasota counties in November, a development that could help provide further buying stimulus moving into the new year, Sarasota Bay Real Estate reports.

Quantified through the number of months it would take for available properties to be depleted at current sales pace, inventory of single family homes for sale in Sarasota stood at the 5.4-month level in November. This was up from the 4.8 months inventory similarly posted a year earlier and in October of 2013.

Balanced Sarasota condo market

Additional condo units likewise appeared in the market in November. Months of inventory for Sarasota condos for sale rose to 6.1 months, up from October’s 5.5 months and 5.4 months in November 2012, A six-month supply is regarded in the industry as the market balance wherein neither buyer nor seller has the pricing leverage.

On a monthly basis, home market supply likewise improved in Manatee.  In November, single family homes inventory was at 4.2 months, up from 3.8 months in October but still marginally lower than the 4.7 months a year earlier. November condo and townhouses inventory improved to 4.2 months from 3.9 months in October, though lower than the 6.3-month level of October 2012.

Searching for fresh listings

Prospective buyers eying fresh additions to the inventory of Sarasota homes for sale can find several choices at Stoneybrook at Palmer Ranch. One new MLS listing here is a four-bedroom residence with a floor area of close to 2,600 square feet at a tag price just a shade under the $400s. Under this price mark, there’s a pair of newly listed two–bedroom condo units having floor spaces of approximately1,400 square feet offered at around the mid-$100s and the high $200s.

Builders encouraged by the resurgence of the residential real estate demand contribute in boosting available homes in the market, Sarasota Bay Estate notes. It adds that companies like national homebuilder D.R. Horton in recent months have been building spec homes or residential construction with no firm buyer yet.

Spec homes at varying price levels

In Sarasota, this company built a dozen of such new houses this year at the Red Hawk Reserve just off Clark Road east of Intestate 75. Priced in the $500s, these Sarasota homes for sale have floor areas ranging from 3,000 to 3,900 square feet and feature three to four bedrooms.

Residences of earlier builds are also available at this gated community which recently upgraded its auto gate security system. A four-bedroom home here built in 2010 with a floor plan of 3,000-plus square feet has a tag price in the high $400s.