Sarasota Real Estate Market Update
What's going on in the Sarasota Real Estate Market in 2022 so far? I've been asked this question quite a bit recently and wanted to give an update on everything that i've been seeing in the last 7 months now that we just passed the halfway mark in the year. In order to accurately look at what is happening now, let's take a moment to reflect back to Q1 & Q2 of 2022:
In Q1 of 2022, gas averaged a little over $3/gallon in Sarasota. Interest rates were just over 3%, we had 466 active listings under $1,000,000, and in January, there was no war in Ukraine. In late February, the Ukraine war was announced, inflation started heating up, and by Q2, interest rates spiked up to almost 6%. Now, financial analysts predict interest rates to continue to rise until 2023 when they can get a handle on inflation. Gas prices are almost near $5/gallon, there is an active war in the world, and things globally are just not the same.
*I am a licensed Realtor in the State of Florida with Compass Real Estate, located at 1515 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236.
Q1-Q2 Recap
If you were a seller in Q1 of 2022 it's very possible that you hit the peak of buying frenzy. You received multiple offers that offered waived inspections and sometimes even appraisal gaps. You were able to reap the benefits of very low interest rates and historically low inventory which allowed you to easily sell your home in the most pleasant way possible.
In mid Q2 of 2022, we all felt a sudden shift in the real estate market. Homes were staying on the market longer and less showings were being scheduled. All of these global changes in addition to the stock market giving up gains forced consumers to make the decision to not be as aggressive as they have been in the recent months when making offers on homes.
In June of 2022, we had 1,178 active listings, that is an increase in inventory of 66% from Q1. We also saw in in June pending sales go down by about 20%. The market was overheated in Q1/early Q2 but now as we are settling into Q3, we are beginning to return to normalization. The Realtor Association has upped their inventory predication to 15% in 2022 which is considerably low and short in supply compared to previous years, however, a balanced market is defined as 6 months or less of supply based on closed sales and Sarasota has around 1.5 months of supply. What does this inventory gain mean though moving forward? Economist are predicting pricing to increase by 9% nationally for the remainder of 2022. If you're a seller, you may not not see crazy demand like you did in the early half of 2022, but the buyer demand is still there and pricing your home correctly is very important. If you're a buyer, this means you have a bit of negotiating power as inventory is up. The bottom line is it is still a great time to sell or buy this year.