Sales climb in February 2012; pending sales rise to 11-month high

For Immediate Release Sarasota Association of Realtors® March 14, 2012 For more information contact Kathy Roberts, 941-328-1170

Sales climb in February 2012; pending sales rise to 11-month high Pending sales in the Sarasota real estate market hit an 11-month high in February 2012, demonstrating once more the health of the local industry as the buying season heats up. Median sale prices were also up substantially for single family homes and condos in February 2012 compared to this time last year – another positive sign for a successful home buying season. “I have heard nothing but positive reports from our members about the seasonal surge in our real estate market,” said SAR President Laura Benson. “Sales are up, prices are stable and much higher than last year at this time, and we are seeing multiple offers on many transactions. Pending sales are off the charts – we hit a 11-month high of 1,130 in February. This is all very encouraging news.” The January 2012 holiday sales lull didn’t last long. The 177 condo sales in February represented the highest level in the last eight months. If pending sales, which represent properties going under contract, produce the expected level of closed sales, we could see a major selling month in March 2012. That could repeat what we saw in March 2011, when sales hit the highest total since 2005. Overall, February 2012 saw a 15 percent increase in property sales over January 2012, and a 17 percent increase in pending sales from the previous month, both reaffirming numerous verbal reports of a very busy spring selling season in Sarasota. Closed sales stood at 414 for single family homes and 177 for condos, lower than in February 2011, but higher than last month. In February 2011, 471 single family homes and 201 condos were sold. The single family home median price climbed to $167,500 in February 2012 from last month’s figure of $162,000. For condos, the figure fell to $150,000 from the January level of $180,000. Last February, both single family homes and condos were selling at the median price of $137,500, so both of the current numbers reflect a stronger market than a year ago. Single family home prices were a whopping 21.8 percent higher than in February 2011. Condo prices were 9 percent higher than last February. The inventory for February stood at 4,588, down almost 5 percent from January’s 4,711, and 20 percent lower than last February’s total of 5,864. With fewer available properties, the law of supply and demand indicates asking prices could be climbing higher in the coming months. The inventory hit a 10-year low of 4,408 in August 2011, and has remained at or close to this low level since then. As the inventory has slid, the months of inventory has also dropped. The figure now stands at 7.2 months for single family homes, compared to 8.3 last month and 8.0 months in February 2011. The figure was 9.1 months for condos, compared to 11.3 months in January and 10.4 months last February. A figure of 6 months is considered equilibrium between a buyer’s and a seller’s market.

Distressed property sales continued to represent a higher percentage than normal in the local market in February 2012, with 37.4 percent of all sales from bank-owned foreclosures and short sales. But the figure was a drop from the 40 percent total in January 2012, and far below the record high of over 50 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

Currently, only 740 properties for sale in the MLS are distressed listings (short sales and foreclosures), or roughly 15 percent of the market. Last month at this time, the number was 812 out of 4,711 homes and condos on the market, or about 17 percent. If this percentage continues to trend lower, we could begin to see median sales price increases going forward.

“The lower number of distressed property sales, and the decreased number of foreclosures and short sales available will likely mean greater competition and higher asking prices,” noted Benson. “We are all hoping for a return to historic levels of distressed properties, which would be less than 5 percent of the market. But until that day, our members will continue to educate themselves on the existing market and help customers make sensible decisions.”

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Sarasota MLSSM Statistics - February 2012 Sarasota MLSSM Statistics - February 2012

Statistics were compiled on properties listed in the MLS by members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors® as of March 10th, 2012,including some listings in Manatee, Englewood, Venice, and other areas. Single-family statistics are tabulated using property styles of single-family and villa. Condo statistics include condo, co-op, and townhouse.

Single Family – Sale Price Vs. List Price % Rates Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

2011 94.5 94.1 94.7 94.1 94.2 94.3 94.1 94.5 95.2 95.1 95.3 94.8 2012 95.4 94.2 - - - - - - - - - -

Single Family

#Active #Sold %Sold Average DOM

Median Sale Prices

Median Last 12 Months

Months Inventory

Pending Reported %Pending # New

Listings # Off

Market This

Month 2,972 414 13.9 171 $167,500 $160,000 7.2 793 26.7 795 154 This

Month Last Year

3,782 471 12.5 178 $137,500 $160,000 8.0 735 19.4 647 123

Last Month 3,037 365 12.0 171 $162,000 $158,000 8.3 723 23.8 835 131

YTD - 796 - 168 $163,250 - - 1,516 - 1,630 -

Source: Sarasota Association of Realtors®

$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11 Nov-11 Dec-11 Jan-12 Feb-12

Single Family

CondoMedian Sale Price


0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700


Unit Sales Single FamilyCondo

16 APRIL 2012 Sarasota Realtor® Magazine www.sarasotarealtors.com

Sarasota MLSSM Statistics - February 2012 Sarasota MLSSM Statistics - February 2012

Median sales price is the middle value, where half of the homes sold for more, and half sold for less. Listings sold were closed transactions during the month. Pending sales are sales where an offer has been accepted during the month, but the sale has not yet closed. Even though some pending sales never close, pending sales are an indicator of current buyer activity. DOM indicates the average number of days that sold properties were on the market before a contract was executed.

Condo

#Active #Sold %Sold Average DOM

Median Sale Prices

Median Last 12 Months

Months of Inventory

Pending Reported %Pending # New

Listings # Off

Market This

Month 1,616 177 10.9 212 $150,000 $160,000 9.1 337 20.8 323 166 This

Month Last Year

2,082 201 9.7 223 $137,500 $160,000 10.4 288 13.8 312 110

Last Month 1,674 148 8.8 212 $180,000 $159,000 11.3 240 14.3 364 156

YTD - 330 - 212 $154,250 - - 577 - 687 - Condo – Sale Price Vs. List Price % Rates

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2011 93.4 91.2 92.2 93.4 94.5 94.2 92.5 93.1 92.8 93.2 93.6 92.7 2012 93.1 93.5 - - - - - - - - - -

Sarasota Association of Realtors® MLS

0100200300400500600700800900

1000


Pending Sales Single FamilyCondo


0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000


Inventory Single FamilyCondo

www.sarasotarealtors.com Sarasota Realtor® Magazine APRIL 2012 17

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igital Version Only


0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0


Months of Inventory Single FamilyCondo


$0$20,000,000$40,000,000$60,000,000$80,000,000

$100,000,000$120,000,000$140,000,000$160,000,000$180,000,000


Sales Volume Single Family

Condo


0

50

100

150

200

250

300


Days on Market Single Family

Condo

Source: Sarasota Association of Realtors® MLS

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900


New Listings Single FamilyCondo


0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2009‐Q2 2009‐Q3 2009‐Q4 2010‐Q1 2010‐Q2* 2010‐Q3 2010‐Q4 2011‐Q1 2011‐Q2 2011‐Q3 2011‐Q4

Single Family Sales ‐ By Quarter REO Short Market


0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2009‐Q2 2009‐Q3 2009‐Q4 2010‐Q1 2010‐Q2* 2010‐Q3 2010‐Q4 2011‐Q1 2011‐Q2 2011‐Q3 2011‐Q4

Condo Sales ‐ By Quarter REO Short Market


$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

2009‐2ndQ 2009‐3rdQ 2009‐4thQ 2010‐Q1 2010‐Q2 2010‐Q3 2010‐Q4 2011‐Q1 2011‐Q2 2011‐Q3 2011‐Q4

REO Short MarketSingle Family Median Sale Price


$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

$350,000

2009‐2ndQ 2009‐3rdQ 2009‐4thQ 2010‐Q1 2010‐Q2 2010‐Q3 2010‐Q4 2011‐Q1 2011‐Q2 2011‐Q3 2011‐Q4

REO Short MarketCondo Median Sale Price

Fourth Quarter 2011 Report

* Homebuyer Tax Credit In Effect



0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2009‐Q2 2009‐Q3 2009‐Q4 2010‐Q1 2010‐Q2* 2010‐Q3 2010‐Q4 2011‐Q1 2011‐Q2 2011‐Q3 2011‐Q4

REO Sales ‐ By Quarter Single FamilyCondo


050

100150200250300350400

2009‐Q2 2009‐Q3 2009‐Q4 2010‐Q1 2010‐Q2* 2010‐Q3 2010‐Q4 2011‐Q1 2011‐Q2 2011‐Q3 2011‐Q4

Short Sales ‐ By QuarterSingle Family

Condo


0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2009‐Q2 2009‐Q3 2009‐Q4 2010‐Q1 2010‐Q2* 2010‐Q3 2010‐Q4 2011‐Q1 2011‐Q2 2011‐Q3 2011‐Q4

Market Sales ‐ By QuarterSingle FamilyCondo




$132,300

$172,500$191,000

$226,000

$272,500

$351,000$342,000

$303,000

$230,000

$160,000 $163,000 $155,925

$142,000

$145,000$173,000

$191,000

$225,000

$305,000$301,225

$336,250$320,000

$210,000

$163,000$156,800

Annual Median Sale Price ‐ 2000 to 2011 Single Family Condo

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Annual Sales ‐ 2000 to 2011Single Family Condo Total

9697

11267

10562

Single Family Condo Total

6 504

7,596

6,8416533

7036

8167

63586739

76038224

4,3494,940

5,603

6,504

4,3533,922

4,6265,183

5,4665,938

3 671 3 721

6533 63586042 5820

,

2,184 2,0962,564

3,1933,671 3,721

2,005 2,120

1,1941,556

2,137 2,286

1,194

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Real Estate

Sales climb in February 2012; pending sales rise to 11-month high