Home prices continue to rise in Southwest Florida, but lucky for us, they are not rising as quickly as other areas of the state or the country. Single-family home prices in the Sarasota-Manatee region grew 3.4% over January of last year, which pales in comparison to other rates across the state and the country.
As the remainder of the state witnessed a 5.1% increase and the average growth rate in the U.S. was 4.4%, Southwest Florida is doing quite well at limiting the rise of housing costs. In fact, according to the Herald Tribune, “Sarasota-Manatee ranked 252nd for price gains out of the 403 metro areas analyzed in the report.”
According to Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist at CoreLogic, “Fixed-rate mortgage rates have dropped 0.6 percentage points since November 2018 and today are lower than they were a year ago. With interest rates at this level, we expect a solid home-buying season this spring.”
This is great news for the local housing market as new homes and condos are being built in every possible nook and cranny. According to FloridaTrend.Com, “The city of roughly 57,000 has seen 4,000 new housing units in the past three years.” Sarasota is experiencing what City Manager Tom Barwin says is “probably the biggest growth spurt in the city’s history.”
Nationwide, this is the slowest increase in home prices since August 2012 and prices are forecasted to rise 3.4% over the next 12 months. If you’re looking to buy, the time is now and we can help. For additional information on the real estate market in Southwest Florida, contact us directly at BrandyCoffey941@Gmail.Com or 941.404.4737.
