Halloween is in a couple of days, the first holiday since COVID struck that wearing a mask is not only encouraged, but welcome. Because of our beautiful fall weather, all of the little ghosts and goblins will be able to walk up and down the streets looking for treats, hopefully safely masked. Undoubtedly the scariest thing this Halloween won’t be the Mummy or Dracula but the thing we can’t see – COVID droplets.
The second most scary thing is what our financial situation will be after this is all behind us. As far as the real estate market, it is proving to be very durable with appreciation expanding and houses being eaten up as soon as they hit the market. Buyers are so ready to fight their way into homeownership that a large percentage aren’t even leaving their homes to do so.
According to realtor.com, 24% of 1,300 consumers surveyed said they would be willing to buy without seeing a property in person. This was back in April, so it’s likely that a more up-to-date survey would provide a larger percentage. Another survey dating to 2018 indicates that 20% of potential buyers made an offer on a property without seeing it in person. In a similar survey after COVID, this number has moved up to 45% so far this year, and it’s looking like this is not just a passing trend.
Not all real estate markets are experiencing the same movement. In New York City, which has been the hardest-hit major city in the country, sales in Manhattan were down 46.4% in the third quarter of the year compared to last year per the real estate company Douglas Elliman. In addition, Manhattan currently has more than 20 months’ supply of properties available. San Francisco is experiencing a similar market with properties lingering for months without buyers.
Manatee County continues to be a hot market with several new construction properties on the drawing board. In Cortez, the Hunters Point community is getting close to breaking ground with 86 single-family homes, 47 available boat slips as well as resort and hotel units. Parrish in Manatee County’s northwestern area is exploding with new communities being built on what was previously farmland.
To say the September sales report for Manatee County reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee is good would be grossly understated – it’s great. The only problem is we can’t add new listings fast enough.
Single-family homes closed 31.4% more in September than last September. The median sale price for this year was $350,000, an 11.1% increase over last September, and the average sale price was $478,964, a 25.5% increase. The median time to contract was 23 days, 46.5% less than last year, and the pending inventory has increased 59.5%. The month’s supply of properties is only 1.9 months, a 42.4% drop from last year.
Condos closed 73.5% more properties compared to September of last year. The median sale price was $220,000, up 10.6%, and the average sale price was $300,971, up 23.1% from last September. The median time to contract was 40 days, 44.4% fewer days than last year, and the pending inventory was up 45.8%. The month’s supply of properties was down 23.7% to 2.9 months.
The September update continues the trend of a rise in the number of sales, higher prices and fewer available listings compared to September of last year.
Enjoy Halloween with all of your masked friends and remember, if your house is haunted, it’s just between you and Casper – no one else has to know. Stay safe.
