🏡 Sarasota & Manatee Real Estate Market Update: April 2025

Understanding Local Trends with a National Perspective

By Susan Phelps & Judy Athari — Your Hyperlocal Real Estate Experts in Sarasota & Manatee Counties

As the sun shines over the Gulf Coast and we celebrate Memorial Day here in Florida, it’s also a good time to reflect on what’s happening in our local housing market. Whether you’re buying, selling, investing, or simply staying informed, understanding where the Sarasota and Manatee County markets are headed can help you make more confident decisions.

In this April 2025 real estate market update, we’re doing things a little differently. Instead of just local stats, we’re putting Sarasota and Manatee County side-by-side with statewide and national trends to give you the full picture.

📈 Sarasota County Snapshot: April 2025

Sarasota’s housing market is showing signs of stabilization after a period of correction. Here’s how April shaped up:

Single-Family Home Sales: 817 total sales, unchanged from March and up 7% year-over-year.
Condo/Townhome Sales: 375, a 2.6% drop from March and a 13% decrease from April 2024.
Median Single-Family Home Price: Slight increase to $470,000, up from $469,450 in March.
Median Condo Price: Decreased to $339,500, down nearly 15% from last year.
Inventory Levels: Up to a 7-month supply, indicating a buyer’s market, with a 37% year-over-year increase.
Days to Contract: 43 days on average, slightly higher than March.
Days to Close: 82 days, consistent month-over-month.
Cash Buyers: A strong presence—46% of single-family homes and 67% of condos were cash sales, indicating a significant level of investor interest.

🏠 Manatee County at a Glance

Just north of Sarasota, Manatee County followed similar trends with some unique differences:

Single-Family Home Sales: 672 homes sold, a 1.9% decrease year-over-year.
Median Sales Price: Fell to $464,000, down 12.5% from last year and 8% from March.
Cash Buyers: Accounted for 29.9% of single-family home sales.
Inventory: 3,251 active listings, or a 5.2-month supply, nearing market balance.
Time to Contract: Increased slightly to 50 days.
Time to Sale: Improved slightly, down to 92 days.

The condo and townhome market in Manatee reflected further softening:

Sales Volume: 273 units sold, down 1.1% year-over-year.
Median Condo Price: Dropped 14.8% to $300,220.
Inventory: 1,817 active listings with an 8.2-month supply, firmly in buyer’s territory.
Cash Buyers: Made up 50.5% of condo and townhome purchases.

🌴 What’s Happening Across Florida?

Zooming out to the state level:

Single-Family Home Sales: Down 4.5% year-over-year statewide.
Condo Sales: Saw a steeper drop of 14.8%.
Median Price Declines: Sarasota saw a sharper 13% drop compared to Florida’s 4% decrease overall.
Inventory Trends: Inventory statewide rose by 2.7%—consistent with what we’re seeing locally.

🏡 National Real Estate Perspective

National housing trends echo much of what we’re seeing here in Florida:

Housing Inventory: Reached 1.45 million units in April, up 9% from March and 20% from one year ago.
Unsold Inventory Supply: Increased to 4.4 months, up from 4.0 in March.
Median Home Price (U.S.): $414,000, a 1.8% increase from last year.
Regional Differences: The Northeast and Midwest saw price increases, while the South and West (including Florida) experienced declines.

🛠️ What This Means for Buyers & Sellers

The word of the season? Stabilization. After years of rapid price increases and market imbalances, Sarasota and Manatee are settling into a healthier rhythm. Inventory is growing, price corrections are leveling off, and sales pace is steady.

For buyers, this means more negotiating power and options—especially in the condo and townhome markets. For sellers, pricing correctly from the start is more important than ever. Overpricing can cause a listing to stagnate, costing valuable time and momentum.

🎯 Local Insight Matters

While national and state data provides helpful context, real estate is always hyperlocal. Even within Sarasota and Manatee Counties, market conditions vary dramatically—from East Manatee to the coast, or downtown Sarasota to its southern neighborhoods.

That’s where we come in. We live here, we work here, and we understand the nuances of these communities.

🙋‍♀️ A Personal Note

A quick shoutout to Kaylee and Will—thanks for saying hello at Publix! It’s always a pleasure meeting those who watch our updates. Your support helps us continue to provide timely, transparent, and hyperlocal real estate information.

If you found this update helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and share with friends who are keeping an eye on the market. We’re here to help you make sense of it all—one neighborhood, one statistic, and one conversation at a time.

📧 Have questions about the Sarasota-Manatee real estate market?
Let’s talk. Reach out any time—we’d love to help you navigate this evolving market with confidence.