Records of the houses are piling up in Florida – 2 large cities make hot markets for buyers

The number of houses that are piling up on the Florida market has reached record highs for two months in a row – and two cities in particular become hot markets for buyers because prices drop dramatically.

In February, 168,717 houses in the Sunshine State came onto the market, the highest number in the history of Realor.com® data that goes back to July 2016 – and almost 40% higher than a year ago.

Orlando led the list of Florida metros, in which the largest existing gains with an increase of 43.8% compared to the previous year, followed by Cape Coral with 42.7% and Miami with 39.2%.

“For the sales house supply, the state has risen annually since May 2022, but has only exceeded the pre-pandemy level since mid-2024,” says Realor.com Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones. “High real estate prices and mortgage interests have deleted the demand in the state, which has led to a structure in the home stock.”

The upswing in February was followed by the historic inventory thrust in January, in which 157,221 houses on the market across the state rose by 33.1%. This was the highest number ever recorded by Realor.com before it was exceeded a month later by more than 100,000 entries.

2 golf coast cities appear as hot markets for buyers

When the inventory stays and prices fall, two golf coastal cities sarasota and Bradenton are clearly more buyer-friendly.

“Home buyers in Bradenton and Sarasota are spoiled with climbing inventory, falling prices and longer times on the market,” says Jones. “Buyers will probably find more flexibility of the sellers, since homeowners want to attract the attention of buyers.”

The January report of the Realor Association of Sarasota and Manate (Rasm) reflects the latest data from Realor.com and shows a decline in the average prices and an increase in financial or “closed” sales, which indicates that the market becomes softer.

Bradenton, FL

In Bradenton, a city with 57,000 inhabitants south of Tampa, the middle list prices have continuously declined since March 2023, after they had instructed USD 549,000 in June 2022, according to Jones.

From January of this year, a typical house in Bradenton cost 432,000 US dollars, more than 100,000 US dollars a year and a half ago.

At the same time, residential properties in Bradenton stayed on the market for 67 days in January, three days ago more than a year ago and more than 40 days longer compared to the amount of the Covid 19 pandemic.

From January, the number of sales sales in Bradenton was 1,900, from around 1,600 in January before the pandemic.

In the surrounding manatee County there were a total of 498 single-family houses and marked an increase of a little more than 22% compared to a year ago, according to the Rasm report. The average sales price fell 8.6%to $ 480,000.

Manatee County ended in January with 2,907 active entries, with the median time rose to a whopping 98 days by 14%.

“While sales are closed, inventory growth still exceeds demand and leads to one
extended months offer, “says Debi Reynolds2025 Rasm President and Managing Broker from Sarabay Real Estate. “This shift offers buyers opportunities and at the same time emphasizes the importance of strategic prices for sellers.”

Sarasota, FL

In the city of Sarasota, which is located on the golf coast south of Tampa, the middle list prices fell according to the latest available figures from Realtor.com almost every month from November 2023 to January 2025.

The average list price reached a high point of 725,000 US dollars in July 2023, but until January of this year it rejected $ 575,000.

Houses in Sarasota generally stayed on the market for 67 days in January, two more days compared to the same time in the last year – and almost 40 days longer than during the highlight of the pandemic.

According to the January report from Rasm, the use of single-family houses in the surrounding Sarasota County in January was sold by 6.8% and 520 houses.

At the same time, the local house stock rose by more than 30%compared to January 2024, which means that potential buyers offer more options to choose from and make the market less competitive.

The district recorded the average time for sale to 85 days, with more than 2,900 active lists remaining by the end of January.

Cool up the town house and condominium sector

Townhomes and condominiums in the counties of Sarasota and Seekonte were longer on the market than before and were more affordable than a year ago.

In Sarasota, the number of townhouses and condominiums rose to 2,463 last month, while the middle sales price dropped 17.4%to USD 347,000.

Similarly, in Manatee County, in which Bradenton is located, the roster of the active lists 1.714, since the mean sales price had dropped by more than 6%to $ 335,990.

Townhomes and condominiums were not sold for more than 85 days in both counties and strengthened the negotiating power of the buyers.

“Median property prices have adapted to the increasing stock, especially on the Sarasota condominium market,” says Reynolds. “With townhomes and condominiums in both countries of more than eight months of the offer, market conditions now prefer buyers.”