Manatee County Home Sales Bucking Trend

In Manatee County, home sales are marching to their own drummer, compared to much of the rest of the state and country, the Bradenton Herald says.

Nationally, the median price for new homes was $217,100 in September, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. That’s a 9.7 percent drop from Sept. 2005, the lowest median home price in two years, and the sharpest year-over-year decline since December 1970.

Manatee’s home sales in September offer a distinct contrast to the national figures. Home prices continued to climb, according to a collection of numbers released by the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office.

“Unless there is a downturn in the last three months, annual appreciation for 2006 will be between 12-14 percent, or comparable to levels in 2003,” Dale Friedley of the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office said in a statement earlier this month.

Annual numbers through September show an appreciation of home costs at about 11.2 percent, with condo appreciation right behind at 9.8 percent.

“We are basically a $1 million market, and I don’t think it’s going to go backwards,” said Mark P. Riley of Mark P. Riley Luxury Real Estate Group.

The median price in Manatee County in September was $309,000, according to the property appraiser’s office. Some Manatee builders continue to offer incentives to encourage people to purchase, including little to no money down Florida mortgages, cars and other amenities.

In contrast to local new home prices, which are holding steady, the median prices of existing home sales fell statewide in Florida in September. The median home price fell 1 percent in September in the Sunshine State, while the number of sales fell 34 percent, according to Florida Association of Realtors data.

Sales figures for Manatee County were not available, but Sarasota County reported a 16 percent decline in median price to $290,000. Manatee and Sarasota share the same Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The often-drastic and highly-debated slowdown in the housing market follows an extended boom in which the lowest Florida mortgage rates in four decades powered sales of both new and existing homes to records for five straight years, helping support the state’s economy.

Analysts say further price declines are probable for both new and existing homes, even as Florida mortgage loan costs remain relatively low.