The Sarasota and Manatee housing market moved into a more balanced but increasingly seller-leaning position in August. Sales increased while inventory and months of supply declined, creating more competition for the homes that remained available.

A total of 1,874 homes sold across the two counties, up 7.8% from 1,739 sales in August 2025. At the same time, inventory fell from 9,413 to 7,766 homes. Months of supply declined from 4.7 to 3.4 months, moving the region from the middle of the balanced range toward tighter conditions.

This does not mark a return to the extreme seller’s market of 2021, when supply fell below one month and homes often sold within days. Instead, August resembled the more sustainable market conditions seen before the pandemic. Buyers still had time to compare properties, while sellers faced less competition than they did one year earlier.

The region’s median sale price increased modestly, suggesting that prices across the middle of the market were holding steady. The median reached $420,000, up 2.4% from $410,000 in August 2025.

The average sale price moved in the opposite direction, declining 2.8% from $608,000 to $591,000. Because the median increased while the average declined, the results do not indicate a broad drop in home values. They point instead to a change in the mix of properties sold, with fewer expensive transactions pulling the average higher.

Manatee County recorded the stronger median-price increase, rising 2.7% to $423,000. Sarasota County’s median increased 1.2% to $412,000. Average prices declined in both counties, reinforcing the likelihood that sales mix played an important role in the regional figures.

Buyers had fewer homes to choose from than they did last August. Regional inventory declined 17.5%, removing more than 1,600 properties from the market.

The contraction was sharper in Sarasota County, where inventory fell 21.1% to 4,135 homes. Manatee County inventory declined 12.9% to 3,631 homes. Months of supply followed the same pattern, dropping to 3.6 months in Sarasota County and 3.3 months in Manatee County.

Supply remained well above the severe shortages of 2021 and 2022, but the market no longer carried the elevated inventory seen in 2024 and 2025. That shift reduced buyer choice and eased some of the competitive pressure sellers had faced.

Buyer activity improved, and homes moved through the market more quickly. Regional sales reached their highest August level since 2021 and closely matched the pace recorded before the pandemic.

The median time to sell fell from 67 days to 54 days. Sarasota County recorded the larger improvement, falling from 76 to 55 days, while Manatee County declined from 59 to 51 days. Manatee also produced the stronger increase in sales, rising 10.3%, compared with a 5.4% increase in Sarasota County.

These results show that demand strengthened, but buyers were not rushing into every listing. Homes still took much longer to sell than during the unusually fast conditions of 2021 and 2022.

Buyers have less selection than they did last summer, particularly in neighborhoods where inventory has fallen sharply. Competition may increase for updated homes that are priced correctly, but the market still provides more time and negotiating room than the pandemic-era market. Buyers should act promptly when a strong property appears without treating every listing as a multiple-offer situation.

Sellers face fewer competing listings and a stronger sales pace, but pricing discipline remains essential. The market is rewarding homes that match buyer expectations for condition, value, and presentation. Sellers who price above recent comparable sales may still face extended marketing time, even as the broader market tightens.