Southwest Florida Market Update: August 2026, Sales Rise in Every Segment as Inventory Tightens

August usually marks the quiet end of summer in Southwest Florida real estate. This year it did not look quiet. Closed sales and new pending sales rose year over year in all four major segments RASM tracks, Sarasota and Manatee counties, single-family and condo, while active inventory and months of supply fell in every one of them. Homes went under contractMLS status terms describing a property's stage in the sales process. "Under contract" (sometimes shown as active-under-contract) generally means a signed contract exists but the listing may still accept backup offers or show contingency status. "Pending" typically means all contingencies have been satisfied and the sale is proceeding to closing, with the property effectively off the market. Exact usage can vary slightly by MLS and by listing agent. faster, sellers kept more of their asking price, and prices themselves barely moved.

The big picture: more sales, fewer listings, steady prices

Add the four county segments together and 1,855 homes closed in August, up 6.7 percent from 1,738 a year earlier, while active listings fell 14.2 percent to 8,065. The strongest gains again came from condos and townhomes, with sales up 13.8 percent in Sarasota County and 20.5 percent in Manatee.

"The trend line continues to tell the story of buyers and sellers finding common ground and seeing a true market value through a similar lens," said David Crawford, 2026 RASM President and Broker/Owner of Catalist Realty.

That is the right lens for this month. Supply keeps shrinking, but instead of pushing prices sharply higher it is showing up as speed and smaller discounts. Median prices rose modestly in three of the four segments and slipped slightly in the fourth.

Single-family: Sarasota is the tightest, Manatee is the strongest on price

Sarasota County single-family supply fell to 3.7 months, down from 5.2 a year ago and 3.9 in July. Active listings dropped 20.8 percent to 2,619 homes, homes went under contract in a median of 47 days versus 69 last August, and sellers received 94.7 percent of original list price, up from 92.3 percent. Closed sales edged up 0.8 percent to 646. The one soft number is price: the median slipped 1.1 percent to $470,000, the only single-family decline in the region.

Manatee County told the stronger price story. The single-family median rose 5.9 percent to $495,000 on 687 closed sales, up 5.7 percent. Sellers received a median 95.6 percent of original list price, the best ratio of any segment, and supply fell to 3.9 months from 4.6. New pending sales rose 4.4 percent while new listings fell 3.7 percent, the reverse of July, when listings were outpacing contracts.

Across the combined North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro, the single-family median rose 2.2 percent to $485,000, supply fell to 3.8 months, and the median time to contract dropped to 46 days from 61.

The luxury tier was mixed

Sales of single-family homes at $1 million or more fell year over year in both counties, down 8.2 percent to 78 in Sarasota County and 6.6 percent to 71 in Manatee. Some bands still grew: in Sarasota County, sales between $1.5 million and $1.99 million rose 46.2 percent to 19, and in Manatee, sales between $1 million and $1.24 million rose 26.1 percent to 29.

On the condo side, Sarasota County recorded 21 sales of $1 million or more, up 10.5 percent year over year but well below the 41 recorded in July. That matters for anyone reading headline averages. July's Sarasota condo average price jumped 62.7 percent on that luxury surge; in August the average rose 4.7 percent. The median is the better guide to what most homes are doing.

Condos: Manatee turns positive, Sarasota speeds up

Manatee County condos were the standout segment of the month. Closed sales rose 20.5 percent to 241, the median price rose 5.4 percent to $307,000, and months of supply fell to 4.9 from 6.4. In July this was the last segment in the region still showing a year-over-year price decline, so August marks a clear turn.

Sarasota County condos closed 281 sales, up 13.8 percent, at a median of $310,000, up 3.3 percent. Median time to contract improved to 83 days, from 87 a year ago and 92 in July, and pending inventory rose 24.4 percent to 587. Sellers received 91.6 percent of original list price, up from 88.5 percent, which still leaves this as the segment with the most negotiating room for buyers.

Cash remains a major force in the condo market: 59.8 percent of Sarasota County condo sales and 50.6 percent in Manatee were cash purchases, compared with 37.3 and 26.6 percent for single-family homes.

Still a normal market, not a distressed one

Foreclosures and short sales remain a very small share of activity. Across the metro, 16 of 1,333 single-family closings and 5 of 522 condo closings were distressed sales. Sarasota County single-family foreclosures did rise to 9 from 2 a year earlier, a number worth watching, but traditional sales still made up more than 98 percent of closings in every segment.

What this means for buyers

The negotiating room that existed in 2025 keeps shrinking, but prices are not running away from you. The challenge this fall is speed and competition for the best-priced homes.

• Single-family supply is under four months in both counties, so get fully pre-approved before you tour and be ready to act on a well-priced home
• Sellers are accepting roughly 95 percent of original list price on single-family homes; expect modest, not deep, discounts
• Sarasota County condos still offer the most room to negotiate, with sellers conceding a median 8.4 percent off original asking
• For any condo, review the reserve study, insurance costs, and assessment history before you fall in love with the unit

What this means for sellers

Your position improved again in August, but the gains came through speed and smaller concessions rather than higher prices.

• Homes went under contract faster than a year ago in all four major segments
• Sellers received a larger share of original list price in every segment, from 91.6 percent for Sarasota condos to 95.6 percent for Manatee single-family
• Prices were steady, not surging, so price to current comparable sales rather than to what a neighbor hoped for last spring
• Condo sellers should have building documents ready up front; buyers are moving faster but they are not skipping due diligence

The bottom line

August extended a trend that has now held through the summer: more buyers are closing, fewer homes are available, and the gap between asking and selling price keeps narrowing. Prices are steady rather than climbing fast, which keeps the market grounded. As RASM put it in its release, results still depend heavily on location, property type, and price point.

I publish the full numbers for Sarasota County, Manatee County, and the broader metro every month on my market reports page, both single-family and condo. If you want to know what this means for your neighborhood, your building, or your price range, reach out and I will pull the numbers for you.

Market figures in this post are from the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee August 2026 release, published September 16, 2026, compiled by Florida REALTORS® from Stellar MLSA shared database that real estate brokers and agents use to list properties for sale and share information about them with other licensed professionals. Stellar MLS is the primary multiple listing service covering Sarasota and Manatee counties; most public home-search portals pull their listing data from an MLS feed, often with a delay or limitations compared to what agents see directly..