Sarasota Area Real Estate Market Update: August 2026 - New Listings and Under Contract

Closed sales tell you what already happened. New listings and pending sales tell you where the market is heading, and the August 2026 numbers point one direction: tighter. According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee (RASM), whose August report was released September 16, both closed and pending sales rose year over year in every major segment in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, active inventory declined, and the strongest gains came from condos and townhouses. Fewer homes came on the market in August, the ones that arrived priced realistically moved to pending quickly, and months of supply kept falling. This is the full Sarasota real estate market report on new listings, under-contract activity, and inventory for the month, with the source for every figure.

I am Kim Donahue, REALTOR with Medway Realty, license SL3352997, and I have been tracking this market for more than 30 years. These are the numbers I watch most closely, because they tell me what is coming next. Where a monthly figure is not published by the official sources, I mark it plainly and give you the freshest verified reading, the same way I do in every update.

Single-Family Homes: New Listings and Pending Sales

New supply stayed thin all month. Sarasota County's weekly MLS tallies ran 197 to 250 new listings per week through August, about 901 across the four full weeks, and the official inventory figures kept falling: RASM's July report put Sarasota County single-family active listings at 2,736, down 23.4% from a year earlier, and the August release confirmed inventory declined again. Redfin's mid-2026 review of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro reached the same conclusion, with new listings running about 9% below the prior-year period. The supply squeeze has two familiar causes: homeowners who bought or refinanced at low rates are staying put, and new construction, while active in Parrish, North Port, and Wellen Park, is not closing the gap.

Demand, meanwhile, kept climbing. Pending sales in Sarasota County ran 204 to 236 per week, roughly 873 across the month, and RASM confirmed that pending sales rose year over year in both counties in every segment. In Venice, the August market report showed 200 single-family homes under contract against 430 active listings, a ratio that tells you the best-priced homes are not sitting. The Realtor.com metro series added one more signal: median list prices ran about 4% below August 2025, which is not a price collapse. It is sellers pricing into the market's reality from day one, which is exactly why so many of those listings are moving straight to pending.

Condos: New Listings and Pending Sales

The condo and townhome segment is where August's supply-demand story sharpened. RASM reported the largest year-over-year gains of any segment in pending sales for condos and townhouses in both counties, and the math underneath it is straightforward: Sarasota County condo and townhome inventory has shrunk to 1,782 actives, down about 11% year over year, while sales volume has climbed more than 30%. Months of supply fell from 7.5 to 5.6 over the past two months, the sharpest tightening of any property type in the region. Buyers who sat out the condo correction are now competing for a shrinking pool.

Two honest caveats belong here. First, days to contract still run long, at 92 median days in July, so condo buyers are deliberate: they review reserve studies, meeting minutes, and insurance costs before they commit, and that is smart behavior. Second, the freshest single-month details for the segment come from the July report because the official sources publish on a lag; the August release confirmed the direction. If you are considering a condo, the window of wide selection is closing, and the segment that offered the most negotiating room two years ago now moves on its own timetable.

Townhouses: New Listings and Pending Sales

One honest note before the townhouse numbers: every source that publishes this market tracks condos and townhouses as a single segment, so a townhouse-only weekly or monthly figure does not exist. RASM, the local MLS summaries, and the weekly tallies all report the combined condo and townhome category, and townhouses are the smaller share of it. The combined figures above are, for practical purposes, the townhouse market's report card: inventory down roughly 11% year over year, pending sales up more than any other property type, and supply tightening the fastest in the region.

What that means on the ground: townhouse buyers in communities from Lakewood Ranch to Venice are finding fewer options and more competition than they did a year ago. The segment still offers the value gap buyers want, pricing between condos and single-family homes, but the days of touring a dozen townhomes and choosing are over. If a townhome fits how you want to live, the right move is to be pre-approved and ready before the next one lists, not after it goes pending.

Inventory Levels and Months of Supply

The months-of-supply table shows a region that is not uniform, but is tightening almost everywhere. Sarasota County's single-family market operated near 3.9 months of supply in July, the tightest of the three counties, and the August report shows inventory declining further. Manatee County's single-family months of supply is not published separately by the sources I use, but its sales volume rose 11.2% year over year in July with active inventory falling, which describes a tight market even without the single number. Charlotte County remains the balanced-to-buyer-friendly outlier at 5.8 months overall, still the region's value market.

Absorption Rate Analysis

Absorption rate measures how quickly available homes sell. In Charlotte County, where the data is cleanest, 524 closings against roughly six months of supply works out to about 17% of inventory absorbed per month, a healthy, balanced rate. In Sarasota County's single-family market, the weekly closing pace of 110 to 140 homes implies roughly 480 to 560 closings in a full month against active inventory near 2,600 to 2,700, an absorption rate in the high teens to about 20% per month. That is a rate consistent with a seller-leaning market and with the price stability the region has shown all year.

The condo and townhome segment is the one worth watching: 318 closings in July against 1,782 active listings is an absorption rate near 18% per month, but with 92 median days to contract, each sale takes longer to complete. The combination, rising volume and long decision cycles, is typical of a market where buyers are serious but thorough. If pending sales keep rising at the August pace, condo inventory will keep shrinking, and the negotiating leverage buyers enjoyed in that segment in 2024 and 2025 will keep fading.

What This Means for Buyers and Sellers

For buyers: the inventory picture is not improving, and waiting is likely to mean fewer options, not better ones. Sarasota County single-family supply sits near 4 months and is falling, new listings are running about 9% below last year's pace, and the segment with the most room, condos and townhouses, is tightening the fastest. The practical strategy is unchanged and now more urgent: get pre-approved, decide on your must-haves, and be ready to act on the right property when it lists. In Charlotte County, you still have genuine time and negotiating room, which is why it remains the strongest value play in the region.

For sellers: the market is moving in your favor across all three property types, but it rewards accuracy, not ambition. Homes priced within 2% to 3% of current market value are moving to pending within weeks, while homes that carry a 2022-era premium sit and accumulate days on market. Median list prices running about 4% below last year are not a warning to price low. They are a sign that the listings moving fastest are the ones priced honestly on day one.

Kim's Expert Commentary on Supply and Demand

The most important dynamic in this market is a supply problem with no fast fix. We are not building enough homes to replace what sells, and existing owners are staying put because their mortgage rates are lower than today's. Even if rates ease, the inventory pipeline takes months to respond, and the new listings data shows no surge coming. For buyers who are ready and qualified, waiting for selection to improve is the choice most likely to disappoint.

The condo and townhome turnaround is the story I find most encouraging, because it happened for the right reasons. Florida's new reserve requirements created a long, necessary reset, and the buyers coming into the segment now are doing the homework that reset demanded: they review reserve studies, budget for assessments, and ask about insurance. That careful demand is durable. It is not the speculative wave of 2021. It is the kind that holds value, and it is why the segment's recovery has legs into the fall.

For the full picture of what closed in August and at what prices, read the companion post: Sarasota Market Update: August 2026 - Homes Sold. To see last month's supply picture, go back to the July new listings report. For the buying side, the Buying Guide covers preparation, and the Selling Guide covers pricing, preparation, and timing.

Reach me at (941) 724-2587 or schedule a conversation. I am Kim Donahue, REALTOR with Medway Realty, license SL3352997, serving buyers and sellers across Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte Counties.