How did we get to the point of having a ten year high of inventory in Venice real estate?

Beyond the interest rates being higher than they were a few years ago, something very specific occurred last year.

Keep in mind that a single hurricane will certainly cool down the buyer pool. Now consider what happens when we have 3 in row?

We had Debbie in August, Helena in September, and Milton in October of 2024.

At that point the active buyer pool shrank dramatically. 

However, owners continued to list their properties for sale which naturally grew the amount of inventory for the few active buyers to choose from.

Then the annual slow down of buyers from mid-November though mid-January became the icing on this awful tasting cake, and TA-DA… 

Now Sarasota County has nearly double the 5 year average of monthly inventory.

I keep hearing from people that this inventory situation should start to correct itself in May.

That would seem highly unrealistic in my professional opinion.

As the chart below shows the price growth in Venice Florida from 2015 to 2025, you can clearly see that the 40% price increase from 2019 to 2021 was completely unnatural. In my opinion, it should have never happened and is also unsustainable.

This was just one of the very negative effects of the pandemic. We are now living through the aftermath of that damage to the real estate market.

With double the average inventory, and less than the average amount of closings, the most serious sellers are adjusting their prices as needed to be one of the few listings to go under contract each week. It appears that everyone else is just waiting for a buyer in vain.