Sarasota's Condo Comeback Is Really Two Markets. The Median Shows the One Most Buyers Are Shopping.

How did the average Sarasota County condo sell for more than $1 million in September 2026, when the typical one sold for $335,000? Both figures come from the same month and the same report. In September 2026, the county recorded 309 condo and townhome closings at a median price of $335,000, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier. The average sale price was $1,082,129, up 157.9 percent.

The gap between those two numbers explains the whole market. Ten closings at the very top pulled the average up. The median reflects the condos most buyers will actually tour, and at that level, sellers still accept less than their original asking price.

Ten closings moved the average

The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee's Q3 2026 report counted ten Sarasota County condo and townhome sales of $10 million or more in the third quarter. A year earlier there were none, and all ten closed in September. Another 15 sold between $5 million and $10 million during the quarter, compared with one in Q3 2025.

Those ten sales account for at least $100 million of September's condo dollar volume, since each one closed at $10 million or more. Total condo and townhome volume that month was $334.4 million. In September 2025 it was $96.5 million. The ten largest closings of September 2026 likely add up to more money than every Sarasota County condo sale from September 2025 combined.

RASM's own report says these large transactions explain Sarasota's jump in average prices, because averages react much more than medians to a few very expensive sales. Across the county line, Manatee County's Q3 2026 condo and townhome average rose just 5.7 percent, to $348,886, which stayed close to its $307,000 median.

At the median, sellers are still giving ground

At the typical price, the condo market looks very different from the headlines. In Q3 2026, Sarasota County condo and townhome sellers received a median of 92.0 percent of their original list price. That is an improvement from 88.4 percent a year earlier. It still means the typical seller closed about 8 percent below their first asking price. September was slightly firmer at 93.0 percent.

Single-family homes in the same county had less room to negotiate. In Q3 2026, single-family sellers received a median of 94.4 percent of their original list price, and the county ended September with 3.7 months of single-family supply. Condos and townhomes ended with 4.9 months. RASM calls the condo figure "closer to balance."

Local brokers say the same. In Sarasota Magazine's Q3 market coverage, Greg Wood, a Venice-based broker, said, "I've seen what I would call ridiculous offers be accepted by sellers." His advice to buyers was, "If you like the house and you're in the ballpark, make an offer." The same article noted that Sarasota condo and townhome medians are still below the levels recorded through much of 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The timing data shows where condo deals still slow down. In Q3 2026, the median time for a Sarasota County condo to go under contract edged down from 87 days to 86. The median time from listing to closing went up, from 129 days to 133. Condos are reaching contract a little faster, but the full sale is taking longer to finish. Even in September, the fastest month, the median listing still took 131 days to close. If you are buying a condo, plan your schedule around that full time to close. The days to contract give an incomplete picture.

Two kinds of buyer are driving the median

If luxury closings explain the average, the higher sales count has a separate explanation. In September 2026, condo and townhome closings rose 34.3 percent year over year and new pending sales rose 19.3 percent. The local reporting points to two groups of buyers.

1. Cash buyers. In Q3 2026, 60.9 percent of Sarasota County condo and townhome sales were paid in cash. For single-family homes, the figure was 37.6 percent.
2. Buyers whose obstacle is the down payment. According to Sarasota Magazine, Wood said lenders are seeing buyers who earn enough to qualify for a monthly payment but struggle to come up with the down payment and closing costs. A condo's lower price can make that easier. In Q3 2026, the gap between the county's condo median of $324,380 and its single-family median of $485,000 was about $160,000.

Both groups were able to come back because worry about special assessments has eased. After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida increased scrutiny of condominium finances and structural maintenance, and buyers feared large assessments. Wood told the magazine "we've definitely come over a lot of that." Buyers still need to understand a building's finances, including possible future assessments.

Distressed sales are not driving the increase. In Q3 2026, Sarasota County recorded six condo and townhome foreclosure or bank-owned sales, compared with five a year earlier, out of more than 900 closings. The extra closings come from ordinary buyers and ordinary sellers.

Why the average may jump again this winter

Upcoming reports will probably show the same split, because more luxury condos are finishing construction in Sarasota. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sarasota Bay is a 20-story Kolter Urban building with 78 residences of roughly 3,500 to nearly 6,000 square feet. In an October 30 update, the project said it expects its first residential closings in November 2026, with move-ins continuing into the winter season. Its first designer-decorated model, Residence 401, is expected to debut around Thanksgiving.

On Lido Key, Rosewood Residences Lido Key has 65 beachfront residences at 1000 Benjamin Franklin Drive. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported in August that it is slated for completion in late 2026 or early 2027.

When buildings like these close several high-priced units in the same month, the county average can rise sharply even if the condo a typical buyer is considering costs no more than it did the month before. Single-family homes show the same effect. Sarasota County's Q3 2026 single-family average rose 20.2 percent, while the median rose 3.7 percent to $485,000. Business Observer reported that September's top sales included a newly built $26 million home at 3990 Higel Ave. on Siesta Key and a nearly $22 million estate on the same island.

The figures that show where your price range stands

RASM's September report listed November 16 as the release date for October data. For a buyer looking at a $300,000 to $500,000 condo, these figures say more than the average sale price:

• Median share of original list price received. At 92 to 93 percent, there is still room to negotiate. If that share rises over the next few months, sellers in the middle of the market are gaining leverage.
• Months of supply. At 4.9 months at the end of Q3 2026, condos are still looser than single-family homes at 3.7.
• Median time to sale. This shows how long your purchase may take to close, beyond the days it takes to reach contract.
• Cash share. If around six in ten buyers pay cash, a financed offer needs clean terms to compete with them.

A few common questions

Are Sarasota condo prices rising? At the median, prices are rising modestly. Sarasota County's condo and townhome median rose 6.4 percent in Q3 2026, to $324,380, and Sarasota Magazine noted that it is still below the levels of much of 2022 through 2024.

Is Manatee County's condo market behaving the same way? It is calmer. In Q3 2026, Manatee's condo and townhome sales rose 13.9 percent to 703, and the median rose 2.3 percent to $307,000. Its average rose 5.7 percent to $348,886, staying close to the median.

Are these figures for the City of Sarasota? No. RASM reports at the county level, so these figures cover Sarasota County as a whole, from barrier-island towers to mainland townhomes.

For a Sarasota condo buyer, the useful questions are what units at your price point actually closed for and how far below their asking prices they sold. Chiaro REALTORS® can pull recent closings for the buildings you are considering, so you can compare asking prices with what units at your price point actually sold for. Reach out to Silvia Chiaro and Chiaro REALTORS® to get access to our private listings and start that comparison.