The economy is still struggling, the stock market is tanking and the price of oil may sound great, but is leaving everyone just a little nervous, so where is your money safe? Apparently the Sarasota and Manatee housing market which are soaring and outpacing predictions, seems a good bet.

Henry Fishkind, an economic consultant speaking recently at Manatee Technical College, predicts that Manatee County is on the brink of another great year in housing starts, job growth and domestic migration. In 2015, Manatee County outpaced Sarasota County in population growth bringing in about 8,000 new residents. Fishkind also said that the construction of new homes in Manatee County is back to the same peak level as the prior boom, more than the rest of Florida indicating a higher demand here.

In addition, Manatee County has a competitive edge over Sarasota because of a lower price point on housing. In particular, Lakewood Ranch has created a lot of growth and has made it into the top 10 2015 master planned communities in the country. He indicates that it’s not just retirees moving into Manatee County, but workforce age people as well, which could set the pace for companies also relocating.

According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, the year 2015 “was one for the record books in real estate sales” in both counties. The combined counties closed out the year with an all time record of 20,691 closed transactions, which is 1,302 sales above last year’s numbers.

In Manatee County the number of closed sales for single family properties was down by 2.7 percent from December last year, but the average and median sale prices were both up. Median sale price, where half the sales are above and half below, was up 11.9 percent over December of last year to $262,963, and the average sale price was up 21.4 percent from last December to $355,056.

Closed sales for condo and townhouses in Manatee were also down in December by 4.2 percent, and the average sales price was also down slightly by 0.6 percent to $215,705. The median sale price was up 6.1 percent to $178,249.

Inventory of available properties continued to decline, down 3.2 percent in Manatee County for single family homes, but condo inventory increased 4 percent. Pending sales for December were down for single family homes by 10.1 percent and for condos by 1.4 percent. These numbers reflect the shortage of available properties, which are well below the six-month level that typically defines a normal market. Manatee County currently has a 3.9 month’s supply of single family homes and a 4.3 month’s supply of condos.

Nationally, 2015 sales reached 5.26 million the highest annual level since 2006 according to the National Association of Realtors. However, nationally, inventories of existing homes fell 12 percent in December, ending with a 3.9 month’s supply, exactly the same as Manatee County, the lowest level in nearly 10 years. The national median home price rose to $224,100, up 7.6 percent from a year ago, marking the 46th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains. This is lower than Manatee’s median home price of $262,963, representing an 11.9 percent increase from last December.

As we get further into the winter selling season, it will become clearer if the current shortage of inventory continues pushing up selling prices in a competitive market. Never-the-less be thankful for all of the positive real estate news and predictions for 2016. People always need a place to live with or without a stock portfolio.