If soon-to-be released data from the Manatee County Property Appraiser's Office is any indication, cooling sales in Southwest Florida real estate market have fallen a few more degrees.

Preliminary numbers show a December drop in the county of more than 28 percent in sales of condominium units compared with December 2004, and 17 percent fewer single-family home sales.

The estimates are based on data through Dec. 27. The appraiser's office says it will release the official numbers next week.

And though the number of units sold in December has dropped noticeably from the year before, the median price has jumped more than 30 percent for single-family homes and nearly 20 percent for condos, according to the estimates.

If the numbers hold true, it will be the county's first year-to-year monthly drop in sales in 21/2 years, according to Dale Friedley, Manatee County land information services director.

For the year, an expected 9.4 percent jump in single-family home sales -- from 8,936 to 9,777 -- would be the slowest rate rise in at least three years. And it would be accompanied by a 34 percent leap in condo sales, from 2,936 to 3,887.

Read more:
http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs....INESS/601070700