The Bradenton real estate market is usually grouped together with the neighboring Sarasota real estate market to form the Bradenton-Sarasota real estate market for the purposes of statistical analysis. Sarasota and Bradenton were both hit rather hard by the collapse of the sub prime mortgage crisis and the bursting of the Florida real estate bubble, and saw a number of vital statistics fall rapidly following the onset of the crisis. The important question at the present time is whether or not the Bradenton real estate market has bottomed out - there are a number of conflicting opinions and perspectives on this issue, and it will take time to determine which is correct.
An article found in the Herald-Tribune's July 28, 2009 edition found that the progress of the Florida and Sarasota real estate market is somewhat similar to the entirety of the nation. The piece, authored by Michael Braga and Aaron Kessler, found that “Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller Index, which excludes many high-end properties and homes bought with riskier mortgages or cash, showed that home prices in May rose from April in 13 of the 20 cities tracked...The collective good news had even some of the more cautious Florida market watchers saying that the elusive bottom may have coalesced.” This national good news is echoed on the local level by a July 23, 2009 article in the Bradenton Herald, which stated that “Local sales and prices of existing single-family homes fell in June compared to the previous year, but rose slightly from May, according to figures released today.”
The piece, authored by Duane Marsteller, continued to say “Sarasota-Bradenton Realtors sold 789 previously occupied homes, down 8 percent from the 858 sold in June 2009, the Florida Association of Realtors said. But it was a net gain of six homes from May.” An article in the Herald Tribune had some mixed news, finding that “A snapshot of the Sarasota real estate produced by a national housing research firm paints a portrait of a market struggling with the high unemployment brought on by the real estate downturn, but also showing glimmers of stabilization in that all-importaant economic driver.”