Data Analysis

Homes mapped inside a FEMA flood zone made up 1,917 of 8,753 active listings in Sarasota and Manatee counties on October 30, 2026, and ran at 5.2 listings per contract against 3.4 in zone X.

Flood zone listings had been on the market a median 126 days against 99 in zone X. The gap is widest in Manatee County and above $1 million.

On October 30, 2026, our live Stellar MLS map showed 1,917 of 8,753 active listings in Sarasota and Manatee counties, about 22 percent, mapped inside a FEMA special flood hazard area (zones A or V). Those listings were matched by 367 pending or under-contract homes, about 5.2 listings per contract. Listings mapped to zone X ran at 3,347 against 973, about 3.4 to 1. The median flood zone listing had been on the market 126 days, against 99 days in zone X. For single-family homes between $1 million and $1,999,999, the gap was 6.5 to 1 against 2.4 to 1. All MLS figures are ours, computed from Stellar MLS records; information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

This is a carrying-cost story, so it sits beside our earlier Sarasota coverage. Our October 29 article on Sarasota million-dollar homes covered the luxury tier, and our October 27 roundup of Sarasota-Manatee new home communities covered builders. Completed-month prices are in our Sarasota median price and Sarasota days on market articles, and the full series is on the Sarasota market data hub. We ran the same test today for Pinellas County and Charlotte County.

Which Sarasota and Manatee places have the most listings in a flood zone?

Source: Momentum Research, computed from Stellar MLS records, live map snapshot, October 30, 2026. Flood zone means the listing's mapped location falls in a FEMA zone beginning with A or V. Place follows the listing's mailing city; Anna Maria Island combines Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach. Contracts combine pending and under contract. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

The two counties split sharply. In Sarasota County, excluding Longboat Key, flood zone listings ran at 4.3 per contract against 4.1 in zone X, close to even. In Manatee County the figures were 6.2 against 3.1, so a flood zone listing there faced about twice as many competing listings per buyer. Bradenton drove most of that gap, with 297 flood zone listings and only 36 contracts.

The city of Sarasota ran the other way. Flood zone listings there went under contract faster than zone X listings, 3.9 against 5.8, and 345 of its 618 flood zone listings were condos, many in downtown and bayfront buildings. The barrier islands carried the slowest pace: Longboat Key at 11.1 per contract and Anna Maria Island at 8.5, where 187 of 221 active listings were mapped in a flood zone. In Lakewood Ranch, only 4 of 293 active listings were.

Do flood zone homes sell slower at every price?

Source: Momentum Research, live map snapshot, October 30, 2026, single-family listings in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Below $300,000, flood zone homes moved a little faster than zone X homes. The gap opened above $500,000 and was widest from $1 million to $1,999,999. Flood zone exposure also rises with price: 292 of the 524 single-family listings at $2 million or more, about 56 percent, were mapped in a flood zone, against 32 of 334 under $300,000.

Condos did not show the same pattern. Flood zone condo listings ran at 4.6 per contract and zone X condos at 5.1. Manufactured homes were slow on both sides, at 9.1 against 6.9. New construction moved at nearly the same pace in and out of a flood zone, 2.2 against 2.0, but flood zone new construction asked a median of $894,566 against $409,999 in zone X. Among all flood zone listings, 655 had been on the market 180 days or more.

Why would flood zone homes take longer to sell?

The listing data cannot show buyers' reasons, but the cost lines are clear. A home in a FEMA special flood hazard area bought with a federally backed mortgage requires flood insurance, which is billed separately from the homeowners policy. Our Sarasota home insurance cost page estimates about $2,260 a year for a typical Sarasota home before flood coverage, scaled from the Citizens Property Insurance average for Sarasota County of $2,470, down 5.5 percent for 2026. Our Bradenton home insurance cost page puts a typical Bradenton home at about $2,120, from a Manatee County average of $2,516, down 3.1 percent. On the islands the estimates are higher because home values are: about $5,890 a year on Longboat Key and $5,400 in Holmes Beach. From January 1, 2027, every Citizens home policy with wind coverage must carry flood insurance, a rule we covered in our Citizens flood requirement article.

What should Sarasota and Manatee buyers and sellers do with this?

Buyers comparing two homes at the same price should price the flood policy, the homeowners policy and any association fee before choosing. Use our flood insurance calculator and the Sarasota County and Manatee County HOA fee pages, and ask the seller for an elevation certificate where one exists. Sellers of flood zone single-family homes above $1 million, and of flood zone homes anywhere in Manatee County, are competing with roughly twice as many listings per buyer as sellers in zone X, so documents that lower a buyer's insurance quote, such as an elevation certificate, a wind mitigation report and permits for post-storm repairs, can matter as much as the price.

People also ask

How many homes for sale in Sarasota and Manatee counties are in a flood zone?

On October 30, 2026, 1,917 of the 8,753 active listings in Sarasota and Manatee counties, about 22 percent, were mapped inside a FEMA zone A or V.

Do flood zone homes sell slower in Bradenton?

In our October 30, 2026 snapshot, yes. Flood zone listings with a Bradenton mailing address ran at 8.2 listings per contract, against 3.3 for Bradenton listings in zone X.

How much is home insurance in Sarasota County?

The Citizens Property Insurance average for Sarasota County is $2,470 for 2026. Our estimate for a typical Sarasota home is about $2,260 a year, before any separate flood policy.

Limitations

Figures are a single live map snapshot taken October 30, 2026, not monthly totals. Flood zone status comes from matching each listing's mapped location to FEMA zone data; it is not a flood determination for any property. Another 3,489 active listings, mostly newer ones with a median of 51 days on the market, had not yet been matched to a zone and are left out of both comparison groups, though they are counted in the 8,753 total. Place follows the mailing city on the listing, which can extend past city limits; Englewood listings are limited to the Sarasota County side of the county line by mapped location, and Lakewood Ranch spans both counties. Contracts combine pending and under contract, and our Stellar map feed can undercount pending listings, which would raise both ratios equally. Days on market is the listing's current count and may reset when a listing is relisted. Insurance figures are our estimates, not quotes. This article is general information, not advice about any specific property, policy or transaction.

Sources

• Momentum Research, computed from Stellar MLS records, Sarasota and Manatee counties, live map snapshot, October 30, 2026. Listings courtesy of Stellar MLS as distributed by MLS GRID. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
• Momentum Research, Sarasota, Bradenton, Longboat Key and Holmes Beach home insurance cost pages, based on Citizens Property Insurance 2026 approved rates.
• Sarasota market data hub, Momentum Research.

Disclosure: Jon Brooks is a co-founder of Momentum Realty, a Florida real estate brokerage that owns and funds Florida Housing Intelligence. Momentum has a financial interest in Florida real estate transactions, including in markets named here. See our editorial standards.