Naples Market Update | Provided by Naples Area Board of Realtors
Naples Market Report
Naples Market Update | Provided by Naples Area Board of Realtors
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“It has taken some time, but sellers are becoming more realistic with pricing, which is helping to motivate today’s buyers,” said Sherry Stein, CRB, Managing Broker, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty. “Good agents are effectively counseling their sellers on appropriate, market-supported pricing. As a result, we’re seeing fewer sellers who believe they can achieve the prices seen two or three years ago. While those days have passed, recent reports continue to show that home values remain stable.”
The overall median closed price in October increased .9 percent to $575,000 from $570,000 in October 2024. In comparison, the median closed price in October 2019 (pre-pandemic) was $329,790. However, there were 1,161 price decreases in October, which shows a continued cooling trend by sellers.
According to Jeff Jones, Broker at Keller Williams Naples, “Home affordability is improving because interest rates have dropped a full point this year and we had no hurricanes so there was some respite from insurers. People who were on the fence last year are having a much easier time carrying the cost of home ownership this year.”
According to the report, 58 percent of all sales in October were made in cash. “Whether we can sustain this sales pace and values hold like they are is uncertain,” said Budge Huskey, CEO, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. “If Naples was a self-contained market, we wouldn’t be able to sustain current trends on sales and values. However, Naples has garnered attention from around the country and world leading to significant capital investment.”
As pending sales continue to rise, so does overall closed sales, which increased in October 33.4 percent to 663 closed sales from 497 closed sales. The report showed 8.1 months of inventory, which is well below the 12 months our analysts consider to be a balanced market for our area. Overall inventory increased 6.7 percent to 5,386 properties from 5,046 properties in October 2024.
Broker analyst Molly Lane, Senior Vice President at William Raveis Real Estate, said, “Buyers are still concerned that prices are too high. There is some aspirational pricing still out there, but it really depends on the condition of the home and its location. In some cases, however, we are starting to see multiple offer situations, so pricing is not always out of line.”
“The data suggests people are happy with what our market has to offer,” said Huskey. “Quality homes and new construction luxury products are selling at a premium. But Naples defies economic principles because our pace of sales is about 50 percent of what it was at the peak, but the average price is up almost 90 percent.”
“There was good absorption of spec homes in October too,” said Adam Vellano, Managing Director of South and Southwest Florida at Compass Florida. “As people leave the area they seem to be replaced by even wealthier buyers.”
“October’s report was a reminder of what weather can do to the real estate market,” said Mike Hughes, Vice President and General Manager for Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. “Even though two hurricanes didn’t hit us last October, the threat of them suppressed closings in Naples. Incredibly, we had a year with no hurricanes, so buyers and sellers were not reminded of the threat of mother nature.”
The surge in overall new listings came primarily from the condominium market, which increased 42.3 percent in October to 864 new condominium listings from 607 new condominium listings in October 2024. Hughes remarked that many properties that were pulled from the market earlier this year are now, most likely, showing up as rentals. The median closed price of single family homes decreased 2.8 percent to $700,000 from $720,000 in October 2024.
Lane remarked that “Florida has a lot to offer. Many people who live in high income taxed states are finding Florida a better, more affordable place to call home.”