For the past two years, my blog has highlighted continuous growth in the Naples real estate market. In fact, there hasn’t been a single month without growth over the past year or past quarter since 2012.
So it’s no surprise to see that the market has stabilized this past month, with sales activity steady or even down a bit in most areas of town and in most price categories.
Overall, August sales are down 2% compared to last year.
But overall closed prices are up 14%.
As we’ve noted over the last few months, a tight inventory of homes for sale is the critical variable in the current market. We see particular impact of that tight inventory in two primary areas: condos in the Naples Beach area, and homes in the $300,000 and below price range.
Up in the Naples Beach area, condo inventory dropped a notable 28% when compared to last year at this time. Sales were down proportionally. Prices, on the other hand, jumped 7% over August 2013. It’s the classic law of supply and demand at work.
Historically, the most active segment of the Naples real estate market is the “Under 300” price bracket. Here, overall inventory is down 20% when compared to this time last year. But when we take a closer look, we see that the number of single-family homes in this price category is actually up a solid 20% over last year’s inventory. The overall drop comes from a significant reduction in the number of “under 300” condominiums available right now. And with that drop in inventory we see a jump in price; the median price in this price category rose 13%.
New construction impacts pending homes sales is new construction, which continues to swell across our area. However, to be honest, the rising inventory of newly constructed homes will not help buyers looking for homes in the under $300,000 price category because there are few available.
While many home sales in Naples continue to be cash sales, it’s interesting to note that financed sales are on the rise. Qualified buyers are searching the Naples market with financing ready to roll.
Rest assured, the market hasn’t dried up. We see plenty of demand for homes in Naples, both single-family homes and condominiums, at all points on the price spectrum. Our economic indicators are strong, and Naples remains a highly desirable community. One appraiser remarked that she thought we had seen the top of the current economic cycle a year ago…but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
I will continue to keep abreast of real estate trends across the Naples market. Our market is complex, with variations from area to area and across price categories. If you’d like to talk about your particular needs, don’t hesitate! I’ll be waiting to hear from you!
