Signs Show Naples Housing Market is Regaining Balance
Overall inventory in Naples during April increased 16.5 percent to 1,668 properties from 1,432 properties in April 2021. Fueled by a rise in new single-family home listings, up 5.7 percent over this time last year, broker analysts reviewing the April 2022 Market Report by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), are confident the Naples area housing market has reached a crossroad and is making its turn toward a balanced and healthy market.
“It’s been thirty months since we’ve seen this many single-family home sellers enter our market in one month,” said Bill Coffey, Broker Manager of Amerivest Realty Naples. Coffey, along with several top brokers in Naples, say the shift indicates the Naples area housing market is redefining itself. Another major factor that signified the market was self-correcting to a new normal in April were the 549 price reductions (33 percent of the inventory) during the month. “What we are seeing today are more sellers setting realistic list prices from the start and more buyers less willing to settle for homes that don’t meet their exact needs and desires,” said Brenda Fioretti, Broker Associate at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, who added that the report showed “we now have 1.5 months of inventory, the highest level since March 2021.” Typically, the Naples area has 5-6 months of inventory listed at any one time. Demand for the Naples lifestyle remains strong. Days on market for April was 16 days, considerably less than the historic 90-day average. As inventory begins to rise, days on market may increase and list prices in some neighborhoods may shift down slightly; but broker analysts agree that we should not expect home prices to drop to anywhere near pre-pandemic levels. “There is virtually no data in the MLS for home sales below $300,000,” said Molly Lane, Senior Vice President at William Raveis Real Estate. Coffey remarked that the $300,000 and below market was once the biggest category for closed sales in Naples. But rapid sales during the last 18 months severely depleted inventory in this price category. As such, there were only 96 properties below $300,000 in April’s inventory. The overall median closed price in April increased 39.2 percent to $599,000 from $440,000 in April 2021. The uptick reflects the low number of sales in the $300 and below price category. Median closed prices continue to rise in the single-family home market, up 8.7 percent from March, but median closed prices during April in the condominium market decreased 1.1 percent from March.
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