2013 Market Report for Naples Florida
There’s a lot to report when considering the real estate market in SW Florida. I will begin by taking a broad look at the market, from Naples north through Bonita Springs and Estero. We can break down the market into more specific segments in upcoming posts, but for now I want to at least get the year end results posted before the end of this month. We headed into January fully engaged in “season”. Our rental agents reported that there are very little vacancies, which is a good sign for things to come. I am going to put it out there however, that I do not believe the market is going to grow at quite the same pace as it did in 2013. There are several things effecting today’s market that did not come into play during the last ‘downturn’. I will cover a few of them in this post.
Some interesting *facts:
In 2008 over 26,000 residential properties came on this market in our area, and only 8,700 properties went under contract. A total of only 6,232 actually closed in 2008. By comparison, in 2012 there were 18,630 homes and condos listed in our area, 11,041 pendings and 11,275 closings. Then, last year [2013] we saw 17,800 active residential listings come up on the market [a decrease of 18%], 16,604 under contract, and a total of 12,017 closed sales! This is the highest number of closed sales recorded since 2000!
Average sale price in 2008 was $500,102. –In 2013 it was $431,360, up from $380,735 in 2012, an increase of 18%! A whopping 50.5% of all the closings were in the under $250,000 price range. 28% were in the $250,000-$500,000 range. Less than 8% of all closings last year were listed at or above $1 million. Keep in mind, last month’s pendings [December] in the price range $1 million + was the highest it’s been since December 2004. And although all price ranges show an increase, the under $250,000 range pendings is down 5%, mainly due to the lack of inventory in this pricing segment.
Although the median and average sale prices increased year over year, the average sale price last year was still 37% below the record set in 2006 of $686,015.
Foreclosures and Short Sales are greatly diminished, and presently very few can be found at all in the beach corridor. Those that come on the market typically command higher than the asking price, and almost all are cash sales.
Interest rates continue to remain low, and the lending process is leaning more towards 30 year fixed rate mortgages, fully documented, with extensive safeguards in place protecting lenders against the fraud and no-doc loans that contributed to the last real estate crash.
There are still a lot of investors in the market, and most are cash buyers looking for a good return, whether it be short term or keeping the properties in a portfolio and renting with some cash flow to offset the debt.
Due to the low inventory, appraisers cannot keep up with the rising prices in some areas. Supply and demand is determining an asking price in some markets rather than the traditional analysis comparing recent sales. As an example, we just listed a home in an exclusive golf course community about $100,000 over the comparables simply because there were no other homes for sale in the community…none! The home sold above where it would appraise in less than 30 days! Of course, for cash–and the buyer is very happy!
Well, that’s about it for now—a few interesting tidbits about today’s real estate market in SW Florida. My first post of the 2014 season–hopefully the first of many in the new year! If you would like more detailed information about a specific neighborhood, or an evaluation on your own property in the Naples area, please call Harris Peppe Wells today. We are standing by to assist you. We hope to hear from you soon, and we look forward to earning your future real estate business. 239-370-0574
Thank you and make it a great day,
The Naples Real Estate Blogger
*Data derived from the Southwest Florida MLS. The accuracy is not warranted and should be verified by any person[s] intending to engage in a real estate transaction. Thank you.
