Condos Popular; Properties Sitting on Lee County Market Longer

(Fort Myers, FL – September 21, 2017) – According to the latest data just released by Florida Realtors®, Condos skyrocketed in popularity last month. Properties spent more time on the market in August than usual, but sale prices were up.

The number of Pending Sales for Condos shot up more than 20% year-over-year in August. There were 602 Condos that were listed as New Pending Sales, compared to 499 in 2016. Single Family Home Pending Sales were up almost 4%, from 1,222 to 1,269.

Median Sale Prices were up slightly for both Single Family and Condos. Single Family Homes sold for a Median Price of $239,900, compared to $225,000 a year ago, a change of 6.6%. Condos sold for a Median Price of $175,000, up almost 7% from $163,799 in August 2016.

Single Family Homes sat on the market a lot longer in August (69 days) than they did at the same time last year (57 days). The Months Supply of Inventory was relatively unchanged from 4.5 months last year to 4.4 months this year.

City-by-city, Fort Myers Beach and Pine Island had the biggest jumps in the number of Closed Sales last month. Sanibel/Captiva saw the biggest drop. At the same time, Sanibel/Captiva saw the biggest drop in Median Sale price year-over-year, while Pine Island saw the biggest jump.

Source: Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association

August Home Sales Show Increased Consumer Confidence Naples, Fla.

(September 29, 2017) – August proved to be an outstanding month for the Naples area housing market with more pending and closed sales than last August. Broker analysts reviewing the August 2017 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which track home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), said sales of 685 homes was impressive for August, up 5 percent compared to August 2016. This was encouraging to broker analysts since inventory increased by only 20 properties compared to August’s inventory last year.

“This turned out to be a great summer for sales in Naples,” said Brenda Fioretti, Managing Broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty. “Overall pendings in August were up 13 percent, overall sales were up 5 percent, and there were some nice surprises in the report that we didn’t expect to see.”

These surprises included a 75 percent increase in pending sales and a 42 percent increase in closed sales for single-family homes located in South Naples. The August report also showed single-family homes in this geographic area had a 22 percent decrease in median closed price.

The condominium market performed just as well as the single-family home market in August, reporting a similar 13 percent increase in pending sales. The Pending Home Sales statistic is a forward-looking indicator that is based on contract signings.

Fioretti believes summer’s sales activity outpaced last year’s because of renewed consumer confidence. “Buyer traffic continued to exceed our expectations in August.”

The overall median closed price for August was $328,000, a 2 percent increase over August 2016. Geographically, prices in the Naples Beach area continue to rise faster than all other areas tracked. In fact, median closed prices for single-family homes in the Naples Beach area increased 32 percent in August.

Median closed price for single-family homes jumped 10 percent in August to $422,000. This initially surprised broker analysts but, as reflected in the report, this figure was heavily influenced by 17 sales in the $2 million and above single-family home market, which saw a 54 percent increase in median closed price. All other price categories in the single-family home market reported median closed price increases of 5 percent or below.

However, when taking a long look at closed pricing trends (12-month ending), August’s median closed price for single-family homes was $405,000, the same as August 2016. Median closed price actually dropped 5 percent for single-family homes over $300,000 to $510,000 for the 12-month ending August 2017 from $535,000 in the 12-months ending August 2016.

“One big sale at the top of the price bracket can influence the monthly report’s median closed price,” said Dominic Pallini, NABOR® President and Broker at Vanderbilt Realty. For example, there were 20 total closed sales in the $2 million and above market in August. Therefore, this means 10 sales were below $4.2 million and 10 sales were above $4.2 million.

Overall inventory for August barely budged with a total of 4,807 homes compared to 4,787 in August 2016. Single-family home inventory decreased 4 percent, while the condominium market saw a 6 percent increase in inventory for August.

“Single-family home inventory under $300,000 may be lingering on the market because of necessary interior or exterior remodeling or improvements,” said Pallini, who then pointed out that the report showed only 278 single-family homes under $300,000 were left on the market at the end of August.

Inventory for condominiums priced below $300,000 in August increased by 133 units to 1,107 total units available. This was the highest increase (14 percent) of all property types and price categories reported in the month.

Fioretti added that, statistically, major weather events impact housing market sales, and Hurricane Irma was no exception. In agreement, Wes Kunkle, President and Managing Broker at Kunkle International Realty, added that he actively watches the Southwest Florida MLS, and there was virtually no activity in it for almost two weeks following the storm.

“We won’t truly know the impact of Hurricane Irma on the area’s housing market for a few months,” said Tom Bringardner, Jr., President/CEO of Premier Commercial, who added that “the event presents a great opportunity for sellers to refresh their homes and make them more appealing to buyers before season starts.”

Inventory continued to tighten in August with a 6.83-months’ supply for single-family homes and a 6.18- months’ supply for condominiums, according to the August 2017 Market Report.

Bringardner and all broker analysts agreed that the county’s hurricane building code standards saved the area’s housing market from severe destruction. NABOR® and its board of directors also want to recognize and thank the combined efforts of county government, its leaders, and members of all emergency management and preparedness teams, as well as the Naples resident Governor Rick Scott, and utility providers, both public and private. The fast response and citizen-led restoration of our beloved community is a testament to the integrity of its people.

Source: NABOR