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 swell of new single-family home listings, up 5.7 percent over 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.
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. The report also showed 1.5 months of inventory, the highest level since March 2021.
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. 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.
Even though inventory rose 39.5 percent in the single-family home market during April, pent up demand for this property type did not temper its median closed price. Rising mortgage rates are likely reducing the number of buyers who can get pre-qualified for a home purchase in Naples, but it did not negatively impact buyer interest during April. In fact, there were over 200 more showing appointments during the month than reported in March, and 66.7 percent of all closed sales in April were cash sales.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Signs show Naples housing market is regaining balance
