August Report Shows a Healthy Housing Market

Indications that the Naples area housing market is transitioning to a balanced market became more evident during August as both inventory and days on the market increased. According to the August 2022 Market Report by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS^® (NABOR^®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), overall inventory increased 71.3 percent to 2,140 properties from 1,249 properties in August 2021. Of the homes on the market during August, 35.8 percent of them (766) experienced a price decrease and the overall list price received for the month slipped slightly to 96.4 percent from 99.2 percent in August 2021. Broker analysts say these factors are attributed to seller and buyer behaviors that resemble a healthy market environment.

While overall closed sales for August decreased 36.7 percent to 669 from 1,057 in August 2021, it increased 5.6 percent compared to July’s closed sales. Historically, closed sales and pending sales (homes under contract) in August do not outperform July’s closed and pending sales. But this year is different. “Pending sales in August increased nearly 20 percent [19.2%] compared to July,” said Bill Coffey, Broker Manager of Amerivest Realty Naples. “This means that people wrote more contracts in August, but we will be tracking to see if this becomes a trend.” The overall median closed price continued to increase in August, up 30.7 percent to $575,000 from $440,000 in August 2021.

The NABOR^® August 2022 Market Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR^® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings for 2022:

While showings were down 13 percent compared to August 2021, they were higher than showings reported during June and July. And there were 5,000 more showings in August compared to showings reported during pre-pandemic August 2019. Incidentally, there were 4,917 properties in inventory during August 2019 compared to 2,140 properties in August 2022.

Brenda Fioretti, Broker Associate at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, mentioned that during NABOR®’s recent Economic Summit, all three economists who spoke at the event agreed on this message to buyers: “Don’t wait for prices or interest rates to go down.” Fioretti encourages buyers sitting on the fence to jump in the market now because interest rates are not expected to go back to previous levels.

If you are looking to sell a home in Naples, contact a Naples REALTOR^® professional who has the ability and expertise to provide you with an accurate market comparison in this fast-moving market, manage your showings to the right audience, evaluate the use of contingencies, and help you negotiate your home sale during a multiple offer process.