Buyers rush Naples’ Luxury Market in November

Naples, Fla. (December 19, 2014) – Sellers in the luxury market can expect a very good buyer turnout in the coming months according to a consensus among Naples’ top brokers after they analyzed the November 2014 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island). Their prediction was based on several factors including overall pending sales activity, which rose 11 percent for homes priced over $1 million; overall closed sales activity, which increased 17 percent for homes priced over $1 million; and that the majority of homes sold in the $2 million and above category were cash sales.

The November 2014 report showed heightened activity in several areas of the luxury market including a 40 percent increase in overall closed sales for single family homes priced $2 million and above from 202 in the 12-months ending November 2013 to 282 in the 12-months ending November 2014; an 11 percent increase in closed sales for condominiums priced $1 million – $2 million from 234 in the 12-months ending November 2013 to 260 in the 12-months ending November 2014; and a 35 percent increase in single family median home prices in the Naples Beach area from $739,000 in the 12-months ending November 2013 to $1,000,000 in the 12-months ending November 2014.

“Median price in the Naples Beach area single family home market can not continue to increase at the current rate indefinitely,” said Cindy Carroll, SRA, with the real estate appraisal and consultancy firm of Carroll & Carroll, Inc., who added that, despite aggressive activity in new construction, the report indicated that inventory in the resale market continued to decline.

Despite a double-digit drop in overall inventory, the Naples area real estate market continued to see positive growth in various price points, categories, home styles and neighborhoods for both pending and closed sales activity in November. With luxury homes at a premium, homeowners that decide to sell in Naples now may begin to encounter more cash offers. Navigating the complexity of these real estate transactions can be made easier with guidance from a Naples REALTOR®, of which I am proud to be.