Naples Home Prices Rising as Inventory Vanishes

With all the recent optimism about the economy in the news (such as the unemployment rate dropping into the low single digits, Naples being named America’s #1 job market by Forbes and Florida’s growth rate picking up steam again), drops in home sales seem to contradict the trend. That is until you consider the cause of the decreasing sales numbers—the vanishing inventory. There are fewer and fewer existing finished homes to sell at the moment, according to a report tracking August home sales released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS. Low inventory of active home listings has measurably impacted the Naples area real estate market (excluding Marco Island).

NABOR reported that overall inventory dropped 20 percent in the $300,000 and below price category in August 2014 compared to August a year ago. With supply disappearing, the median price in the $300K and lower category rose a whopping 13 percent. Low inventory also helped drive down pending and closed sales activity in Naples’ beachfront communities and the area’s overall condominium market.

Available inventory in this highly desirable location was down 28 percent in August compared to the same month last year. Because of low inventory, pending sales dropped 31 percent and closings on condominiums fell 23 percent. In these posh zip codes, median closed prices increased 7 percent from a year ago (from $495,000 to $530,000).

As a result of low inventory on existing homes, we predict new home sales will be on the rise!

If you’d like more details, view NABOR’s entire report at NaplesArea.com. 

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