Buyers can get a deal in Naples
I recently read this article in the USA TODAY by Noelle Knox talking about the Naples real estate market and the unusually high inventory we have at this time. This is actually a great time for buyers to take another look at some of the same properties they may have looked at last year. Prices have come down for sure, but that is natural considering how much they rose in such a short period of time with all the speculators and flippers that entered the market for the first time. Deals are being made and traffic is once again being scene at open houses. Naples has been and always will be a little slice of paradise which is why smart buyers are starting to come back into the market at these reduced prices knowing that the next wave of appreciation is on the horizon. Here’s Noelle’s article:
By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
Ouch. Naples’ real estate market seems to be in a nose dive from last year’s heights. Home sales in the first nine months of the year, for both single-family homes and condos, were off 50%. The inventory of properties on the market is up 300%, to a 21-month supply — three times the national rate. Though the median home price is up 4% year to date, the median price fell 8% in September.
But that could be good news, too. During the real estate boom, the Naples market was overrun with investors, who helped drive up prices far beyond what a median-income family could afford. For middle-class buyers, the falling prices are a welcome relief, says Mike Timmerman, CEO of Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, which collects and analyzes market data.
“As pricing in the market changes, and this is positive, and comes back down, we are opening up” the market to more families, Timmerman says. “We’re still not going to be opening it up enough to cover that income gap, but at least we’re opening it a little.”
There are pockets of Naples where home sales are still healthy, notably the luxury waterfront neighborhoods of Port Royal, Aqualane and Bay Colony.
The article makes a good point that although the median price of a home fell, the appreciation still rose 4% year to date. Now is an excellent time for anyone that has ever considered buying a second home or moving to Naples, Florida. Prices have come back down to reality and your opportunities to find that perfect home to match your criteria have increased with so many homes on the market.
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