According to the August 2024 Market Report by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), closed sales in August decreased by 27.8% to 524 from 726 in August 2023. The median closed sale price for homes in the Naples, Florida, area was essentially unchanged versus August 2023, yet there were 1,096 price decreases. While this is the lowest number of price decreases reported for a month so far in 2024, it does indicate that sellers are continuing to adjust their expectations to better reflect today’s housing market realities.
Even though monthly inventory levels have risen compared to 2023, they have been decreasing over the last five months. In March, the Naples area had 5,283 properties in inventory. Yet by the end of August, inventory had decreased 28% to 4,127 properties. Though compared to August 2023, inventory still increased by 40.3% from 2,942 properties. New listings, which fuel overall inventory growth, have also been decreasing since March. But, while down 5.4% compared to last August, new listings increased 6.5% compared to July 2024.
While sales of properties priced over $5 million are performing better than lower priced categories, it is taking longer for them to sell. Condominium sales in this top price category increased 28.1% to 41 condominiums over $5 million in August compared to 32 condominiums over $5 million in August 2023. Single family home sales in this price category for August increased 3.2% to 161 single family homes over $5 million from 156 single family homes over $5 million in August 2023. Days on market for properties priced over $1 million have risen to 97 days, compared to our market average of 82 days. And while the report shows that we have six months of inventory overall, in the $1 million and above market, there is currently eight months of inventory.
Buyers of condominiums should work closely with a REALTOR® to determine the full cost of ownership. Especially for coastal condos three stories and higher that are 25 years or older, the costs of ownership may rise significantly due to flood risk, increasing insurance costs, and the results of now mandatory milestone structural inspections, which may require associations to substantially increase reserves and/or make costly repairs.