According to the January 2025 Market Report by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), overall closed sales in the Naples, Florida, area increased 12% in January to 551 closed sales from 492 closed sales in January 2024. And while annual price appreciation has quieted down compared to 2021 and 2022, the median closed price in January still increased 9.4% from January 2024. Yet, overall pending sales decreased 8% in January to 933 pending sales compared to 1,010 pending sales in January 2024, and despite the median closed price increasing, the January report also showed 2,668 list price decreases in January.
The 22.6% increase in new listings during January represents more choices for buyers than they have had during the last five years. January’s inventory of properties held for sale increased 39.5% to 6,808 properties compared to 4,881 properties in January 2024. This increase in inventory may compel buyers to take more time to make a purchase decision, as they are being presented with many more options. It also puts pressure on sellers to be more flexible with their pricing and terms, since they are now competing with other sellers in a “buyer’s market”, where buyers have more bargaining power. Thus, the window for ‘pandemic pricing’ has finally closed.
Furthermore, buyers today face higher ownership costs, especially when it comes to expenses like association assessments, insurance and real estate taxes. It is noteworthy that, according to the January Market Report, closed sales of condominiums increased only 2.9%, while the single family home market saw a 20.9% increase. Furthermore, the median closed price for condominiums actually decreased in January by 2.7% from January 2024, while there was a significant 48.7% increase in inventory for condominiums in January to 3,584 condominiums from 2,411 condominiums in January 2024. Many of the condominiums coming to market are units over 25 years old, affected by recently enacted structural integrity ‘milestone inspection’ requirements, which frequently necessitate a significant increase in assessments, in order to fund repairs or reserves.