Naples, FL (June 25, 2021) – Homes in the Naples area were being sold at 99.1 percent of the list price in May. A tight inventory and buyer demand continued to push prices upward in May, which resulted in an overall median closed price increase of 29.4 percent to $433,500 from $335,000 in May 2020, according to the May 2021 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island). Broker analysts reviewing the report predict continued price increases in 2021, but noted monthly showing and sales activity is beginning to show signs of deceleration from the remarkable market experienced during the first quarter of 2021.
Cash sales in May accounted for 58.4 percent of the closed sales transactions. The cash buyers continued to create challenges for competing buyers who required financing. It took an average of 90 days for a home to go from list to contract in May 2020, but in May 2021, the average days on the market was reduced to 43 days, a 52.2 percent decrease.
The May Market Report showed overall closed sales increased 164.4 percent to 1,618 from 612 in May 2020 (a month when all the world was in COVID-19 lockdown). For perspective, closed sales increased 36 percent in May 2021 compared to May 2019 (a non-pandemic lockdown month). Nevertheless, closed sales activity in May 2021 outperformed any other May in the history of NABOR®’s market statistics reports.
The NABOR® May 2021 Market Report provide comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings:
Overall inventory fell 79.1 percent in May to 1,290 homes from 6,177 homes in May 2020, but monthly new listings activity continues. May welcomed 1,274 new listings, a 7.6 percent increase from 1,184 in May 2020. New listings that come on the market each month help to temper the drop in overall inventory and provide more opportunities to eager buyers.
Cash sales were not the only contributing factor to the drop in days on the market. Another factor was the 45 percent increase in showings for May (42,380 up from 29,319 in May 2020), which ultimately resulted in a 46.5 percent increase in pending sales for May to 1,710 pending sales from 1,167 pending sales in May 2020.
Historically, the Naples housing market’s activity in the first half of the year is not sustained during the second half of the year. However, since tourism to Florida is expected to increase this summer and buyers from foreign countries may also begin to arrive in the coming months, a return to more normalized buying behavior in the second half of the year was discussed although remains uncertain.
Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to find your home in southwest Florida.
NABOR Market Report
Naples, FL (April 23, 2021) – Records were broken in March, but “don’t call Guinness just yet!” say broker analysts reviewing the March 2021 Market Report, released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island). The analysts are a small contingency of leaders who represent the area’s top real estate brokerage firms and meet monthly at NABOR® to interpret area housing market statistics. The group’s analysis of activity last month confirmed that March broke records; but celebrations to commemorate the month’s record high statistics should be postponed because these broker analysts also agree that our market is probably not done breaking records for the year.
According to the report, March’s historic activity included 1,851 closed sales, $1,582,474,997 in total sales volume, and 60,147 showing appointments. This makes March 2021 the highest performing month on record over the last 13 years (the span of time NABOR® has tracked key metrics reflecting the area’s housing market activity).
March was also the first month in several years where there were more reported price increases than decreases. Median closed prices in March increased 12.2 percent to $415,000 (the highest median price increase month/month on record since 2008) from $370,000 in March 2020. In March 2021, there were just 1,819 homes in inventory (the lowest it has been since 2014), which was a 73.2 percent decrease from 6,795 homes in inventory in March 2020.
Pending sales (homes under contract) activity in March also broke records, as seen in the 152.7 percent spike to 2,469 pending listings from 977 pending listings in March 2020. However, broker analysts were quick to remind each other that a high number of sales during the second half of the month last year were lost as we were in a pandemic lockdown. Despite last March’s COVID-19-related market anomaly, this March’s pending sales still eclipsed pending sales activity reported in any March over the last eight years.
The NABOR® March 2021 Market Reports provide comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings:
The March Market Report showed remarkable closed sales performance in the condominium market during March too, which had a 71.6 percent increase in sales to 1,021 closed sales from 595 closed sales in March 2020. Closed sales of single-family homes over $2 million also increased 68.4 percent in March. Geographically, closed sales of condominiums in Central Naples rose 118.3 percent in March, while the average sale price for single family homes in Central Naples increased 38.4 percent to $901,807 from $651,370 in March 2020.
Increased Demand in February Shows Homebuyers Recognize a Great Value
Naples, FL (March 24, 2021) – The February 2021 Market Report, released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), marks the last month of comparative activity before the pandemic shuttered the global economy in March 2020. That said, overall closed sales of existing homes in Naples for February increased 62 percent to 1,307 closed sales from 807 closed sales in February 2020.
Broker analysts reviewing the February 2021 Market Report were not surprised at the increased momentum as many report buyers are scooping up the available inventory of homes in all geographic locations within Naples almost as fast as they come onto the market. Inventory fell 68.8 percent in February to 2,224 homes from 7,127 homes in February 2020.
Single-family homes continue to be in high demand so, according to the report, many buyers pivoted to condominiums in February. As a result, the condominium market experienced a 75.7 percent increase in closed sales and a 66.6 percent decrease in inventory. In fact, condominium sales in February 2021 eclipsed its comparable sales in any month over the past 15 years.
In addition to the struggle to find existing properties for sale in all price categories, buyers are also finding new home purchasing options are diminishing.
It’s not surprising then that February saw pending sales of existing homes in Naples skyrocket 50.7 percent to 2,299 pending sales from 1,526 pending sales in February 2020. In comparison, there were more pending sales (2,299) at the end of February than inventory (2,224). This resulted in a drastic drop in supply as the February report revealed our area now has only a 2-months supply of homes available to buyers.
The NABOR® February 2021 Market Reports provide comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings:
In February, the median closed price increased 17.4 percent to $405,000 from $345,000 in February 2020. As such, the average closed price also increased in February by 25.7 percent to $796,936 from $633,898 in February 2020. The luxury single-family home market continues to drive sales in Naples as reflected in the average closed price for single-family homes in the Naples Beach area, which increased 35.4 percent to $3,270,814 from $2,414,826 in February 2020.
Whether new listings – which fell 8.6 percent in February to 1,435 new listings from 1,570 new listings in February 2021 – can meet the demand in the coming months will depend on seller motivation. In a tight inventory climate, brokers said it’s not uncommon for REALTORS® to approach a homeowner in a desirable community and ask: “I know your home is not for sale but how much do you want to sell it because I have a buyer?”
The demand for single-family homes in Naples is so high right now that its convincing many homeowners to downsize in order to take advantage of the market’s demand and enjoy a nice profit. That’s one reason condominium sales increased in February and why properties in 55 and older communities also saw increased activity.
Florida’s housing market continued to show momentum in January even with the ongoing pandemic, with more closed sales, rising median prices, more new pending sales and increased pending inventory compared to a year ago, according to Florida REALTORS® latest housing data. Single-family existing home sales rose 18% compared to a year ago.
“2021 began with the same market conditions we saw over the previous months, such as very low mortgage rates, high buyer demand and a lack of inventory,” said 2021 Florida REALTORS® President Cheryl Lambert,. “This shortfall in inventory continues to put pressure on home prices. However, new pending sales increased 16.9% for single-family existing homes last month compared to January 2020, while new pending sales for condo-townhouse units rose 32% year-over-year.”
In January, closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 21,587, up 18% year-over-year, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 9,608, up 24.6% over January 2020. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $305,000, up 15.1% from the previous year, according to data from Florida REALTORS® Research Department in partnership with local REALTOR® boards/associations. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $230,000, up 15% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
Florida REALTORS® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor noted that Florida’s housing market kicked off 2021 on a strong note.
“Eighteen percent year-over-year growth in single-family sales and 25% growth in condo and townhouse sales is way, way above our historical average—and we will likely remain well above our historical average for most, if not all, of 2021,” he said. “The primary reason is that mortgage rates will likely remain quite low for the duration of the year. The Federal Reserve has repeatedly signaled it intends to pursue a monetary policy agenda that ensures this will be the case.
“That said, economic forecasters have reached something of a consensus that mortgage rates have finally reached a bottom. Interest rates are, of course, notoriously difficult to forecast, so you never really can be sure exactly where they’ll be 12 months from now—then again, it’s a reason to take notice when everyone’s forecasts actually agree on something. However, there is still some mild disagreement among prominent forecasters in terms of how fast rates will rise from here—although no one is currently predicting rates are going to rise too significantly.”
Taking a look at the supply side of the market, last year’s decline in active listings of existing homes for sale continued into January 2021, according to O’Connor.
He added, “To be clear, I’ve pointed out that year-over-year growth in new listings—at least on a statewide basis—was positive over the second half of 2020. It’s just the pace of sales has been so phrenetic that these new listings have not replaced enough of our inventory to reverse the trend. However, in January 2021, new listings of single-family homes were down over 10% year-over-year in what is normally a strong month for new listings. Likewise, new listings of condos and townhouses were down statewide by almost 7%. We’ll need to keep an eye on new listings for the next few months to see if this is really a downshift or just a one-time decline.”
On the supply side of the market, inventory (active listings) continued to be constrained in January. Single-family existing homes were at a very restricted 1.6-months’ supply while condo-townhouse inventory was at a 3.9-months’ supply.
According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.75% in January 2021, significantly lower than the 3.62% averaged during the same month a year earlier.
Source: Florida REALTORS®
January 2021 compared with January 2020 (percent reporting using rounded figures)
By Liz Dominguez
With the way things are forecast to go in the housing market in 2021, buyers might be feeling a little overwhelmed. Home sales are predicted to increase by 21.9% with home values expected to rise 10.5% by December 2021, according to a recent Zillow report.
However, while some buyers may think it wise to wait for the market to cool, Zillow’s data shows they may benefit more from simply diving in—of course, if they are financially prepared to do so—as the possibility of rising mortgage rates could bring affordability challenges in the future. Additionally, if the persistent inventory shortage keeps up, this will continue pushing home prices even higher. And with moving trends’ seismic shift due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, areas that were once affordable are seeing increased activity and increased home values.
An example, Zillow reports that today’s average mortgage rate is 2.68% for a 30-year fixed loan. With a 20% down payment, that means it would cost a typical U.S. buyer about $861 per month, plus taxes and insurance, to purchase a home. However, if home values rise 8% and interest rates climb to 3%, that same house would cost buyers $969 per month. And with a 12% spike in home values, the scenario would be monthly payments of $1,005.
“The best time to buy a home should always be when it’s the right time for your family. However, home shoppers would be wise to gather as much information as possible and use it to make smart decisions that maximize their buying power,” said Zillow home trends expert Amanda Pendleton. “For someone ready to buy, jumping in sooner rather than later could mean a savings of hundreds of dollars a month. Or, more likely, it could mean having to make fewer tradeoffs to stay within budget.”
The same goes for refinancing, said Zillow. Right now, those refinancing on a typical U.S. home loan would pay $861 per month, but if rates increase 3%, that would tack on $36 per month. And if rates increased to 3.5%, monthly payments would rise to $956.
“Rates are near historic lows, and we expect rates to hover near current levels through the first quarter of 2021. Although we expect rates to slightly increase as the economy recovers from COVID-19, it remains to be seen when that recovery truly gains traction. While these rate fluctuations may seem like small changes, when homeowners do the math, it is clear how lower rates can significantly reduce monthly payments for the life of the mortgage,” said Zillow Senior Economist Chris Glynn. “Like with any consumer decision, it is important to be informed, research the market and shop around to find the best deal possible. Qualified mortgage professionals can help individual consumers identify the loan rate, repayment term and structure that meet their needs.”
Here’s the market scenario for those considering taking the leap:
– According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates remained flat compared to the previous week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 2.73%.
– The markets are bustling. According to the National Association of REALTORS®’s Pending Home Sales Index, pending transactions may have dipped slightly (0.3%) in December, but YoY, they are up 21.4%.
– Realtor.com® reports that housing inventory in the 50 largest U.S. metros declined by 41.8% YoY in January.
As for the future? NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun expects strong home sales momentum, with sales up roughly 8 to 12% in 2021 vs. 2020, as well as prices rising more moderately, about 4% nationwide.
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor.
