The Naples area housing market maintained positive traction during the Third Quarter of 2017 despite enduring a hurricane that impeded activity for three weeks in September.   According to the September 2017 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which track home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), there were 398 closed sales during the month of September, a 30 percent decrease compared to September 2016.

September proved challenging for the real estate market as homeowners and agents were forced to wait while public and utility services rebuilt or repaired infrastructure damaged by the hurricane. This was reflected in statistics released for September, which affected total outcomes for the Third Quarter of 2017. However, year-to-date numbers tell a different story as activity in pending, closed and median price categories were up year over year at the end of the quarter!

With our county’s hurricane building code standards and quality craftsmanship by local builders helped to greatly reduce the amount of major structural damage in the area.   We had quite a bit of vegetation down/damaged, but not a lot of structural damage.

September is typically when the housing market takes a breath before it begins to intensify again. Yet despite a direct hit by a major hurricane, overall closed sales for the third quarter increased 3 percent (year over year). Not surprisingly, the storm’s short-term impact on the housing market in September only tempered sales slightly in the third quarter by 5 percent (quarter over quarter), which translated to just 86 fewer closed sales than in the third quarter of 2016.

A 55 percent decrease in pending sales for September is equivalent to three weeks of inactivity.  These sales didn’t disappear, they were just delayed.

The hurricane’s force slowed inventory in September, which resulted in a third quarter decrease of 9 percent. This was most likely a result of homeowners either delaying to list because they evacuated or removing a listing because they needed time to clean up and make minor repairs to properties following the storm.

One element the hurricane failed to harm was the continued growth in property value for Naples. Overall median closed prices in the third quarter of 2017 increased 3 percent to $320,000 compared to $312,000 in the third quarter of 2016.   Our survival actually strengthened buyer confidence.

The NABOR® Third Quarter 2017 Market Report (CLICK HERE) & September 2017 Market Report (CLICK HERE) provided in Chart Form provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary.

Impact from Irma

Compared to other tropical second-home destinations like Puerto Rico, the Southwest Florida housing market fared quite well after it faced a hurricane.  We may see an uptick in sales from buyers who had their eyes set on an island home in the Caribbean.  The only downside is that building materials will most likely rise in cost based on availability which will mean that homes currently being built will most likely increase their list prices.  In addition, if a buyer is building a home, it will probably take longer to complete, because subcontractors are being pulled for repairs & there may be a shortage of building materials like screening for lanai’s.

Website Enhancements

www.NardiRealty.com new search engine is fast & accurate.  You can search for residential sales & rentals quickly and receive accurate results because it is updated every 10 minutes. I encourage you to “test drive” it and see what you think.

For those of you who would like to get an estimate for what your home is currently valued at (this applies to all homes in the United States), Nardi Realty has a “Property Valuation” widget, if you scroll down, it will be found on the right side of our web page.  Just put your address in & it will give you an automatic valuation report.  Great for those of you who are thinking about listing your property or who just want to get some idea of pricing for their current property.

Please feel free to send me an e-mail at Robert@NardiRealty.com or call me directly at 239-293-3592 for any of your real estate needs or questions.

Wishing you a very Healthy & Happy Thanksgiving!  My best always!