August 2024 Naples Real Estate Market Update with Renee Hahn

Hello, this is Renee Han, your Naples real estate expert, bringing you the Naples real estate market update as a part of my monthly publication of Tide Talk.

In our latest market update for Naples, we are seeing continued shifts that both buyers and sellers should consider as we move into the fall. Let's start with inventory.

The overall inventory has risen by 40.3%.

This is compared to August of 2023, bringing the total for the month of August to 4,127 properties available for sale. While While this represents a notable increase, it is important to keep in mind that inventory has been decreasing over the past 5 months, suggesting a potential short-term trend as we anticipate winter visitors. Despite this inventory growth though, pending sales are down 16% and closed sales have decreased by 27.8% with only 524 properties that sold in the month of August compared to 726 in the same month last year. This slowdown may reflect a cautious approach from buyers as they adjust to the current market conditions. We all know there's some headwinds in the economy with the upcoming elections, with the cost of ownership, whatnot. So let's look at days on market. Those have also unfortunately risen significantly, um, increasing by 52% over last year this time. So it is sitting at 82 average days on market, indicating that properties are, are certainly taking a little bit longer to sell.

Interestingly, The median closed price, however, in August remained stable at $600,000, which matched both July of 2024 and August of 2023 prices. So this stability may suggest that while the market activity is slowing, home values have not declined fully, providing reassurance to sellers that their properties can still hold value in a fluctuating market. Furthermore, there were 1,096 price decreases reported in August. Now that sounds like a lot, but it's actually the lowest for this year so are in one given month. So 1,096 price decreases for the first 7 months prior, they were all higher than that, indicating that sellers are beginning to finally adjust their initial pricing strategies and coming to grips with, you know, the, the lower property values than what they'd seen in prior years. So as we dive into the luxury market and look at properties over $5 million, we're actually seeing increased interest with sales in this category rising slightly. However, these high-end properties are also experiencing longer days on market, and they are also running higher months of inventory than the rest of the market. So good news that they're moving, but more, uh, inventory, uh, compared to the buyer pool, and things are taking a little bit longer, reflecting again the cautious sentiment among buyers, particularly at this price point, as well as others. Um, it's a reminder that while some segments of the market are more robust, patience and strategic pricing are going to remain crucial for home sellers. Timing is also another interesting conundrum. There have been 1,861 units withdrawn from the MLS in the past 120 days. Now, this is somewhat typical during this time of year because as buyer traffic slows down so much, it causes people to want to hit pause on their listings versus burning time on market. But just remember that those 1,861 units that remain unsold and withdrawn from the market, plus the unsolds that are currently on the market, and and all the new listings that will hit when we turn into the new year, that all creates a quickly expanded competitive pool. So although there may be more buyers in the market, remember there are also much more competitors for those buyers. So with a quick and significant uptick in the inventory, it can actually cause pricing pressure. So I only say that to challenge the fact that I get why people wanna wait till January, and right now there's probably good reason to wanna do that, or whatever month you've picked. To hit pause, but just be aware that sometimes hitting pause doesn't solve all your problems, because if you come on the market at a busier time, which is probably what you're intending to do, you're going to have the increase in competition for a limited pool of buyers.

So for owners of, you know, trying to think through their pricing strategy, the, you know, they've got to really think carefully about that. And as buyers, they're trying to assess the full cost of ownership. Connecting with an experienced, rather knowledgeable agent is going to key for everyone to make sure you're not overpaying if you're buying and that you're not overpricing if you're trying to truly legitimately sell, especially for condos. So condos 3 stories and higher that are 25 years or older, the cost of ownership may actually rise significantly doing— due to a number of things: flood disclosures, insurance costs, the results of the Milestone structural inspections, which is slated to have been completed by the end of this year. All of those things may require associations to to increase their reserves or reveal some imminent and costly repair needs that have been put on the back burner, burner, or maybe not even known about until this major structural milestone, um, inspection happens. So keep that in mind. You're not just pricing it based on what today's economics look like, but you could have some future headwind if you're in, again, a condo that's over 25 years of age and more than 3 stories high. So just be, be cognizant of that and make sure you're equipped with the right partnership to fully assess that. So let me bring this and wrap it up. Overall, while the current market may seem challenging, it also presents ultimate opportunities for informed buyers and sellers. With more inventory available and stable pricing, both parties can navigate these changes. So it is possible to make this a win-win for everyone. Buyers may find advantageous deals while sellers can benefit from a more calculated approach to—

excuse me— to pricing and marketing their properties. I was talking so much that I couldn't even swallow. Staying connected with a knowledgeable realtor is going to help everyone make the most of these evolving market dynamics. So again, this is Renee Han. I would be more than happy to be that educated, knowledgeable, and experienced agent for you.

One of the things that my past career allowed me to do when I was in the corporate world, among many other hats that I wore, one of them was I was one of GE's Six Sigma black belts at one point in my career, which means we know statistics. And so not only am I incredibly creative, I am also very, very analytical, and it helps me tremendously when I'm trying to comp out a property and make educated decisions and giving good guidance to my sellers around what I believe the market value is going to be.

So if I can ever be of assistance, don't hesitate to reach out. You can find me at yournaplesexpert.com, or you can always call me at 239-287-2576. And with that, we'll close it by me saying that I wish everyone a safe, safe weekend. I know that, um, depending on where you live, you may have been caught in some of the stormy weather we have. It was an odd storm. I can tell you, in, in where I am in Naples, the wind was strong but not horrendous. The rain was very light, but just a few miles from me, the storm surge was high. So there are places that have been re-devastated down our way, and then our neighbors to the north have been newly devastated when you get up into Tampa and other areas that haven't been hit in a while. So anybody, if you have been affected by the storm, I certainly will keep you in my, my prayers and wish you a speedy and successful recovery. Everyone else, have a fantastic weekend. Thank you so much for joining.