Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/24/2007 - 05:00.
Naples Florida housing market troubled
According to the Naples Area Board of Realtors, closed sales reported for the first quarter of 2007 dropped 25 percent to 939, compared with 1,250 during the first quarter of 2006.
New listings in the first quarter of 2007 dropped 14 percent, down to 5,885 compared to the record 6,851 reported in the first quarter of 2006, the board reported, and pending sales during the first quarter were down 4.5 percent to 1,491 from 1,558 a year ago.
The median sales price of homes sold during the first quarter also dropped significantly from $425,000 in the first quarter of 2006 to $399,512 during the past quarter, although the latter figure was up from $375,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006.* “Median pricing is again showing a rise, with an overall upward trend line over the long term,” the board reported, while acknowledging that prices remain well below the level experienced during record sales periods in the first quarters of 2005 and 2006.
Nevertheless, “the value of the Naples location remains a strong draw for luxury second-home buyers and investors on the national and international level,” the board noted, adding that all figures cited above refer only to sales of homes within the Naples geographic area, excluding Marco Island and other outlying areas.
Naples housing trends are not black and white. When you look at different parts of the state, and at a wide range of properties, you find a more complex picture. Naples prices are holding for “desirable properties on golf courses or with waterfront access costing $500,000 and more. But bargains are available for houses below $500,000 because of a bloated inventory of standard two-bedroom, two-bath condos.”
Most analysts agree that current housing prices will not affect the region’s rapid growth. Virtually no one expects southwest Florida’s population to stop increasing. That likelihood raises infrastructure issues, however, and not everyone is confident that state and local authorities are prepared to address them adequately.
Recent Census figures estimate the year-round population of Naples to be about 22,000, although that figure rises significantly during January, February, March and April as “snowbirds” spend their winters in vacation homes.
According to CensusScope, the population of Collier County, of which Naples is the county seat, soared above 300,000 in 2005, continuing the trend of the previous census decade (1990-2000) when Collier was the third fastest growing county in Florida, behind Flagler and Sumpter, with a growth rate of 65.27% compared to the national average for counties of 13 percent, CensusScope reports.
*The board qualifies median sales figures by noting they are derived from a set of statistical values, and that in any given period, the median can vary greatly if there is a single sale that is significantly higher or lower than other properties in the area.
Source: http://www.muninetguide.com
New listings in the first quarter of 2007 dropped 14 percent, down to 5,885 compared to the record 6,851 reported in the first quarter of 2006, the board reported, and pending sales during the first quarter were down 4.5 percent to 1,491 from 1,558 a year ago.
The median sales price of homes sold during the first quarter also dropped significantly from $425,000 in the first quarter of 2006 to $399,512 during the past quarter, although the latter figure was up from $375,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006.* “Median pricing is again showing a rise, with an overall upward trend line over the long term,” the board reported, while acknowledging that prices remain well below the level experienced during record sales periods in the first quarters of 2005 and 2006.
Nevertheless, “the value of the Naples location remains a strong draw for luxury second-home buyers and investors on the national and international level,” the board noted, adding that all figures cited above refer only to sales of homes within the Naples geographic area, excluding Marco Island and other outlying areas.
Naples housing trends are not black and white. When you look at different parts of the state, and at a wide range of properties, you find a more complex picture. Naples prices are holding for “desirable properties on golf courses or with waterfront access costing $500,000 and more. But bargains are available for houses below $500,000 because of a bloated inventory of standard two-bedroom, two-bath condos.”
Most analysts agree that current housing prices will not affect the region’s rapid growth. Virtually no one expects southwest Florida’s population to stop increasing. That likelihood raises infrastructure issues, however, and not everyone is confident that state and local authorities are prepared to address them adequately.
Recent Census figures estimate the year-round population of Naples to be about 22,000, although that figure rises significantly during January, February, March and April as “snowbirds” spend their winters in vacation homes.
According to CensusScope, the population of Collier County, of which Naples is the county seat, soared above 300,000 in 2005, continuing the trend of the previous census decade (1990-2000) when Collier was the third fastest growing county in Florida, behind Flagler and Sumpter, with a growth rate of 65.27% compared to the national average for counties of 13 percent, CensusScope reports.
*The board qualifies median sales figures by noting they are derived from a set of statistical values, and that in any given period, the median can vary greatly if there is a single sale that is significantly higher or lower than other properties in the area.
Source: http://www.muninetguide.com
1
Commercial Property Purchase for your business operation - buy with just 10% down payment
