Naples, Florida, "a ray of sunshine in housing market"
According to a report in the Bonita Daily News today, economist Richard Dekaser, a senior vice president and chief economist at National City Corp, Naples is one of the "first rays of sunshine on a possible end to the housing crisis." Dekaser is the same analyst who considered Naples to be the most overpriced market in the US a few years ago. He went on to say "Three years ago, the poster child for excess valuation in America was Naples, Florida. Not anymore. Through the second quarter of this year, prices have dropped 33%, he said, leading him to judge the market as "slightly undervalued" That means home prices are actually lower than where they should be. Now, it could become even more undervalued, and I suspect it will, but I think we have to appreciate the adjustment that has already occurred". He feels prices could hit bottom within six months as foreclosure rates begin to fall. He doesn't want to overstate the case, he said, but we are in the later stage of stabilization.
According to a spokesperson from the Naples Area Board of Realtors, sales have picked up in Naples for the past seven months, with a median home price of $238,000 in August, down from $375,000 a year ago. If you took out the under $300,000 market where most of the foreclosures and short sales are happening, the median price would have been up 5% in August.