Naples area housing inventory hits a 5-year low
Buyers hunting for homes in the Naples area this season won't find as many choices.
The housing inventory has hit a five-year low, according a report released Friday by the Naples Area Board of Realtors. NABOR's reports track inventory and Realtor-assisted sales made through its multiple listing service, or MLS, in Collier County, excluding Marco Island.
There are now 7,581 homes and condos on the market. That's down by 1,564, or 17 percent, from a year ago, when there were 9,145.
Nationally, home sales in December reached their highest pace in nearly a year. The gain coincided with other signs that the troubled housing market improved at the end of last year.
Local Realtors thought they might see a jump in listings in December, ahead of the busiest months of season. But that didn't happen.
The Naples market is healing and in some neighborhoods the demand for homes outstrips the supply, said Cindy Carroll, a real estate appraiser with Carroll & Carroll in Naples, during a NABOR news conference.
Foreclosures have "absolutely disappeared" in some neighborhoods and they're close to disappearing in others.
In the under $150,000 market, the supply of homes and condos has shrunk to three months, she said.
"That's amazing," Carroll said, adding that Realtors have complained they wish there were more listings in that price range to meet the demand."We have some neighborhoods that are just on fire," said Carroll.
In particular, she said, the housing inventory is tight in the area between Goodlette-Frank Road and U.S. 41, from Pine Ridge Road to the south. In that market area — running from Sorrento Gardens on the north to Lake Park on the south – there are 47 homes on the market. That's four more than there were in September 2005, when prices and demand had reached their peak, Carroll said. There is now a seven-month supply of homes in that area and a one-year supply is considered "balanced," she said.
The neighborhoods with the shortest supply of homes should start to see prices rise noticeably, if they haven't already, Carroll said. Convincing banks of those price increases might be a challenge for area appraisers this year. "Nobody is going to believe it," Carroll said.
Last year, the inventory of homes and condos in the under $300,000 market dropped 21 percent to 3,771, down from 4,763 in 2010. That means fewer foreclosures and short sales are on the market. Investors have been "scarfing up" the most affordable homes because they're in strong demand as rentals, said Brenda Fioretti, NABOR's media relations chairwoman and a managing broker for Prudential Florida Realty in Naples.
One of the biggest surprises in 2011 was the jump in million-dollar home sales. In the over $2 million market, sales rose 12 percent over the previous year. There were 223 closed sales, up from 199 in 2010.
Meanwhile, the market saw 370 sales in the $1 million to $2 million market in 2011, up 9 percent from 338 in 2010. Sales in the market rose 38 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, traditionally a slower time for area Realtors. "That's where the buyers are. These people are still out there looking and they have big checkbooks," Barker said.
As an appraiser, Carroll said she noticed values increasing for waterfront homes and other high-end homes in such neighborhoods as the Moorings and Park Shore late last year. "It's just a function of supply and demand," she said.
Overall, home and condo sales rose 5 percent in 2011. There were 8,280 sales, up from 7,893 in 2010. Most of those sales were for less than $300,000.
The median home price last year was $175,000, down from $180,000 in 2010. The median is the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less.
"Buyers are getting good value at different price points," said Kathy Zorn, a broker/owner for Florida Home Realty in Naples.
Realtors are optimistic, expecting a stronger season and a stronger year of sales this year. "I think 2011 was clearly a turning point for Naples," Barker said. "Yeah, I really believe that."
For all of 2011, sales totaled only 4.26 million nationally. That's up slightly from 4.19 million in the previous year. But it's far below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy housing markets. In 2005, at the peak of the boom, 7.1 million homes were sold
Hiring has improved, which is critical to a housing rebound. Fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week than at any time in nearly four years, evidence of far fewer layoffs. The unemployment rate fell in December to its lowest level in nearly three years.
Source: Naples Daily News