February 2011 Naples Real Estate Statistics

I cannot believe that February is already over and I am working on month end reports again. I know it's a short month, but didn't it just fly by? While reflecting back on last February, and comparing it to the activity here in Naples this February, I found some *newsworthy numbers that I thought you might find interesting.

• Listing inventory is down. Now, that could just be that we are all too busy working with buyers to concentrate on getting new listings...or it could simply mean that many sellers have decided to keep their properties off the market until the over-correction of pricing stabilizes. Whatever the reason, the lower inventory and higher pendings, is establishing a trend that we have not seen in years. In February 2010 in Naples there were 1,633 new Listings that came on the market. In February 2011 only 1,362! ~About a 17% decrease. Those new listings last year that were priced over $1 million numbered 180, and those listed below $500,000 numbered 1,229. This year, February 2011, of those new listings taken, 156 were priced at or above $1 million, while only 1,004 were listed below $500,000! This translates to fewer listings going active in both the higher & lower price points. Those that had been listed above $1 million last year are now feeling the downward pressure and are being priced below $1 million. The lower priced listings continue to be the most popular range in both pending and closed sales. ~and, The middle prices are beginning to see an increase in activity. I call this a trickle up effect. I think we will slowly begin to see an absorption of the better, well priced listings in the lower price range over the course of the next 90 days. Emphasis on well priced! I also believe that we will continue to see an increase in sales in the luxury market--But, since a much lower percentage of those listings are going under contract, they must be much more competitive with pricing in order to take advantage of what's left of the peak selling season!
• Overall Pendings in February 2010 were 1,188 compared to 1,221 in February 2011. Approximately a 3% increase...compound that with a 17% decrease in inventory! There are pockets in Naples where neighborhoods have seen a more substantial increase in sales then 3%. Those homes and condos listed at or above $1 million had 80 listings pend in 2010 and 81 of the 1,221 in 2011 were listed over $1 million. In 2010 February saw 988 residences listed under $500,000. go under contract in Naples, while last month the pending sales of listings priced below $500,000 were 1,038. Approximately a 5% increase.
• Closed Sales were almost identical in Naples MLS: In February 2010, 570 residential listings closed. In February 2011 there were 571 closings. 31 of the 570 in 2010 were listed at or above $1 million. February 2011 40 luxury properties closed, including a home in Port Royal which was listed at $13,900,000 and closed for $10,500,000. Luxury home closings represented 7% of the closings in February. In February 2010 there were 482 closings listed below $500,000 vs. 469 that closed in February 2011. The lower price range is driving the market.

Presently there are 8,015 Active Residential Listings in Naples MLS. 1,364 are Previews Properties: those listed at or above $1 million, which represents 17% of the market. 5,194 are listed at or below $500,000.

If you would like a market analysis of a specific neighborhood, please call a member of The Harris-Peppe Team today. 239.370.0574 Of course, this is a broad brush of the overall real estate market in Naples Florida and does not reflect the statistics of unique communities within Naples. It is always our pleasure to do a more in depth study of a particular area whether you are considering buying or selling, and it is always a no-obligation service.

Thank you, and make it a GREAT day,

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

*All data is derived from the Naples multiple listing system, SunshineMLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.

Select Vendor of the Week

Since Guy Guerra opened the doors in 1984, Coastal Plumbing has grown into one of the leading plumbing contractors in Southwest Florida. Whether you are looking for a contractor to handle a large commercial job, residential construction, or service work--it is our pleasure to recommend you call Coastal Plumbing at 239.643.3278. As you drive around town you will find some very familiar landmarks that Coastal Plumbing has been involved in such as Naples Community Hospital, Hollywood 20 Movie Theater and The Collier County Public Library [*see photo inset].

We have been referring our customers to Coastal Plumbing since their inception. One of the things that truly stands out to us is the fact that most of Guy's core management team has been with him for over 20 years! To me, employee longevity says so much about an organization. We cannot say enough good things about this company and the quality of their work, the professionalism of their staff, and their competitive prices. Thank you Coastal Plumbing for being the Harris-Peppe Team's select vendor of the week. Make it a great day, The Naples Real Estate Blogger

"Recovery to Normalcy"

Today I had the distinct pleasure of being in the audience and listening to Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for The National Association of Realtors. He spoke for nearly two hours. In addition to the 7 pages of copious notes that I took during his lecture, I will eventually have access to his power point presentation, as will all those who were in attendance. This will also include his charts and graphs, which I will share a link to at a later date. Some of this may lose a little bit in the translation without those graphs, but I will do my very best to post a few of his top talking points and statistics that I believe will be of interest. Although Dr. Yun's presentation was seamless, my recap likely will not be. Obviously, the seminar included many statistics and graphs charting the United States economy and Home Sales, but I will try to concentrate on those topics which will effect real estate values locally, here in Naples.

Here are a few:

• The present population of the state of Florida is approximately 18 million. This is projected to double in the next 20 years.
• If the pattern of new jobs created in Naples, as documented in the past 20 years, were to stay on its same pattern, not withstanding the short term fluctuation of 2008-2010, jobs in Naples will also double in the next 20 years.
• The "normal" migration to Florida, particularly the huge number of baby boomers, among them the more comfortably wealthy, will begin to increase again in 2011. [more people left Florida than entered in both 2008 & 2009-and 2010 was virtually even.]
• Newly built inventory in South Florida is at a 40 year low. New housing start permits in Collier County numbered about 1,000 per year for the last 3 years vs. an average of over 6,000+ in the previous 4 years.
• Currently, the cost of constructing a new home is higher than buying a newer resale. Buyers wanting newer homes will have to buy resales in most cases.
• Upcoming tighter mortgage regulations as well as the expectancy of home loan rates increasing in 2012 will prohibit some buyers without cash from purchasing.
• Nationwide, there have been no meaningful changes in Home Price Trends, they have gone 'sideways' for approximately 12 months. However there are some "wildcard" markets that may even see a 10-15% increase in prices after the 2008-2010 over-correction. Naples fits into this category!

Overall, the outlook was very bright for Florida, and specifically a recovery in Southwest Florida! Dr. Yun also touched on the influx of foreign buyers coming to Florida, consumer confidence levels, unemployment, business investments and commercial real estate, mortgage defaults and governments bail-outs.

Dr. Yun ended the seminar with two quotes, and this discussion: The countries in the world that prosper are those which encourage and support home ownership. He spoke from the heart of his own memories of his birth country, South Korea--the fact that the one true thing that separated the ideology of his homeland and North Korea was home ownership. He compared this to a current news maker and mentioned the fact that 90% of Egyptians do not have title to their homes. He said he believed there had been two 'transformational' Presidents in our modern history...and these were the quotes:

"A nation of homeowners is unconquerable." ~FDR

"We will preserve the part of the American dream which mortgage interest deduction symbolizes." ~Ronald Reagan

Thank you for your time. Make it a great day,

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

Cannot Be Duplicated!

Royal Harbor Treasure!

Undeniably, one of the very best waterfront values in all of Naples Florida!

This professionally decorated, custom home boasts over 4,200 square feet of living area and has 4 bedrooms plus a den and 4 full baths. Additionally there is a library, an exercise room, a craft or hobby room, and separate formal living room & dining room as well as a family room which opens from the gourmet kitchen to the beautiful outdoor Lanai, pool & spa and built in grill. All new impact curtains exceed the 2011 Dade/Broward wind requirements for a CAT 5 Hurricane. The 60' deep water dock will accommodate a large vessel and features direct gulf access...In minutes you will find yourself in Naples Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, or the wonderful backwaters of the 10,000 Islands! Please join me today, Sunday February 20th at my open house from 1PM to 4PM, at 2031 Tarpon Road in Royal Harbor, or call The Harris Peppe Team to arrange a private showing of this immaculately kept waterfront residence in one of Naples finest communities! Drastically reduced to under $2 million! 239.370.0574

Thank you, and make it a GREAT day!

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

Fabulous New Listing!

Immaculate 2 bedroom plus den, 2 full baths, first floor end unit with an attached garage. Tastefully furnished, this lovely coach home is being offered "turn-key" and offers a lovely, tropical view. There are nearly 1800 spacious square feet 'under air', and 2258 total square feet.

Click here to see a virtual tour!

The amenities of this amazing Tom Fazio designed golf course community includes tennis, a world class marina with direct gulf access and a water shuttle to a private beach on Keewaydin Island.

This is a wonderful opportunity to live in a gated, golf course community right on Naples Bay, and within a few miles of Naples downtown restaurants, shoppes, galleries and pristine beaches! Huge price reduction, motivated sellers! Call us now for your personal tour of this fabulous new listing. $325,000. 239.370.0574

Thank you and have a great weekend,

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

Select Vendor of the Week

It is with great pleasure that we feature Leisure Pools of Naples, Inc

as this week's select vendor of the week!

Established in 1987, Leisure Pools offers the highest level of customer satisfaction. Family owned and operated, if you are looking for a full service pool company to either maintain or remodel your pool and spa, you cannot call a better company!

The Harris-Peppe Team is proud to have such a reputable partner to refer our valuable customers to. Please call them with all your pool needs at 239.598.2820

Thank you, and make it a great day!

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

Residential SOLD Listings By Month

Here is a graph displaying the average number of closed sales per month for the past 4 years [February 1st, 2007 through January 31st, 2011] in Naples, per our local *Sunshine Multiple Listing System. Since this graph indicates closed sales it is interesting to note the peaks which occur each year shortly after our winter season. The number of listings that sold peaked at over 400 closed sales per month 3 times from March-June 2010, the highest number of closed sales in over 4 years! Only once since February 2009 did the number of closed sales dip below the average of 242 which was in November 2010. November is typically a slow closing month, plus last year it was also a critical election month and many buyers in the 2 to 3 months prior were waiting for that election result before jumping back into the real estate market.

If you would like any other data regarding current inventory, pending sales and closed sales in a specific neighborhood please call a member of the Harris Peppe Team today! 239.370.0574 Thank you and make it a great day, The Naples Real Estate Blogger *The source of this real estate information is data compiled from SunshineMLS, LLC. The accuracy is not warranted or guaranteed.

You Know It's February When...

You know it's February when the locals are wearing leather jackets because it's only 68 degrees, but the tourists are in shorts, flip-flops & halter tops and applying sun screen...You know it's February when it takes 15 minutes to drive the 5 blocks from my office to four-corners...You know it's February when the people you meet at open houses don't want to give you their real names or where they are actually staying because they've already been to 20 other open houses and they don't want 21 real estate agents calling them for the next 2 weeks of their vacation! ...You know it's February when you are given two choices when trying to make dinner reservations for Saturday night: 5:00 o'clock or 9:45 PM...You know it's February when the out-of-state plates out number the Florida plates and most of them are making illegal left turns with their right blinker on...You know it's February when all the really good listings are tenant occupied and you can't get into show them to your very good, cash buyer who only wants to see those listings...You know it's February when you have to check your watch to see what date it is, then look on a calendar to see what day of the week it is...

If you have any funny "You know it's February" anecdotes, please feel free to share!

Thank you, and make it a GREAT day,

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

Select Vendor of the Week!

This week The Harris Peppe Team is pleased to feature Naples Boat Charters as our select vendor of the week. Captain Jim Albert will take up to six passengers on board his 33' Sea Ray Sundancer: Maritime Lady, to see beautiful sunsets, dolphins & eagles, luxury homes and gorgeous yachts in Naples Bay. Captain Jim is a USCG licensed & insured Merchant Marine Captain who pilots The Naples Princess, and has also piloted the US Navy submarine, USS Benjamin Franklin. Captain Jim provides hourly, half-day and full-day excursions. Click on his website link above for additional information, or to book your next private charter here in beautiful Naples Florida!

There are so many wonderful activities to do and see in Naples Florida, but if you are visiting and you leave without seeing Naples by water, you've missed the best views in town!

Thank you, and make it a GREAT day,

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

Select Vendor of The Week

Over the years, Chip & I have amassed a select group of professionals that we easily feel confident recommending to our customers. Each week, The Naples Real Estate Blogger, will be featuring one of these Select Vendors to be featured on the Naples Real Estate Blog.

We are pleased to choose our very first Select Vendor of the week for 2011, [click here to link directly to website] Lynn Lombardi Interior Design Services. Lynn's philosophy is simple: She applies the practical functionality of her design work along with the distinctly personal taste of each client to produce both residential and commercial results that are always delivered within budget, on time and with an attention to detail beyond reproach. Of the many customers that we have referred to Lynn over the years, there is one common thread that runs through the many accolades we hear time and time again..."Lynn is an unbelievably good listener." What better complement can there be?

If you or someone you know in the Naples area is looking for a designer, please call Lynn today. 239.598.1489

Thank you,

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

Is it February already?

Chip & I have been working non-stop since the first week of January. This is the time of year when we make hay because the sun is shining---and it's not shining in other parts of the country, which is pretty obvious by the number of leads we are fielding each day from the snowy north. Inquiries are up across the board. The flurries fall and the phone starts to ring!

I don't ever remember a better time to be a buyer in Naples Florida! Good inventory, excellent interest rates, and it's 83 degrees here today!

Here are a few of January's statistics that I thought might interest you:

Currently there are 8,217 ACTIVE residential listings in Naples per the MLS. 1,784 new listings taken in January 2011. These listings range from a 2 bedroom/ 2 bath condo in East Naples priced at only $17,000 to a 14,000 square foot mansion in Port Royal with an asking price of $13,450,000.

1,150 properties in Naples went under contract in January 2011. Of those 450 are PENDING without contingencies.

840 of the 1,150 were listed at or below $300,000.

547 of the 1,150 are single family homes vs. 603 condominiums.

80 of the 1,150 are Previews Properties: those listed at or above $1 million.

There were 525 CLOSINGS in January 2011. There were 561 closings in January 2010.

Cash transactions in Naples still outnember conventionally financed closings by a margin of approximately 3 to 1.

If you would like details of what is presently happening in a specific neighborhood we would be happy to assist you with that. Please call or email us with your request and we will take care of that right away. 239.370.0574

Thank you, and make it a GREAT February!

The Naples Real Estate Blogger

This information is obtained from SunshineMLS. It is believed to be accurate but it is not warranted or guaranteed.