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“There are three things that could really help our market if they trended in the right direction: mother nature, insurance and interest rates,” said Mike Hughes, Vice President and General Manager for Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. “But those are out of our control.”

Broker analysts including Dominic Pallini, Broker at Vanderbilt Realty, Inc., believe, “Interest rates are likely to stay above 5 percent for a long time.” But Jeff Jones, Broker at Keller Williams Naples, added that there is good news on the insurance front as “nine new companies have recently entered the Florida market, and 19 others have said they will lower rates or at least not increase them in 2025.”

The New Average

Demand for the Naples lifestyle increased during the pandemic, which depleted inventory for homes in the under $300,000 market – there were 315 homes for sale under $300,000 in April. Conversely, demand for luxury properties have soared, especially in the $500,000 to $1.5 million price category, which increased 68.1 percent compared to April 2023 and occupy the highest number of properties available (2,410) in the current inventory.

“The average closed price in Naples is over $1 million,” remarked Budge Huskey, CEO, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty.

However, according to the report, closed sales influencing the overall average price growth was in the Naples Beach area. For April, the average closed price of single family homes in communities located in the Naples Beach area (34102, 34103, 34108) increased 61.6 percent to $4,309,475 from $2,666,512 in April 2023. That said, this area was also where a large majority of properties sold for less than original list price as the percent of list price received decreased to 93.3 percent for single family homes and 94.8 percent for condominiums. This indicates sellers are reducing prices to meet the market.

Future Fit & Forward

According to the April report, the average monthly inventory in Naples is back to its familiar pre-pandemic level. April’s inventory increased 68.1 percent to 5,240 properties from 3,118 properties in April 2023. And the months supply of homes is up to 7.3 months. Huskey commented, “Typically, we begin to see prices slide once the months supply gets above 6 months, but we’re not seeing this in our market today. Inventory is growing, and prices remain stable.”

“Home values have doubled since 2019,” said Cindy Carroll of Carroll & Carroll Appraisers & Consultants, LLC. “And there’s no indication that homeowners are at risk of losing this growth in value.”

Carroll went on to say that there will be spots in the county that will experience a slight loss in value, but nothing on a large scale or that would take us back to pre-pandemic prices. “I am unable to find anything in my research that is alarming. The thing we have to focus on now is re-educating our sellers on home prices today. Their home’s value has likely increased, but the number of price reductions each month tells me that prices are still starting out too high. If a home is not priced competitively when it’s listed, sellers will likely need to lower the price to meet the market.”

“It’s time to shake off the COVID years,” said Sherry Stein, CRB, Managing Broker, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. “Compared to 2019, we are doing great today with higher inventory, low days on market, and remarkable increases in overall home values.”

As more high-end buyers discover the allure of Naples, broker analysts do not foresee the median closed price decreasing dramatically. For April, the overall median closed price increased 4 percent to $450,000 from $425,000 in April 2023. Though price adjustments are moving the needle in certain markets. April reported 2,365 price decreases, which decreased the median closed price 3.2 percent in the single family home market to $793,750 from $820,000 in April 2023.