How in-depth should a Naples Realtor's response be when people ask how the real estate market is doing? Whatever the response, it is likely to be compared to the headlines they are reading. Some folks just read headlines, other folks read the articles as well and many trust the news more than a boots-on-the ground Realtor. We all know that depending on where the news is coming from, the slant can be slanted more than others depending on the agenda and world view of the publishing organization, just as the perception that a lot of folks have with Realtors. I focus on what the Naples Area Board of Realtors (NABOR) produces every month, which highlights sales numbers from the previous month directly from the mothership... The MLS. Today, we are focusing on the April 2025 sales statistics and I am likely to get all kinds of feedback, as always.

I like to start with the Median Sales Price since that is one of the main categories people want to know about, along with Total Sales. The Median Sales Price for the Overall Naples Market in April 2025 is currently floating around $585,000, 10% lower than it was in April 2024. May 1st, when the April numbers were released, that number was $590,000. Interesting, right? The people at NABOR tell me that is because as the month progresses, agents will finally close out deals from the previous month, which changes all the numbers a little. This is why I wait to release these articles until closer to the middle of the month. I then produce a graphic around the third week of the month to update the numbers even more. Mine is similar to the one NABOR puts out, but I think it looks nicer and is more accurate since NABOR uses numbers from earlier in the month. What do you think?

Naples Housing Market Update - Josh Amolsch

ZIP 34102 (Old Naples, Royal Harbor, Port Royal) was up 27.5% and ZIP 34103 (Park Shore, Moorings) was up 28.6% over April 2024. In March, 34103 was up 34.3% over March 2024 and in February, 34103 was up 52.3% over February 2024. Must be all that inventory that is piling up.

ZIP 34102 is also looking pretty stark as prices were up 35.9% in January over January 2024, up 35.6% in February over February 2024 and up 11.3% in March over March 2024.

Golden Gate Estates was down 13.2% in April from April 2024 when the Median Sales Prices hit the highest level ever in Golden Gate history. Relating that statement with inflation and the affordability index can probably be found in another blog by someone else. I help people buy and sell homes, but don't provide lectures on macroeconomics.

Median Sales Price

Overall Naples Market - $585,000 | -10.0%

ZIP 34102 - $2,262,500 | +27.5%

ZIP 34103 - $1,710,000 | +28.6%

Golden Gate Estates - $547,000 | -13.2%

Total Sales for the Overall Naples Market started out strong in January but lost some steam going through the rest of season. April ended up 11.9% short of what April 2024 produced, likely an effect of stubborn mortgage interest rates. People blame the tariffs, and that may be. So does that mean that when the tariff situation starts to fade, mortgage interest rates will start to go down, spiking mortgage applications and offers to sellers of existing inventory? That sounds like a recipe for increased prices. Buyers in 34102 seem to understand that buying now when they can make a deal is better than trying to buy when sellers feel empowered due to increased demand, because it will happen.

Real estate is cyclical and the softer market will not last forever. Golden gate Estates was up 7.5% too. My message to sellers; hang in there. My message to buyers. act now with offers that make sense, keeping the bigger picture in mind. Consider all loan products and refinancing later when rates come down. I of course have more to say to both parties, but attention spans...

Just call me.

Total Sales

Overall Naples Market - 897 | -11.9%

ZIP 34102 - 56 | +27.3%

ZIP 34103 - 49 | -19.7%

Golden Gate Estates - 72 | +7.5%

We can't talk about Total Sales without talking about Inventory. While we lost 310 properties from the market from March to April, we are still 34% above last April. For the past couple of years, it was easy to see that the high percentage increases were simply Naples crawling out of the abnormally low inventory brought on by low, and then extremely low, interest rates. While increases in inventory year-over-year were high, the inventory levels the last few years were still historically low in Naples. As mortgage rates normalize, inventory for the area must normalize. And by the way, 7% - 8% mortgage interest rates are historically normal going back to the 1930's when our current loan products were created. It's the high prices that make affordability a challenge. But the current inventory is now all caught up to pre-covid levels and then some. Prior April Inventory levels for the Overall Naples Market look like this:

April 2015 - 4,597

April 2016 - 5,992

April 2017 - 6,542

April 2018 - 6,310

April 2019 - 6,623

April 2020 - 5,689

April 2021 - 1,563

April 2022 - 1,774

April 2023 - 3,135

April 2024 - 5,431

April 2025 - 7,276

Thinning of Inventory actually started prior to Covid, around September or October 2019. Both of those months started the significant deficit of available homes for sale vs the prior year.

Total Inventory

Overall Naples Market - 7,276 | +34.0%

ZIP 34102 - 645 | +27.2%

ZIP 34103 - 558 | +28.6%

Golden Gate Estates - 407 | +16.6%

Ah, Days on Market. The amount of time a property has been on the market before going Pending. There are also Cumulative Days on Market, but Naples Board of Realtors doesn't publish those numbers on their InfoSparks system. They probably should, but they don't. It would theoretically take an act of Congress to get the fine people at NABOR & MLS to adjust that, and some other things I think could be better. But, I digress.

Days on Market for the Overall Naples Market are up by 43.6% over last April. But this trend seems to be slowing. Golden Gate Estates is down 6.4% and 34102 is only up 17.3%. Look at the graph. We are just about in-line with pre-covid Days on Market. Cumulative Days on Market are always going to be higher because sellers will take their homes off the market to reset the Days on Market, but the CDOM (Cumulative Days on Market) keeps ticking. But there is even a way around that, for the guy on Nextdoor who was inquiring.

Days on Market

Overall Naples Market - 56 | +43.6%

ZIP 34102 - 88 | +17.3%

ZIP 34103 - 72 | +35.8%

Golden Gate Estates - 44 | -6.4%

Yep, buying is a bit soft right now. The Overall Naples Market in April was 11.5% short of fully executed contracts from April 2024, ZIP 34102 was only 6.7% short from a year ago but ZIP 34103 (Park Shore) was up 5.6%! Have I told you about my amazing listing in the highly sought after 02 stack in the La Mer building right across from Venetian Village? It is truly a gem and, apparently, rare to see an 02 on the market. If a condo 9 floors up from one of the most cherished beaches in the world tickles your fancy. Give me a ring and we will take a tour. Here is a taster video:

Pending Sales

Overall Naples Market - 777 | -11.5%

ZIP 34102 - 42 | -6.7%

ZIP 34103 - 38 | +5.6%

Golden Gate Estates - 75 | -6.3%

Pending Sales is an indicator of where things could be heading and a teaser for my Naples May or June 2025 Housing Market Update. These numbers typically turn into closed sales, but many won't as they fall out due to one reason or another. Again, 34103 is looking promising as there are 5.6% more listings under contract than there were in April 2024 while the rest of the group are quite a bit lower. Maybe those other categories will show positive numbers next month. Ebb and flow, this is the way of life, isn't it? Yes, we are in the "off-season" now, but that doesn't mean we won't see positive sales numbers vs last year.

Things can change real quick in this industry, so if sellers are not in a pinch and can keep their property on the market a little bit longer than previously expected, the right buyer will come along who just cannot go one day further in their life without owning the seller's home and give a great offer and close all while smiling. There are plenty of buyers out there trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, and while some of the words that I am hearing bare accuracy, there is more to the claims that the molehill is actually a mountain. But there are also many buyers who will pay a fair price (to both seller and buyer) for a property they really love and just be done with the charades.