Naples July 2024 Housing Market Update

There are lots of things happening in the real estate business these days, with misleading and insincere reporting from the legacy media mucking up the true picture of the recent NAR Settlement. But is that really surprising? Pondering why the various news outlets around the world continue to proliferate propaganda and half-hearted mouth-slop on all kinds of subjects could be the subject of a whole other article and very well might result in this REALTOR® earning some unwanted attention. Helping people buy and sell homes is truly all I want to do, not hold public office as some have suggested. Helping people with their real estate needs is incredibly rewarding, and only because it is challenging.

Part of the nonsense I have been reading in the news is that, basically, Buyer’s Agents are dispensable door-openers who don’t deserve to be compensated for their representation, education, continued education, liability, ethics, experience, negotiation skills and last but not least… physical work! There are varying skill levels in every field of work and consumers have always had a choice with who they want to work with, but marginalizing anyone is rooted in selfishness. Anyone who has been in this business for even a short time welcomes this new requirement that buyers MUST enter into a written agreement with their agent BEFORE looking at property. This includes entering into an agreement with a Listing Agent for those buyers who want to see if the Listing Agent will throw their seller under the bus. If a homeowner wants to utilize the services of a very good Real Estate Professional to sell their home for the highest price possible, they must sign a listing agreement. Why would working with a buyer be any different? Both agreements document each party’s obligations just as a sales contract between a seller and a buyer documents each party’s obligations. The facts of the settlement can be found here.

As you can see, a lot has happened since we spent time together. New national rules for real estate, someone tried to kill Trump, Biden dropped out of the presidential race, mortgage rates hit the lowest since January… So let’s now take a look at why you opened this email; The Naples July 2024 Housing Market Update.

As per normal, the Median Sales Price in the Overall Naples Market slipped from June by $5000 (.85%) and from July 2023 the exact same. Coastal ZIP codes 34102 & 34103 dropped 38.4% and 22%, respectively, from July 2023. 34102 had a Median Sales Price of $975,000 in July 2024, dipping under $1M for the first time since July 2021, which is strange considering the big jump in Total Sales which is up 35% over July 2023. Golden Gate Estates increased their Median Sales Price 5.9% from July 2023, but really, all of these areas seemed to have leveled off in 2024 on a month-to-month reading. Stabilization is not a crash and large jumps seen in higher end communities is historically normal. So don’t stress 34102 & 34103.

Total Inventory and Median Sales Price are naturally tied to one another. My blogs may seem slightly repetitive but that’s because the fundamental laws of nature and markets don’t change. Emotions do, so I owe it to the public to keep singing the same song of consistency and clear thinking. That is why people appreciate & compensate me. The graphs above and below paint a picture of the why’s, who’s and where’s of our community. Although we have 51.8% more homes on the market in July 2024 than we did in July 2023, we are still 1000 homes short of the normal level of inventory for July according to the graph. 2016-2019 shows about 5400 Homes for Sale in each July. It was only in 2020 when that number dropped to 4,677, which is still 300 more homes. And that was right in the middle of the pandemic! Can you see the downward curve we are in? That curve matches almost exactly with previous years’ curves which starts right around March and starts to curve back up in September. Buyers will have more choices come 2-3 weeks from now. Make your plans and get your Buyer/Broker Agreements in place. You really need to understand that agreement and that as a buyer, you are not necessarily obligated to pay your Buyer’s Agent Compensation. I have been reviewing that agreement with buyers for over a decade. Sure it has changed a little, but it is easy to explain and to understand, no matter what changes are made. Call me, I will explain it fully.

The Overall Naples Market had 611 sales of Single Family Homes and Condos in July 2024. That is a mere 2.1% lower than July 2023 but a big change from the height of the pandemic where 1,926 properties changed hands. I would say that we will probably never see that many properties sold in one month in Naples again, but with the amount of development occurring around Collier County recently, I don’t want to have to swallow my words. Remember when I asked 34102 & 34103 not to stress? Well take a look at the 35% increase in sales in 34102 during July 2024 over July 2023! That kind of increase has been reserved for Golden Gates Estates the last couple of years! Good for you 34102! Even with a Median Price decrease in the region, sellers who want to sell will look at any reasonable offer.

As prices of property become more inline with affordability and comparative sales, or what I like to call; “Sanity”, we start to see Days on Market & Months of Supply stabilize to historical norms. Looking above at the Days on Market graph and below at Months of Supply, I can’t help but notice that the last few months leading up to July 2024 resembles much of what late 2018 into 2019 looked like. No, that doesn’t mean that another pandemic is coming, but more of how stable the market appears. The only caveat that I need to point out is that affordability is still a problem for most Americans. The Affordability Index compares median incomes with median price of homes. The higher above 1 the number is, the less affordable homes are. The lower below 1, the more affordable.

 

The chart below (borrowed from dqydj.com) shows improvement over the last year, but work still needs to be done to bring the dream and necessity of homeownership into reality for all Americans and people working to earn citizenship.

Time marches on, my friends. Life waits for no one and we can all have joy, everyday. It is a choice we have everyday that we wake up. Choose to be kind & patient. Extend mercy so that mercy will be given to you. And when it comes to buying and selling real estate:

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