Home resales rose nearly 40 percent in August in the Naples area
Summer has been hot for Naples Realtors.
August brought another busy month, with home and condo resales up nearly 40 percent.
A monthly report by the Naples Area Board of Realtors shows 545 total sales in August, up from 395 in the same month a year ago.
The report tracks Realtor sales made through the SunshineMLS, or multiple listing service, in Collier County, excluding Marco Island.
“We are putting an exclamation point on the end of an absolutely fantastic summer for number of sales,” said Brett Brown, NABOR’s president.
To him, the sales show a boost in consumer confidence in the local market.
“People realize the values,” he said. “They see the compelling reason to purchase properties at this point with interest rates being low.”
In the 12 months ending in August 2009, pending sales increased 47 percent over the previous year in the Naples area. Pending sales are those that have yet to close.
The market continues to be driven by foreclosures and short sales _ sales made for less than the bank is owed to avoid foreclosure.
The median price _ the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less _ continues to drop in the Naples area. It was $170,000 in August, down from $235,000 a year ago.
Last month, 396 homes and condos sold for less than $300,000, out of a total of 545 sales.
“The other markets are showing improvements in pending sales and closed sales numbers too,” Brown said.
Every geographical area tracked by NABOR saw more sales in August than they did a year ago. North Naples saw the most _ at 132. Almost as active was East Naples with 130 sales.
Mike Hughes, vice president of Downing-Frye Realty in Naples, said his company had 188 pending contracts in August. A year ago, it had 116.
“June, July and August were very strong months,” he said. “I would venture to guess this was one of the strongest summers we’ve had in many years, throwing out 2005. I mean 2005 was off the chart.”
During the boom years in 2004 and 2005, frenzied buyers snatched up homes hoping to make a quick profit, leading prices to skyrocket and ultimately contributing to the collapse of the market.
The low end of the market continues to be “on fire,” Hughes said.
“The high end is more seasonal _ more Christmas to Easter,” he said.
Choice properties continue to sell quickly as more buyers come off the fence to take advantage of lower interest rates and prices, Hughes said.
“Most of us feel the interest rates will climb over the next couple of years,” he said. “This might be one of the last chances to lock in a super low interest rate.”
Investors continue to snatch up properties. First-time buyers also are in the mix, looking to take advantage of an $8,000 federal tax credit that soon will expire.
Local Realtors expect to see monthly sales continue to increase year-over-year through the rest of 2009 and beyond.
Single-family pending sales rose to 483 in August, up 86 percent from 260 a year ago.
Pending sales for single-family homes priced at less than $300,000 saw a 106 percent increase to 344 contracts last month, compared to 167 in the same month a year ago.
Pending sales for condos increased 89 percent to 379 contracts last month, up from 201 a year ago.
“This bodes well for some condo associations that are facing budgetary issues,” said Bill Poteet, president of Poteet Properties in Naples, in a statement.
The inventory of homes and condos on the market shrank to 9,163 last month, down 13 percent from 10,532 a year ago.
“There is still a lot of selections out there, even though we’ve had a lot of sales,” Hughes said.
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The Naples Area Board of Realtors has released its August report for home resales. Here’s a look at some of the numbers:
Total sales: 545, up from 395 a year ago
Pending sales: 862, up from 461 a year ago
Median price: $170,000, down from $235,000 a year ago
Most active market: North Naples with 132 closed sales, up from 108 a year ago,
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