May sales of houses and condos in the Naples area rose 9.8 percent as sales activity shifts from high-end properties near the beach to homes under $500,000 in areas east of the beach.
The number of closings surged 21.7 percent in East Naples, the sub-market with the largest number of home sales in May.
The Naples Area Board of Realtors also reported that the number of Naples-area listings for houses fell in May to 5,905, a 13 percent decline from May 2018, while the number of condo listings fell 14.9 percent to 2,919.
The board reported that many owners cut asking prices for homes listed for sale in May.
“Nearly 30 percent of active listings had a price decrease in May,” Coco Amar, managing broker at John R. Wood Properties, said in a prepared statement. “This was most apparent in the City of Naples, which reported a 24.9 percent decrease in its overall median price.”
Yet the median price of Naples-area homes sold in May, compared with the same month last year, increased by 6.9 percent to $355,000 for houses and by 0.6 percent to $269,500 for condos.
The Naples Area Board of Realtors also reported an increase to 107 days in the average amount of time that homes sold in May were listed for sale, up from 98 days in the same month last year. – Mike Seemuth