Odds of Selling in Naples Park

As a real estate agent, I pay close attention to the numerous signs everywhere listing homes for sale; and at any given time, according to Multiple Listing Service (yes, even offseason, which is approximately June through November), there are a hundred or so active listings in the Park. Over the last six months, your odds of selling a home in this neighborhood was roughly 26 percent (see the image below).

It is our job as agents to help you differentiate your property from all others, so your house is one of the properties within that percentage that sells. When it comes to selling your home, marketing the style — number of beds and baths, condo versus single family home — or area — that the house is walking or biking distance to the beach, situated near great shopping and dining — may not help you stand out among the other houses with similar features. Also, the majority of agents agree that it is important to list a property during “high season,” but this is the time when everyone is selling, which makes your property one of many on the market. In reality, when it comes to the Park, your house is approximately one in a hundred for sale in any season.

With that said, it is still most peoples’ opinion that the odds of selling are better when buyers are flocking to SWFL, which starts after Thanksgiving and really begins to pick up in January and February. The numbers above are from September to February, which is reflecting the start of season. Also, this year, market reports indicate that buyers arrived later than they typically do. The “agent talk” is that the Red Tide and economic uncertainty were the cause for the delay. Basically, the chatter in Naples is that buyers are taking longer to decide on a purchase due to the reasons mentioned above and simply because they have more options to choose from — there is a slight increase in inventory.

It makes sense that it is better to list your home during the months when buyers are looking, so I pulled the data (see the chart below) of activity in Naples Park for the last two years (2017 and 2018).

As you can see there is a higher cluster of sold properties during the months of January through May. The sold activity data does indicate that the best time to list and sell your home is during the winter months in Naples Park.

However, in the last thirty days (data from February 5, 2019), there were 131 active listings and seven sales, so the odds of selling a home in thirty days is approximately five percent. If these numbers stay consistent over the next five months, the odds of selling in season will be approximately 27 percent, which doesn’t increase your chances much and leads me to pricing your property correctly — the key to selling. Although, I’m not suggesting that you list your property off season — it is still better to have more prospective buyers viewing the house even if the odds are not what was expected.

Houses in the Park are priced from $250,000 to $1,199,900. Most of the houses were built in the 1970s and 1980s, with approximately 1,200 to 1,700 square feet, and sold at the $300,000 to $400,000 price point (see table above). The age and square footage of the home correlate with the price, but there are a few older homes that were revamped and sold at higher amounts. There are also a few outliers that are below the fair market line (trend line below) due to the condition of the property; for example, there is a house for approximately 3500 square feet that sold for just over $290,000; that home’s condition was worse than the bulk of the houses on the market. Likewise, there is another 3500 square foot home that sold for more than $800,000, which indicates it was in better condition than the majority of the homes.

To price your home at fair market value, like many agents, I create a comparative market analysis that includes the condition of your home compared to other homes that have sold in Naples Park. If I feel that I cannot sell your home because you desire a price that is higher than fair market value, it is my obligation to tell you; that way you don’t end up with a for sale sign languishing in your front yard. The nineteen properties that expired (shown on the previous page) were most likely priced too high for the condition and age of the home.

Updating your home may get you to a higher price point, but make sure you work with an agent that advises you on how to get the highest return on your investment instead of selling at a high price with low proceeds. Call me to answer any of your questions for free and no obligation at 239.631.2561.