Assumptions that the number of houses sold in Collier County in October will drop drastically after Hurricane Ian proved to be inaccurate, as closed and non-closed sales increased by 23.7% and 8.7% month-on-month respectively. Although 525 deals were canceled or outstanding, the total amount of real estate sold over the month surged by 72.7%, up to 2,325 properties, compared to only 1,346 properties in October 2021.
Many new opportunities for renovation emerged in the current market, which attracted the attention of a far wider audience, says Spenser Haynes, Vice President of Business Development at John R. Wood Properties. These circumstances resulted from a tragedy but will prove to be beneficial for the Naples area in the long term.
Responding to Haynes’ statement, Budge Huskey, CEO at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, said that many old houses severely damaged by the flooding during Hurricane Ian are in high-demand locations, which will kick off a new construction boom with higher-quality outputs.
Admittedly, closed sales reduced by 24.5% in October, down to 662 transactions, compared to 877 in the same month of 2021. Last year was outstanding for real estate in Collier County. The number of pending sales also dropped by 43.3%, down to 673 transactions.
Statistical data shows that the median closure price of $555,000 remained unchanged in September through October. It did, however, grow by 23.3% compared to October 2021, when it stood at $450,000. The median price of a condominium has reduced by 1.6% since September.
Mr. Haynes adds that we are now witnessing a slight increase in the number of new offers from condominium owners who suffered damages and decided to sell their property instead of renovating it, but the hurricane didn’t cause a fire sale situation.
In October, the number of new listings increased by 26.1% compared to September, which is typical for the season, analysts believe. The number of new sales ads in general reduced by 13.9% in October, down to 908 this year compared to 1,054 last October. The number of new single-family listings, however, surged sharply that month, and was only 10 below the 548 new listings recorded in October 2021.
Although interest rates will grow again, now is a good time to purchase a home in Naples, says Dominic Pallini, Broker at Vanderbilt Realty. The overall percent of current list price received is 96.4% and it has been reducing since April. It means that buyers now have more leverage for negotiations.
Mr. Haynes explains that successful negotiations can reduce mortgage payments enough to offset the higher interest rate.
Molly Lane, Senior Vice President at William Raveis Real Estate, believes that a homeowners’ decision to rebuild or sell their property damaged by Hurricane Ian depends, to a great extent, on the location and circumstances. Some retirees with old damaged houses to the west of Naples prefer to sell their properties “as is” and purchase a home in a different location, usually in a more inland and higher part of Naples. New homeowners in affected areas, on the other hand, prefer to invest in renovations.
Mr. Huskey responds that for each homeowner moving out of the area west of Naples, there are two buyers interested in their property.