Is Now A Great Time To Buy or Sell Naples Real Estate?

Naples’s real estate inventories are almost always lower in the summer months than they are during the high season which takes place from January through March. Over the course of the past three years, more inventory has sold throughout the entire year depleting the amount of pre-season inventory we would normally see. This year is no different. Very little to no shadow inventory exists in our coffers. This means inventory levels will likely remain at alarmingly low levels and shrink even more as we head into high season. A continuation of a strong seller’s market is more than probable. I spoke to my old Broker in Texas a few weeks ago. He explained there is zero inventory in the town where I started my real estate career. It seemed unimaginable at the time but now the reality of zero inventory taking place in Naples seems possible and that’s a terrible feeling.

There is a little evidence of summer discounting and we do see some sellers being slightly more negotiable than they were during the high season. While prices don’t always reflect discounts, more owners this summer have been willing to make repairs and handle mitigation requests by buyers. Ultimately, when we compare what takes place season of ’22, we will likely see how this summer’s buyers did get discounts compared to what’s ahead.

Due to the massively increased traffic from our buyer base escaping high taxed states, the high season is likely to start in October and end next June. This has occurred for the past two years. You can expect inventory levels to increase slightly but there is a higher than average group scouting diligently online as new listings hit the market even now which is historically our slowest time of year.

Many new listings are pending in 4 days of hitting the market but the average is 8 days. If you haven’t set up new property notifications, you could miss new inventory extremely easily. As an example, a new listing hit the market in Remington at Bay Colony last week. It was only active for 2 days but that listing was viewed over 1,300 times on just Shannon.com alone. The first buyer who wrote didn’t even have access to see the unit before writing. Consider listing with me so I can reach out to all of the buyers who have already signed up for new listing notifications in your location. It sure beats the hassle of countless showings!

We saw a slight drop in traffic during the past two weeks but buying traffic has since picked up. Listing views on Shannon.com increased 40% compared to the week before! August and September are typically our slowest 2 months out of the year, yet we’ve already pended 500 properties this month!

A market where both the buyer and seller understand what’s happening in the market is always most favorable and many buyers understand they do not have the upper hand right now. If you are considering a Naples real estate purchase, it’s extremely important to listen to your experienced Naples REALTOR. You may not like what they say, but at least you will know what’s going on and your odds of making the best buying decisions (even if it means sitting out) are greatly enhanced when you lean on solid advice.

I’m still seeing a big number of contract backouts. This is primarily due to dirty inspection reports where sellers are unwilling to handle repairs or perform remediation work. Evidence of those listings going back on the market and increasing their offer price is present. It’s difficult to scare a seller into paying for costly repairs in an appreciating market when they can reject a buyer’s request, let the buyer terminate the deal, increase the price and disclose the defects to the next buyer who is willing to pay more without asking for repairs.

For those of you who are either missing properties, patiently waiting for new inventory to hit the market, or simply just getting started, here are some tips to help you accomplish your goal.

If you see something great hit the market, be prepared to strike immediately! The number of buyers purchasing from afar is huge! They are leaning on technology like FaceTime and inspection reports from reputable inspectors to get comfortable with their decisions. You don’t have time to schedule a flight and come down to look before you write a contract. Ask me how I can protect you!

Ask me about areas and get to know your preferred markets before something hits the market. Taking time to analyze after new listings post will take up valuable time you don’t have. You should call me to get a good handle on your favorite markets so you feel confident with your decisions before you actually have to make them.

Get Your Cash Together. 6% of the current Naples listings are being offered for cash only. 75% of the Naples luxury real estate sold this past year paid cash. If a seller will allow you to seek financing, it doesn’t mean they’ll allow a contingency for your financing. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you write. Our contract timelines are serious and few sellers will be willing to let you out without sniping your deposit. Most sellers are looking for a 10% deposit and that can be a big loss if you’re not prepared!

Appraisals are taking longer than normal to accomplish. Make sure your contract timeline allows for enough time to get your appraisal completed. The Naples real estate market is extremely serious when it comes to closing dates. Failure to close on time could result in you defaulting on the contract.  Ask me for details!

Not all properties are appraising. This could mean without a mortgage contingency, you’ll need to bring more cash to the table to close. Many agents are not accustomed to explaining this to their buyers which could cause some serious and unexpected issues. My team and I are very transparent regarding this issue and we will walk you through what you could incur before you go under contract. Ask me more about this!

Talking about property conditions, there has been a great deal of chatter regarding buyers waiving inspection rights to entice sellers to accept their offers. The first time I heard buyers were willing to waive their rights, I nearly passed out. I am not a licensed inspector and would never accept responsibility to guess property conditions. I will say the number of listings I sold this year with very limited inspection issues is pretty good. I can see how some are willing to take a gamble and waive their rights. If you are considering this term as a possible opportunity to out-negotiate your buyer competitors, know there’s always a risk and your recourse is very limited or nonexistent.

We need inventory badly! To capture the highest interest in your property, choose an online master! Exposure to your property is one thing but when an agent like myself already has lists of buyers interested in so many locations throughout Naples, why not take advantage of it?! It’s a perfect recipe for less confusion, exceptional service, extraordinary communication and ultimately helps you accomplish your objectives seamlessly! Our last two listings were listed and sold by ourselves and both sales were accomplished without a hitch!

It is in our book anyway. While it’s natural for listing agents to take a back seat in hot markets when it comes to marketing, I will never understand it. Look at the auto industry in comparison! There’s no shortage of auto marketing. Sure, the industry as a whole cut back during the pandemic. People weren’t leaving their houses much less driving around needing new cars so it’s understandable. But hey, my website marketing was raging during the pandemic. Buyers were buying properties left and right and found me through Shannon.com to help orchestrate purchases. The auto industry is on par this year with the spending they had in 2019! That’s pretty phenomenal when you consider the chip shortage and all of the other struggling aspects they’re facing.

Real estate agents on the other hand don’t necessarily have the same business acumen as the auto industry. Professional photography, thoughtful composition, virtual tours, floor plans, virtual staging, even basic property descriptions are really weak right now. It’s a little embarrassing, to be honest. Overconfidence/laziness and the inability to market is extremely detrimental when it comes to engaging our online buyers. We have a ton of online buyers who are extremely confident about making sound purchasing decisions outside of our local market. If your listing agent isn’t grabbing their attention, they are not doing their job. Call me to see how we’ve been able to capture online buyer attention and get our listings to the closing table.

Great real estate markets have a tendency to bring out an ugly side with some of my competition. This can be a problem for you if you are trying to reap high rewards in acceptable time frames. Characteristics include agents not returning phone calls, not allowing showings because it’s inconvenient for their personal reasons, hostile negotiations not initiated by the seller and so forth. It can also mean failure to perform extra tasks to make it less burdensome on the seller. For example, I heard an agent say, I’m not doing weekend showings. Why bother? You can see it during the week or don’t come at all. Now, that would be understandable if the seller were in town and didn’t want to be interrupted but when the seller is out of town, those roadblocks are self-serving. Go with an agent who is 100% about serving your needs as a seller and has the objective of making this transaction as easy as possible. My team and I are all about solution-finding. If we can’t do it for you, we know somebody reputable who can. Ask me more!

I imagine some of you are anticipating going on the market this next season but your best buyer may be out there right now! Why would you wait until you potentially have more competition when you can get a fantastic price right now? If you’re unsure what your specific market conditions look like, call me! I can quickly and easily assess if now is a good time to list or if it’s more advantageous for you to wait until the season.

Markets in Naples don’t always move the same way. Pelican Marsh is notoriously more active in the summer compared to the high season but this year that market was really strong during season. Look at Collier’s Reserve with no inventory and Mediterra with one month of inventory. Collier’s Reserve owners could go on the market now and have tremendous success today compared to waiting until the season. It’s not just the basic inventory level that matters either. The detail about your property is a big factor in whether now is a good time to list. Call me and let’s chat about what you may be willing to sell. It could be you reap higher rewards right now!

That’s all I have for you today. If you have specific questions, please reach out via text, email, or phone! Let’s get a jump on your buying and selling success!

Best Regards,

Shannon Lefevre, PA

Your Naples Smart Girl!

239-595-6223