Naples Real Estate Pre-Season Report 2021

Hello Naples Friends! I’m here to answer all of the questions you’ve been asking including, “What’s going on with the Naples real estate market?” I’ll share with you some of the inside conversations I’m having around town and help you get a good handle on what you can expect. I’m certainly seeing new behaviors and hearing about the results of those behaviors. If we all try to relax and remember how our parents raised us, I’m sure we’ll have a great experience!

Inventory Levels

This is still going to be the source of some frustration for buyers this pre-season. That means you’re going to want to remain on point if your goal is to purchase this year. My partners and I are extremely responsive when it comes to new listings and getting our buyers in there even if it means through FaceTime video. A large majority of buyers have adopted the confidence to purchase site unseen. This cuts down on decision-making time and allows buyers to offer before the property sells to somebody else. If you’re planning a visit, by all means, check out what’s available online. Be aware more people make the trek to Naples in October than in years past which always increases our real estate activity.

Our Canadian friends are coming back this year and these people have been waiting a long time. Be prepared to compete with them!

Successful Tips To Buy Naples Real Estate

Get on my first notice list by calling me today. I cannot express this enough! Many of these properties will sell before they hit MLS. They’ll go live already under contract. If you contact me, I can alert you of pocket listings and reach out to the most probable listing agents in your preferred location. We’ll also notify the owners in that area and see if we can identify an opportunity for you to accomplish your goal. This is the BEST way to get your property.

Responsiveness is key. We’ve adopted more buyers over the last year who felt they couldn’t accomplish their objectives with the agent they were using. We get it! An overwhelming majority of agents do not have the same mindset we do about responsiveness and many buyers have missed buying opportunities for this reason. If you call us we will take care of you. This also means you need to be responsive too.

Get the answers to as many questions as you can before new listings hit the market! Some buyers have already obtained copies of condo docs and are ready to waive their 3 day right of recision making their offer even more appealing to the seller. If you need answers, call me!

Negotiating Strategies Change With Market Conditions

No Showings Til “X”

This tactic is used to boost demand and enhance opportunities for an offer battle. Some of you have already expressed your disinterest in participating. If you do want to participate, there are some strategies I’ve deployed to help buyers win.

Buying Before You See

Some buyers have written offers before having an opportunity to see what they’re buying. This works especially well with pre-existing condos because there is a 3 day right of recision to review condo documents. If you decide you hate it within 3 days, you can punt out of the deal and keep your deposit. New construction condos get a 10 day right of recision. You do not have an automatic out with single-family homes so your risk goes up. Ask me more about this.

Waiving Inspection Rights

Buyers are waiving their inspection rights or cutting inspection timelines to extreme measures to entice the seller to sign. If you have the means to fix broken stuff then why not? The seller knows they have a tighter deal. They also know that buyer is not going to try to gig them to fix property condition issues or give credit for broken things. We aren’t really a fan of this procedure but it may work for you. Ask me more about this.

Escalation Clauses

Escalation clauses are still occurring as well. This is where the buyer offers a price but also offers a percentage over the highest offer up to a certain amount. This way if their original number doesn’t work, they still have a shot but they are not completely exposed to an unlimited price offer.

I know these strategies are bad news for those of you who aren’t interested in playing those games. Buyer fatigue is real and I’m already seeing some evidence suggesting some buyers aren’t going this route. This is excellent news for buyers.

When will the market shift?

I’m hearing chatter all over town about how it’s going to take 2 years before the market is level. I’ve also heard it will take 3 years. The truth is, nobody knows and this type of speculation drives me crazy. These are the exact soundbites a less experienced agent needs to become overconfident and fail their clients regardless if they’re working with buyers or sellers. Working with buyers, they’ll instruct their buyer to write with extremely favorable terms which cost the buyer more money than necessary. Working with sellers, they’ll overshoot the market and end up needing to reduce the property price under what it likely would have gotten.

Some real estate people believe Naples has always been undervalued. People who are accustomed to spending big money on real estate have “discovered” Naples and prices will never be the same again. So Naples real estate is going to defy the basic fact that everything of value trends?

I am seeing some properties sit for longer than they had been in various locations across Naples.

I also see some pretty decent price reductions occurring.

Watch an inexperienced agent list a property that doesn’t sell in the day or two they’ve been experiencing for the last year. Both the agent and seller have a tendency to pucker and that’s when we see these types of reductions. Keep your eyes out for these this year. Those can be real buying opportunities especially if their entrance to the market was way less busy than expected!

September and October $1,000,000+ Market Statistics

Last September

Avg. DOM = 140 days

Avg. discount=5.5%
3% sold for more than full price
24% sold at full price
73 % sold for less than full price

October First Week

Avg. DOM = 23 days
Avg. discount = 3%
19% sold for more than full price
22% sold at full price
59% sold for under full price.

October Second Week

Avg. DOM = 11 days
Avg. discount = 2.6%
14% sold for more than full price
31% sold for full price
55% sold for under full price

Good News For Buyers

Let’s take a peek at the graph here! As you can see, we have a hot market. Yes, more properties are selling and pending than new listings are coming on the market which means our inventories are still shrinking.

Look at the Back On Market number. Most of these are properties that were pending contract but the buyer backed out. Usually, this is due to a disagreement about property conditions. Sometimes it’s because the buyer didn’t get their loan. Properties withdrawn from the market that go back on are also in this pile of listings. You want to watch for these because sometimes owners are more accommodating with the next buyer and that buyer could be you. If anything, it could be they’ll disclose the defects found on the last inspection report which means you may be able to bypass the whole inspection process.

See those price decreases? Yaaasss buyers a wee sigh of relief! After you’re done reading this post check out the home in Port Royal that went from Nearly 25 million up to 54 million down to 34 million then 29 million to $26,990,000. LOL!

More buyers are expressing a strong dislike of competing!

Some are putting their foot down on prices too!

This is really good news for buyers and if you feel the same way, you need to call me and find out how I can keep you out of the chaos!

While every buyer may not be as “gung ho” to compete with other buyers, some are still very ready and willing. A property in Pelican Bay just went under contract and brought more than $100,000 over the list price. I received a call on that same property with an interested party who was willing to pay $50,000 under. See the disconnect?

Some buyers are getting really fatigued. They’re hopping on my site to see new listings and bouncing off when they see prices. Heck, the prices are overwhelming to me too but this is not a time to be tired, my friends. This is the time to grab a coffee and be ready to strike when nobody else is paying attention!

Successful Tips To Sell Naples Real Estate

Throwing a half-baked listing on the market will not help you sell your property for the highest price possible. If you are planning to sell this year and want a great price, you need an agent who is going to present your property in the best way possible. Some agents are getting really comfortable and maybe a little lazy with their marketing. Agents have been spending less time achieving the marketing quality your high price is going to require. Many buyers have been asking for more photos or asking more questions about important details that were not provided in the listing. These are all roadblocks to contracts and can cause unnecessary anxiety.

Hire a professional photographer: Make sure your agent does it and that they are helping your property look its best in that photography. Little things like “the money shot” (the best photo in first placement) can all result in big mistakes that lose eyeballs and hinder the ability to garner the interest you need for that price tag. When buyers will buy everything, this type of attention to detail is not needed. Push those prices up to the max and couple that with buyer fatigue and there is a real problem. Our sole job is to attract those eyeballs and when agents think it will happen automatically, they stop working.

Virtual Staging: If your property is vacant or the age/personality of your furniture is losing interest, we can fix that on photography and yes, it makes a huge impact on successful results. Many agents aren’t doing this right now because it can be expensive. So, they’ll not do it and expect you to do a price reduction when that interest isn’t there. The cost to do those virtual staging shots is free to you but that price reduction is expensive.

Decluttering: Part of the service I offer is to hide the things that will destroy the buyer’s ability to see your property. Some of these kitchen and bathroom photos I’m seeing on listings is absolutely hideous. Let us help you make your property look its best.

Turn the lights on. So many dark and sad photos on listings right now! Why? The first thing we do for a photoshoot is turn everything on. Heck, we can light up a room even when the lights aren’t on. It’s not that hard!

Aerial photos of a moldy old roof: Nothing screams, “Here’s where you’ll spend your first $100,000 after you buy it,” than a moldy roof aerial photo and if you think buyers don’t notice, think again. Yes, you need to disclose the age of the roof but it certainly doesn’t require a photo and it should never be in the money shot position.

So many photos, so little quality: This is a new trend where agents are putting 30+ photos in MLS so websites like Zillow will place them higher in the search. It’s a good strategy but not when there are a bunch of uninteresting pictures of the property like hallways and little closets.10 aerial photos when one properly describes the location of the property will lose the interest of the buyer. 30+ photos may help you rank higher in Zillow but if they’re bad, buyers won’t click through defeating the entire point of effective marketing. A bunch of virtually the same photo is like that guy at the party who repeats himself and talks too much. Bye! Hahaha

Videos: Still shots are great! Virtual tours are still better! Many agents are foregoing the expense because they’re confident they won’t need it. If you want all your money, hire an agent who will do it. We shoot the video the same day we shoot photos.

Terrible property descriptions: I can always tell when agents don’t know or care about their descriptions when they use all the features already described in other parts of the listing. “This 3 bedroom, 2 bath features 2,400 square feet of living space and comes complete with a living room and dining room.” What? LOL! I’m not sure but I’ll bet my 12-year-old could do better.
You need a passionate agent who knows how to market and still has the energy to do it well. If you really want to knock it out of the park, hire a listing agent who answers their phone, can answer questions about your property, and get buyers in your listing when they want to see it. Every year there are tons of properties we can’t show because the listing agent is too busy with excuses like they’re playing pickleball or they’re out of town. Oye! We’re here and if we’re playing pickleball, one of us can get that buyer in your property!

I hope you enjoyed my Naples real estate pre-season update! Please call or text with your questions and objectives. We are excited to assist you!

Best Regards,

Shannon Lefevre, PA
239-595-6223