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Naples, Fla. (January 16, 2015)
- Overall closed sales for homes in every price category above $300,000
saw double digit increases in 2014. As a result, broker analysts contend that
2014 was one of the best years in Naples real estate history for closed
sales. According to the Annual 2014 Market Report released by the Naples Area
Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within
Collier County (excluding Marco Island), inventory increased 16 percent for
homes in the $2 million and above price category from 394 in 2013 to 457 in
2014. The report also showed that overall closed sales in this luxury market
price category increased 33 percent from 299 homes in 2013 to 399 homes in
2014, yet the overall median home price in this price category held steady
year over year at $2,950,000.
"Even though the report
shows that the overall inventory decreased 6 percent in 2014, it increased in
several price categories including the very high end. Interestingly however,
and as indicated by the report, prices for luxury homes held steady. There
appears to be clear indication of price stabilization," said Coco
Waldenmayer, managing broker at John R. Wood Properties.
"Yes. That's true,"
commented Cindy Carroll, SRA, with the real estate appraisal and consultancy
firm of Carroll & Carroll, Inc. "The market in general is
trending toward a balance of supply and demand and value
stabilization. Some market sectors may have reached their peak for this
economic cycle in the fall of 2014 while other areas will demonstrate
continued value growth in 2015."
Buyers looking for single
family homes in 2015 will be pleased, as the report indicated a 3 percent
increase in inventory of single family homes from 2,260 in 2013 to 2,321 in
2014. As noted by Rick Fioretti, NABOR® President Elect and Broker Associate
with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Realty, this may be due to
what the industry calls a "sleeping inventory," or sellers who were
unaware of the market's improvement and upon exploring their options with a
REALTOR® decided to place their home on the market for sale.
While closed sales stood firm
at a 3 percent increase for condominiums in 2014, inventory in the
condominium market did not fare as well as single family home inventory in
2014. The report indicated a 14 percent decrease in condominium inventory
from 2,354 in 2013 to 2,030 in 2014. The only price category that experienced
an increase in inventory was the $300,000 to $500,000 price category. It
increased 13 percent from 408 condominiums in 2013 to 462 condominiums in
2014. Broker analysts indicate that this increase in inventory may be due, in
part, to bracket creep, which is what happens when a home's value increases to
a point that it surpasses its current category's threshold and advances into
the price category above it. The fact that inventory for condominiums in the
$300,000 and below price category decreased 23 percent is further evidence of
the bracket creep.
The NABOR® Annual 2014 Market
Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via
the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and
includes an overall market summary. The NABOR® Annual 2014 sales statistics are
presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and
condominium) findings:
As noted by Bill Coffey, Broker
Manager of Amerivest Realty Naples, the gain in Naples housing market's
momentum is evident when you compare quarterly sales activity for 2014.
Closed sales increased 5 percent in the first quarter, but then fell 4 and 11
percent respectively during the second and third quarters. But in the fourth
quarter, sales jumped 9 percent. This increase is a welcome sign and
indicates consumer confidence in the Naples area housing market.
Industry predictions of a
self-correcting housing market have come true. A return to a balanced housing
market can be seen in the NABOR® Annual 2014 Market Report because, even
though sales increased by double digits for homes above $300,000, the median home
price did not shift substantially.
To view the entire report, visit www.NaplesArea.com
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Friday, January 16, 2015
Luxury Market Gains Momentum in 2014
Move to Florida for warm weather, better tax conditions - Here's How!!
www.ScottSorensonRealEstate.Com
MIAMI – Jan. 15, 2015 – Atlantic Trust, a private wealth management division of CIBC, advises clients to move to Florida to save on taxes.
"Florida has no individual income tax, so many of our clients who live in states that have a high state income tax consider moving to Florida in order to avoid that level of taxation," says Linda Beerman, chief fiduciary officer for Atlantic Trust. "Florida has long been a popular destination for clients who are retirees because there is no state estate tax as well."
One of the issues individuals can face is continued income tax assessments from their former state even though they've moved away. Therefore, it's important for people who relocated to Florida to establish conclusively that they have changed their domicile.
Proof isn't the same as establishing residency, which simply requires having a presence as an inhabitant of a particular place, Beerman says. Someone establishing a domicile not only lives there, but he or she also demonstrates an intent to make that place a fixed and permanent home.
"Individuals can have several residences – that is, different homes in different states – but you can only have one domicile," Beerman says.
To establish that intent, individuals should spend sufficient time in their new "home" state, register to vote, move some tangible property, become involved in a local church or community activities, and change their address.
MIAMI – Jan. 15, 2015 – Atlantic Trust, a private wealth management division of CIBC, advises clients to move to Florida to save on taxes.
"Florida has no individual income tax, so many of our clients who live in states that have a high state income tax consider moving to Florida in order to avoid that level of taxation," says Linda Beerman, chief fiduciary officer for Atlantic Trust. "Florida has long been a popular destination for clients who are retirees because there is no state estate tax as well."
One of the issues individuals can face is continued income tax assessments from their former state even though they've moved away. Therefore, it's important for people who relocated to Florida to establish conclusively that they have changed their domicile.
Proof isn't the same as establishing residency, which simply requires having a presence as an inhabitant of a particular place, Beerman says. Someone establishing a domicile not only lives there, but he or she also demonstrates an intent to make that place a fixed and permanent home.
"Individuals can have several residences – that is, different homes in different states – but you can only have one domicile," Beerman says.
To establish that intent, individuals should spend sufficient time in their new "home" state, register to vote, move some tangible property, become involved in a local church or community activities, and change their address.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Buyers Rush Luxury Market in November
www.ScottSorensonRealEstate.Com
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Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Condominiums an Affordable Option in Naples Market
www.ScottSorensonRealEstate.com
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Saturday, November 22, 2014
Collier home sales continue to show strength
www.ScottSorensonRealEstate.Com
NAPLES, Fla. - Winter visitors have arrived early, and they’re snapping up homes, particularly along the beach.
The latest monthly report by the Naples Area Board of Realtors showed overall existing home prices in Collier County, excluding Marco Island, rose 8.2 percent in October from the same month a year earlier, to a median of $265,000.
That’s down from its recent double-digit growth rate, because many more new homes are entering the market, said David Cobb, South Florida regional director of research group MetroStudy.
“Builders are picking up the pace,” he said.
But the supply of newly constructed homes hasn’t been enough to dampen sales of existing ones.
NABOR said closed sales rose 5.8 percent to 707 in October year-over-year, while pending sales were up 8.6 percent to 911.
Real estate broker Phil Wood, president of John R. Wood Properties in Naples, said most of the sales are being made to seasonal visitors, who are arriving earlier than usual this year.
But he said they are coming from the Northeast instead of the Midwest, which is the region’s traditional feeder market of vacation homebuyers and retirees.
That’s helped bolster prices because sellers in the Northeast have higher-priced homes and so have more equity to spend on a Naples-area property.
“It’s not just the weather that’s driving Northeasterners here,” he said. “They’re fed up with higher taxes and the cost of living.”
Demand was strongest along the beach. Overall, sales in this area, which spans the 34102, 34103 and 34108 ZIP codes, rose 40 percent in October from the same month the year before.
Kathy Zorn, broker and owner of Florida Home Realty in Naples, said demand was particularly strong in some of the older and more expensive beach neighborhoods such as the Moorings, Park Shore and Port Royal.
“People are picking up older houses and tearing them down,” she said.
Meanwhile, NABOR said 3,939 resale properties were on the market in October, a 10 percent decline from a year earlier.
But the drop was almost entirely in the supply of condominiums, which fell 19 percent, to 1,811, in October from the year before. For the same period, single-family home inventory was flat.
Demand is highest for the least expensive condos, Wood said. Condo prices haven’t increased at as quick a pace as single-family homes, he added, which makes them more affordable to workforce buyers who are competing with out-of-towners.
But both homes and condos continue to move fast, said NABOR president Pat Pitocchi. Overall, average days on the market dropped to 73 in October from 107 a year earlier, a whopping 32 percent decline.
“The housing market is trending up, and people are feeling better about their finances,” she said. “That’s when urgency kicks in.”
NAPLES, Fla. - Winter visitors have arrived early, and they’re snapping up homes, particularly along the beach.
The latest monthly report by the Naples Area Board of Realtors showed overall existing home prices in Collier County, excluding Marco Island, rose 8.2 percent in October from the same month a year earlier, to a median of $265,000.
That’s down from its recent double-digit growth rate, because many more new homes are entering the market, said David Cobb, South Florida regional director of research group MetroStudy.
“Builders are picking up the pace,” he said.
But the supply of newly constructed homes hasn’t been enough to dampen sales of existing ones.
NABOR said closed sales rose 5.8 percent to 707 in October year-over-year, while pending sales were up 8.6 percent to 911.
Real estate broker Phil Wood, president of John R. Wood Properties in Naples, said most of the sales are being made to seasonal visitors, who are arriving earlier than usual this year.
But he said they are coming from the Northeast instead of the Midwest, which is the region’s traditional feeder market of vacation homebuyers and retirees.
That’s helped bolster prices because sellers in the Northeast have higher-priced homes and so have more equity to spend on a Naples-area property.
“It’s not just the weather that’s driving Northeasterners here,” he said. “They’re fed up with higher taxes and the cost of living.”
Demand was strongest along the beach. Overall, sales in this area, which spans the 34102, 34103 and 34108 ZIP codes, rose 40 percent in October from the same month the year before.
Kathy Zorn, broker and owner of Florida Home Realty in Naples, said demand was particularly strong in some of the older and more expensive beach neighborhoods such as the Moorings, Park Shore and Port Royal.
“People are picking up older houses and tearing them down,” she said.
Meanwhile, NABOR said 3,939 resale properties were on the market in October, a 10 percent decline from a year earlier.
But the drop was almost entirely in the supply of condominiums, which fell 19 percent, to 1,811, in October from the year before. For the same period, single-family home inventory was flat.
Demand is highest for the least expensive condos, Wood said. Condo prices haven’t increased at as quick a pace as single-family homes, he added, which makes them more affordable to workforce buyers who are competing with out-of-towners.
But both homes and condos continue to move fast, said NABOR president Pat Pitocchi. Overall, average days on the market dropped to 73 in October from 107 a year earlier, a whopping 32 percent decline.
“The housing market is trending up, and people are feeling better about their finances,” she said. “That’s when urgency kicks in.”
Friday, October 24, 2014
Housing is missing 700K in sales
ScottSorensonRealEstate.Com
WASHINGTON – Oct. 24, 2014 – A drop in single-family home sales – both new homes and existing homes – over the past few years equates to a real estate market that is at least 700,000 shy in annual home sales, according to estimates by David Crowe, the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.
He arrived at that estimate by taking into account historical market averages in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which showed home sales at about 5.6 million per year – made up of 900,000 new-home sales and 4.7 million in existing-home sales.
But the latest loss in sales can largely be attributed to a drop in new-home sales, Crowe notes. Single-family new-home sales peaked in 2005 at 1.3 million, but plunged by 77 percent to 300,000 in 2011. It's slowly been regaining. Meanwhile, existing-home sales – heavily lifted by distressed sales to investors in recent years – dropped 40 percent from peak to trough, Crowe notes.
"As demand for more homes dried up, households lost their owned homes through foreclosure, and the number of newly formed households shrank, the existing supply of homes was more than sufficient to satisfy demand," Crowe says. "Adding more inventory to a saturated market made little sense" at the time.
First-time buyers will be key to making up for the loss in sales, Crowe says. Sales of existing-homes to first-time buyers are more likely to result in the seller buying a new home, he notes.
"First-time buyers expand the need for more homes even if they aren't the primary purchasers of those new homes," Crowe notes. "First-time buying was 40 percent of the existing market and 30 percent of the new-home market in in more stable periods. Those shares, of a smaller market, have dropped to 27 percent and 16 percent, respectively. …
"First-time home buyers continue to struggle with their own financial limitations but as the economy expands and jobs become more available and better paying, the core 25- to 34-year-old first-time buyers will come back."
WASHINGTON – Oct. 24, 2014 – A drop in single-family home sales – both new homes and existing homes – over the past few years equates to a real estate market that is at least 700,000 shy in annual home sales, according to estimates by David Crowe, the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.
He arrived at that estimate by taking into account historical market averages in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which showed home sales at about 5.6 million per year – made up of 900,000 new-home sales and 4.7 million in existing-home sales.
But the latest loss in sales can largely be attributed to a drop in new-home sales, Crowe notes. Single-family new-home sales peaked in 2005 at 1.3 million, but plunged by 77 percent to 300,000 in 2011. It's slowly been regaining. Meanwhile, existing-home sales – heavily lifted by distressed sales to investors in recent years – dropped 40 percent from peak to trough, Crowe notes.
"As demand for more homes dried up, households lost their owned homes through foreclosure, and the number of newly formed households shrank, the existing supply of homes was more than sufficient to satisfy demand," Crowe says. "Adding more inventory to a saturated market made little sense" at the time.
First-time buyers will be key to making up for the loss in sales, Crowe says. Sales of existing-homes to first-time buyers are more likely to result in the seller buying a new home, he notes.
"First-time buyers expand the need for more homes even if they aren't the primary purchasers of those new homes," Crowe notes. "First-time buying was 40 percent of the existing market and 30 percent of the new-home market in in more stable periods. Those shares, of a smaller market, have dropped to 27 percent and 16 percent, respectively. …
"First-time home buyers continue to struggle with their own financial limitations but as the economy expands and jobs become more available and better paying, the core 25- to 34-year-old first-time buyers will come back."
Friday, October 17, 2014
3rd Quarter Inventory Remains Tight
3rd
Quarter Inventory Remains Tight
Naples, Fla.
(October 17, 2014) - Limited inventory continues to be the story of the
Naples area real estate market, according to the third quarter report released
by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®). Inventory of existing homes
decreased 9 percent from 4,080 homes available in the 3rd quarter of 2013 to
3,702 homes in the 3rd quarter of 2014. This tight inventory affected sales
activity as demonstrated by a 10 percent decrease in pending sales from 2,548
in 3rd quarter 2013 to 2,304 pending sales in 3rd quarter 2014; and an 11 percent
decrease in closed sales from 2,339 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 2,093 closed sales
in 3rd quarter 2014.
Contrary to the reduction of
pending and closed sales in the 3rd quarter of 2014, real estate agents across
Collier County reported being very busy keeping up with the growing demand.
This anomaly, as confirmed by a panel of brokers analyzing the NABOR® 3rd
Quarter 2014 Naples area market statistics, is likely a result of the market
experiencing an influx of new home construction that, while not reported in the
Southwest Florida MLS, has replenished the void resulting from a decreased
inventory in the resale market.
"I don't think the market
need has changed," said Steve Barker, Advising Broker for Equity Realty.
"Agents are showing homes every day because the new construction market
has finally caught up to the demand. But the resale market is still desirable
as location continues to be a factor for many new home buyers and the new
construction market can't be everywhere."
Pat Pitocchi, NABOR® president
and corporate trainer at Downing-Frye Realty said, "The market report does
a good job at showing us a big picture view of how the resale market in Collier
is behaving in general. However, it does not report all new homes sales, which
appears to be a considerable segment of the current market activity according
to reports from local brokers."
Wes Kunkle, a commercial broker
at Kunkle Realty, pointed out that the 21 percent decrease in overall pending
sales in the $300,000 and below market drove the overall 10 percent decrease.
"Overall pending sales in every price segment over $300,000 increased in
the third quarter 2014. Overall closed sales increased in two of the five price
segments, $300,000 to $500,000 and $1 million to $2 million, as well."
The NABOR® 3rd Quarter 2014
Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via
the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and
includes an overall market summary. The NABOR® 3rd Quarter 2014 sales statistics
are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and
condominium) findings:
- Pending sales of single family homes over $2 million increased 26 percent from 43 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 54 3rd quarter 2014.
- Pending sales of condominiums between $1 million and $2 million increased 29 percent from 38 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 49 in 3rd quarter 2014.
- Overall closed sales in the $300,000 to $500,000 category increased 13 percent from 398 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 451 in 3rd quarter 2014.
- Overall closed sales in the $1 million to $2 million category increased 14 percent from 91 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 104 in 3rd quarter 2014.
- Overall median closed price increased 13 percent from $234,000 in 3rd quarter 2013 to $265,000 in 3rd quarter 2014.
- Overall median home price of homes over $300,000 decreased 7 percent from $530,000 in 3rd quarter 2013 to $493,000 in 3rd quarter 2014.
- Overall inventory decreased 9 percent from 4,080 homes in 3rd quarter 2013 to 3,702 homes in the 3rd quarter of 2014.
- Overall inventory of single family homes in the $300,000 to $500,000 market increased 15 percent from 422 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 487 in 3rd quarter 2014.
According to Kathy Zorn,
broker/owner at Florida Home Realty, "Homes priced under $300,000 may make
up over 60 percent of our market but this is not our entire market. In fact,
the 3rd quarter report showed an increase in inventory of single family homes
in the combined price categories above $300,000, which accounts for 1,564 homes
or 42% of the overall 3rd quarter inventory.
NABOR® also released its
September 2014 Market Report, which revealed the following:
- Overall pending sales increased 2 percent from 810 in September 2013 to 829 pending in September 2014.
- Overall closed sales decreased 3 percent from 9,919 in the 12-months ending September 2013 to 9,585 closed sales in the 12-months ending September 2014.
- Overall median closed price increased 14 percent from $230,000 in the 12-months ending September 2013 to $262,000 in the 12-months ending September 2014.
- Overall inventory decreased 9 percent from 4,080 in September 2013 to 3,702 in September 2014.
Broker analysts agree that new
construction within the last year is a welcome addition to the Collier County housing
market.
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