Let’s Talk… Hot Off the Press!

January Activity Shows Stability in the Market

Naples, Fla. (February 19, 2016) - Despite a slight decrease in overall pending and closed sales, other areas of the Naples real estate market continue to be moving into a stable, balanced market between buyers and sellers, according to the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).

The NABOR Market Report for the 12-months ending January 2016, showed that inventory during January 2016 rose 13 percent to 5,091 homes from 4,515 homes in January 2015. Average Days on Market in January 2016 decreased 14 percent to 75 days from 87 days in January 2015.

"These two areas of the report tell us that we are seeing a balanced market," said Dominic Pallini, Broker at Vanderbilt Realty. Broker analysts reviewing the January 2016 Market Report agreed that several external factors also may have contributed to this stability in the real estate market including unpredictable activity in the stock market, dramatic decreases in oil prices, a harsh Canadian exchange rate, and the fact that it is a presidential election year.

"Inventory levels are rising because prices are now at a point where sellers can see profits again so they are putting their homes on the market," added Pallini. "The days on the market decreased 14 percent overall, which could be due to price reductions."

The January report showed double-digit increases in inventory for all price segments above $300,000. For example, the $500,000 to $1 million price segment experienced the highest increase with a 26 percent increase in inventory to 1,245 homes in January 2016 from 990 homes in January 2015. In the single-family home market this same price category had a 31 percent increase in inventory to 829 homes in January 2016 from 632 homes in January 2015. Yet surprisingly, while inventory in the condominium market also rose in every price category above $300,000, it was the $1 million to $2 million price category that saw the biggest jump with a 39 percent increase to 201 condominiums in January 2016 from 145 condominiums in January 2015.

According to Phil Wood, President & CEO of John R. Wood Properties, inventory is up by nearly 600 homes since last January, which equates to 6.1 months of inventory, the highest since April 2013. Buyer opportunities improve with the increase in inventory.

"While not evident in the report, REALTORS® in the field are seeing investment properties come back onto the market," said Brenda Fioretti, Managing Broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty. "And even though the report showed a 23 percent decrease in overall pending sales for existing homes year over year, it was probably offset by an increase in new home sales."

The NABOR® January 2016 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® January 2016 sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings: 

• Overall pending sales decreased 23 percent to 847 in January 2016 from 1,103 in January 2015.

• Pending sales for condominiums in the $1 million to $2 million price category increased 14 percent to 32 condominiums in January 2016 from 28 condominiums in January 2015.

• Pending sales for condominiums in the $2 million and above price category spiked 100 percent to 22 condominiums in January 2016 from 11 condominiums in January 2015.

• Overall closed sales decreased 1 percent to 9,712 homes in the 12-months ending January 2016 from 9,827 homes in the 12-months ending January 2015.

• Closed sales for single-family homes in the Immokalee/Ave Maria area rose 78 percent to 48 single-family homes in the 12-months ending January 2016 from 27 single-family homes in the 12-months ending January 2015.

• Overall median closed price increased 13 percent to $309,000 in the 12-months ending January 2016 from $273,000 in the 12-months ending January 2015.

• Overall median closed price for homes over $300,000 decreased 4 percent to $520,000 in the 12-months ending January 2016 from $540,000 in the 12-months ending January 2015.

• Overall inventory increased 13 percent to 5,091 homes in January 2016 from 4,515 homes in January 2015.

• Average days on market decreased 14 percent to 75 days in January 2016 from 87 days in January 2015.

"One month does not a market make," claimed Pallini. "We won't have a picture of how sales this season will play out until April or May. The only thing we know for certain is that buyers have many more options now than last year. If you are considering selling your home, a REALTOR® with knowledge of the local market can help you understand all the factors that contribute to making sure it is priced right to sell."

Ensure the home you want to buy or sell is priced right by working with me and my team at NaplesHomeSweetHome. As always if you have any questions about our Real Estate Market please give me a call at 239.404.7787 or by e-mail at Michelle@ NaplesHomeSweetHome.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Enjoy your weekend!

Michelle

View January 2016 Market Statistics

  

Michelle J. DeNomme, REALTOR, GRI

Cellular Phone I  239.404.7787

E-Mail : Michelle@NaplesHomeSweetHome.com

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

Office: 239.659.2400

E-Fax Number: 239.236.5550

Website:  www.NaplesHomeSweetHome.com        

Blog Page:   http://michelledenomme.blogspot.com  

Twitter Me: DeNommeRealtor

The Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®) is an established organization (Chartered in 1949) whose members have a positive and progressive impact on the Naples Community. NABOR® is a local board of REALTORS® and real estate professionals with a legacy of nearly 60 years serving 5,000 plus members. NABOR® is a member of the Florida Realtors and the National Association of REALTORS®, which is the largest association in the United States with more than 1.3 million members and over 1,400 local board of REALTORS® nationwide. NABOR® is structured to provide programs and services to its membership through various committees and the NABOR® Board of Directors, all of whose members are non-paid volunteers.

  

The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics.

Let's Talk... Hot off the Press!

Mortgage Rates Move Lower Than Expected

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2016 

For the fifth consecutive week, mortgage rates trended down, surprising even forecasters. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now at its lowest average since April 30, 2015.

"Market volatility -- and the associated flight to quality -- continued unabated this week,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped another 15 basis points, and the 30-year mortgage rate fell 7 basis points as well, to 3.72 percent. Both the Treasury yield and the mortgage rate now are in the neighborhood of early-2015 lows. These declines are not what the market anticipated when the Fed raised the Federal funds rate in December. For now, though, sub-4-percent mortgage rates are providing a longer-than-expected opportunity for mortgage borrowers to refinance."

This week the market forecasted zero hikes in 2016 for the Fed’s short-term rates, which could keep mortgage rates low. Analysts are now predicting that the closely monitored Fed Futures market has nearly a 60 percent chance of no rate hikes at all this year, marking a “dramatic U-Turn from only a month ago when the market was pricing in a 75 percent probability the Fed would increase rates at least once in 2016,” CNNMoney reports. 

The Fed had risen rates 0.25 in December, its first increase in nearly 10 years. But with stock markets spiraling downward and the fragile global economy, analysts believe this will likely prompt the Fed to pause in raising rates.

"Things have happened in financial markets and in the flow of economic data that may be in the process of altering the outlook for growth," Fed vice chairman Bill Dudley told MarketWatch this week.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 4:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.72 percent, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 3.79 percent average. A year ago, 30-year rates averaged 3.59 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.01 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.07 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 2.92 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.85 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 2.90 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.82 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac and “Market Now Predicts ZERO Fed Hikes in 2016,” CNNMoney (Feb. 3, 2016)

Let's Talk Hot Off the Press...

Home Prices Up 6.3 Percent Year over Year in December 2015

RISMEDIA, Thursday, February 04, 2016— Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 6.3 percent in December 2015 compared with December 2014, according to the recently released CoreLogic® Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast™ data for December 2015. Results also showed that prices increased month over month by 0.8 percent in December 2015 compared with November 2015.

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 5.4 percent on a year-over-year basis from December 2015 to December 2016, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to increase 0.2 percent from December 2015 to January 2016. The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a projection of home prices using the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables. Values are derived from state-level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner-occupied households for each state.

“Nationally, home prices have been rising at a 5 to 6 percent annual rate for more than a year,” says Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “However, local-market growth can vary substantially from that. Some metropolitan areas have had double-digit appreciation, such as Denver and Naples, Florida, while others have had price declines, like New Orleans and Rochester, New York.”

“Higher property valuations appear to be driving up single-family construction as we head into the spring.  Additional housing stock, especially in urban centers on the coasts such as San Francisco, could help to temper home price growth in the longer term,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “In the short and medium term, local markets with strong employment growth are likely to experience a continued rise in home sales and price growth well above the U.S. average.”

For more information, visit www.corelogic.com. 

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Two New Restaurants of Interest that you may want to  check out!

Zen Asian BBQ Zen is in a Naples Park retail center on U.S. 41, a few blocks south of Immokalee Road. "Our restaurant is a rustic Japanese pub mixed with Korean barbecue —the first Korean barbecue in Naples," Cardascia said. "We will have sushi, as well as authentic Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Thai food." Zen Asian BBQ, 10823 U.S. 41 N., is now serving dinner 5 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Live music will be featured from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturdays. Call 239-260-7037, or go to eatatzen.com. 21 Spices Considering the popularity of Indian food in other parts of the world, it’s surprising that we haven’t had a really fabulous Indian restaurant in Naples First, it’s wonderful to see a really great restaurant move into the East Naples area.  Right across the street is the new Lucky’s Market, a high-end organic supermarket, the first one in South Florida and a competitor to Trader Joe’s.  Chef Asif Rasheed has spent the last 14 years at the Hilton in Marco Island and 21 Spices is his dream.  A menu of Indian dishes that are complex in taste and texture.  There are lots of chicken and lamb, even goat dishes to choose from and they all taste unique in their combination of sauces and cooking techniques. Sugden Park Plaza 4270 Tamiami Trail East 239.919.8830 21spicesdining.com