The Myth about Naples Real Estate Prices

The Myth about Naples Real Estate Prices

Be wary about what you see in the media about the Naples Real Estate market. Much of what is in the media isn't worth the paper it's written on. It can be very misleading. Some in the media have been reporting that Naples is the most overpriced housing market in the nation. They go on to site examples of the high prices in our market and use average prices gathered from statistics that really don't reflect the true condition of the market place. Averaging the prices will not give you a true picture.

For example: Take a given date in time.... October 23, 2006, the Naples Florida Area Local MLS System had 726 properties ( homes & condos ) listed for sale at an asking price of over $2 million each. 126 of the properties were actually listed for over $5 million each. These extremely high priced properties distort the true picture of the rest of the market place. Some of the high priced properties can be found in all different parts of town, so the picture is not clear when you ask about price averages in a certain part of town.

For example: In North Naples just north of Immokalee Rd. ( what we refer to as zone NA-11 ) there were 680 properties on the market on Oct.23rd and the statistics will show the average asking price to be $693,991. Well, in fact, we actually have over half of the properties in that area on the market at an asking price of less than $400,000. So you can see how the very high priced properties will skew the real picture.

I live in zone NA-14 in North Naples, which is the heart of North Naples and the statistics are showing that the average asking price is $675,481. Well, I'm here to tell you that almost half of what is on the market in this area is at an asking price of under $400,000.

Another example of how statistics can paint the wrong picture:
Say you have a town of 100 properties at $200,000 each =    100 x 200,000 = $20 million
         "      "                       15 properties at $2 million each =    15 x $2 million = $30 million
            Totals.....           115 properties                                                                $50 million
            Average..     $50 million / 115 properties = $434,782 as the average price

Conclusion: Statistics have really played a part in painting a misleading picture of the local market prices.
So, even though you may read something that says an average price in a given area might be close to $700,000 and that it is too expensive to live in Naples, don't be discouraged. You should still be able to find plenty of properties for under $400,000 and hundreds for under $300,000.

For Professional advice and information from
a Broker that has been selling in the Naples
Florida market for 20 years, contact Pete Smith