Home sales in the Naples area fell in November, as the overall market continues to recover from Hurricane Irma.  Total sales declined by 9 percent over the year to 521, according to the latest report by the Naples Area Board of Realtors.  The report tracks all sales made by its members in Collier County through the Southwest Florida multiple listing service, excluding Marco Island.

Sales have been up and down since September, when Irma wreaked havoc on Collier County and put most Naples area Realtors out of circulation for two to three weeks.  Single-family home sales increased 1 percent over the year in November, reaching 271. However, condo sales fell 18 percent to 250.  Pending sales — or new contracts written — rose slightly over the year, growing by 2 percent to 728.  The inventory of homes on the market was down 7 percent in November, when compared to a year ago. There were 5,322 active listings, down from 5,733 last year.

Irma led some sellers to take their homes off the market. Some properties have not been relisted because they’re waiting on repairs, or their owners have changed their minds after getting new roofs or other upgrades due to the storm.

Buyers and sellers have good reason to be confident as there are many positives on both sides of the fence.  Sellers should get their properties on the market now and buyers should move quickly as multiple offers could occur as a result of the tight inventory.

A tighter inventory is pushing prices up. The median closing price — the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less — rose 9 percent  to $330,000 in November, up from $303,000 a year ago.  There were 116 cash sales for homes priced below $300,000 in November.  This was higher than expected and may indicate the return of investors to the market.

While sales activity was down in November, local brokers say the demand for million-dollar homes continues to be strong.

Sales in the $2 million and up price segment increased 21 percent for single-family homes and 22 percent for condominiums over the year.

November had a 63 percent increase in pending sales for single-family homes over $1 million. This is a clear indication that high-end buyers continue to find Naples a desirable location for an investment.

To learn more about the Naples real estate market contact an expert member of the 9 Core Realty Team.

Florida again is the top market for foreign buyers of U.S. residential real estate, with the state’s share at 22 percent. The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan statistical area ranked fifth for foreign buyers among Sunshine State markets.

The dollar amount of that international investment in home and condominium purchases continues to skyrocket, rising in the 12 months ending in July 2017 at $24.2 billion, some $5 billion more than the previous year, according to a report from the Florida Realtors trade group.

Within the state, the annual study put the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach statistical was in a very strong first place, with a 52.6 percent market share, up a half percentage point from last year.

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford was a distant second place at 10.8 percent, down from 11.5 percent year over year, according to the survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors for the state organization.

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton’s market share was 4.7 percent, 1.5 percentage points above last year. The Punta Gorda statistical area rose a smidgen to 1 percent, landing in 12th place, while The Villages, the huge master-planned community south of Ocala, was in 20th, stuck at 0.1 percent.

Foreign buyers purchased 61,300 residential properties, 15 percent of the overall Florida market. That compares with 47,000 and 12 percent the previous study period. Nationally, international buyers accounted for 5 percent of existing-home sales.

The Realtors report credits Latin American and Caribbean residents with the largest portion of Florida foreign buyers at 34 percent, down from 39 percent the previous year. Canadian buyers increased to 22 percent, from 19 percent in 2016. Other countries remained consistent year-to-year: Europeans were unchanged at 23 percent; Asians were 10 percent; and African buyers were 1 percent.

Of the total international buyers in North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, 37 percent hailed from Europe and 36 percent from Canada.

To learn more about investing in Florida real estate, contact a member of the 9 Core Realty team!

The “generational disruption” unfolding today is of historic significance. The second wave millennials coming of age coincides with a transformation in the norms of life, work and society at every level.

The demographics of the millennial generation reveal they are the largest consumer group in U.S. history. There are currently some 75.4 million millennials (born between 1980-1997). That means a significant number of today’s real estate decisions, as well as those connected to the workplace, are made by people younger than 40 years of age.

Millennials are well-known for their love of cities and the ability to live, work and play in a single urban

area. But while this ethnically and racially diverse generation is postponing marriage and children, they are not putting it off indefinitely. In fact, 60 percent expect to live in detached single-family homes within the next five years. Real estate developers, investors, owners and builders must have a good grasp on location preferences, design and amenity features, and technology advances.

With readily developable land in Central Florida and great infill sites in our bedroom communities, suburban upgrades are being undertaken with mixed use, creating dense groupings of retail ventures, businesses, luxury condos/apartments and great communal spaces and evolving amenities. These types of live/work/play options also become viable alternatives for baby boomers to use for transition out of their primary residences as it becomes necessary.

Metro Orlando is seeing forward-thinking developments like Lake Nona that are designing creative, modern and collaborative communities and workplaces with the benefits of an urban setting. We can also look to Maitland City Centre, Ravadauge and Up Development on U.S. Highway 17-92 and Lee Road. And we can’t leave out the beautiful redevelopment of our suburban communities, such as what has been done in Winter Garden, DeLand and Sanford. It cannot be disputed that many millennials will live in cities their entire lives, but this is no different than previous generations. The difference is the size of this young generation is impactful for wherever they choose to live.

Millennials also are disrupting office space use. Building owners must be able to offer collaborative, flexible environments and make suggestions for customizable furniture and interior designs. The big challenge facing owners of older buildings is how to manage operating expenses with this flexible work population. This is a significant impact on utilities, security and maintenance, because millennials no longer work just 9 to 5. Will the rents increase to a level that can offset these impacts? All of this potentially affects the building value. Also expected are gyms, game rooms and smart-building technology. We also need to further explore capital costs to modernize building systems to accommodate this expanded use and keep these buildings as an option for the millennial generation. The long-term effect is going to be a change in how we conduct our real estate business.

By 2025, 75 percent of the workers in the world will be millennials. Their generational disruption is larger than any we’ve seen before — and everyone must learn to adapt. It’s an exciting time to be in commercial real estate and I can’t remember a similar period when every standard we believed to be true is now no longer so.

To learn more about the future of the real estate market in Florida contact a member of the 9 Core Realty team!

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes unexpectedly rose in October, hitting their highest level in 10 years amid robust demand across the country.

The Commerce Department said on Monday new home sales increased 6.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 units last month. That was the highest level since October 2007 and followed September’s slightly downwardly revised sales pace of 645,000 units.

New home sales have now increased for three straight months.

That together with last month’s increase in homebuilding and sales of previously owned homes suggests the housing market could be regaining momentum after treading water for much of the year. Housing has been constrained by shortages of homes for sale, skilled labor and suitable land for building.

Activity was also temporarily restrained by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Housing has been a drag on economic growth since the second quarter.

September’s new homes sales pace was previously reported at 667,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for 11 percent of overall home sales, falling 6.0 percent to a pace of 625,000 units last month.

New home sales, which are drawn from permits, are volatile on a month-to-month basis. Sales surged 18.7 percent on a year-on-year basis in October.

Last month, new single-family homes sales soared 30.2 percent in the Northeast to their highest level since October 2007. Sales in the South increased 1.3 percent also to a 10-year high. There were also strong gains in sales in the West and Midwest last month.

More than two-thirds of the new homes sold last month were either under construction or yet to be started.

Despite the rise in sales in October, the inventory of new homes on the market increased 1.4 percent to 282,000 units, the highest level since May 2009.

At October’s brisk sales pace it would take 4.9 months to clear the supply of houses on the market, the fewest since July 2016 and down from 5.2 months in September. A six-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand.  To learn more about the state of the US real estate market contact a member of the 9 Core Realty team.