A surge in the sale of luxury properties helped to bolster sales figures for homes in Collier County during January according to a new report from the Naples Area Board of Realtors.

While home sales are down nationwide 4.8 percent as compared to January of last year, in Collier they are up 11 percent with 671 homes sold as compared to 603 in January of 2017. Sales of luxury homes, those above $1 million, skyrocketed with a 123 percent increase over January 2017’s total.

Real estate experts all agree that currently the luxury properties for sale are driving the market. Others speculated that recent changes in tax policy may have motivated high-end buyers to get off the fence and purchase luxury homes that have been sitting on the market for the last few years.

The median price for home sales closed in January went up 19 percent to $375,000 in Collier and pending sales increased by 11 percent.

The overall home market inventory in Collier County dropped 5 percent in January to 6,071 homes compared to 6,393 during the same time last year. A lack of inventory has been one of the factors contributing to rising home prices and rental costs throughout Southwest Florida. The Naples market, however, has had a rise in inventory during recent months, leading it have an 8.2-month supply of inventory as opposed to the 3.4-month figure seen nationwide.

The Naples Beach area has seen a 21 percent decline in inventory for single-family homes, which some analysts say could be due to a rush of speculators purchasing homes in the area.

The January figures were also somewhat skewed by Hurricane Irma, which caused a delay in the sale of a large number of high-end condominiums.

To learn more about the current real estate market in SWFL or to purchase investment land in the area contact a member of the 9 Core Realty team today.