Naples condo prices jump 26%

NAPLES — Realtors helped sell fewer existing homes in Naples in January but prices continued to rise as limited inventory pushed prices higher.

The median price for existing condos rose 26% to $265,000 in January in Naples while the number of sales fell 20% to 295 compared with January 2014, according to the latest data from the Naples Area Board of Realtors.

Meanwhile, the median price for existing single-family homes rose 15% to $375,000 while the number of sales fell 11% to 312 in January compared with the same month one year ago.

Higher prices may be luring more sellers to list their homes. “We're not seeing as dramatic a decrease in inventory this January as in last January,” says Mike Hughes, president of the association and vice president and general manager of Downing-Frye Realty in Naples, in a statement. Inventory decreased 5% from January 2014 over January 2015, less than the 15% drop from January 2013 to January 2014.

Notably in January, cash sales accounted for 70% of the total home-sales transactions in the Naples area. “Activity in the luxury home market continues to be the most impressive,” says Coco Waldenmayer, a managing broker at John R. Wood Properties in Naples, in a statement.