Low-priced home inventory dwindles

NAPLES — Fewer lower-priced homes in Naples pushed the median price of existing single-family homes up 18% to $375,000 in September compared with the same month in 2014.

At the current pace of sales, there is less than a two-month supply of existing single-family homes for sale in the Naples area for less than $300,000, according to September data from the Naples Area Board of Realtors.

“Out of the 945 homes for sale under $300,000, only 291 are single-family homes,” says Brenda Fioretti, managing broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, in a statement. “Due to the increase in home values, many homes previously listed in the lower price categories have crept up to the next higher price category, which is referred to as bracket creep.”

The decline in listings of homes for sale in lower-priced categories may be short-lived if more people decide to put their homes on the market, brokers say. The winter tourism season is traditionally the busiest home-selling time of the year in Southwest Florida.

“Historically, we see an upswing in the number of homes that go up for sale in October in anticipation of seasonal buyers,” says Mike Hughes, president of the association and vice president and general manager of Downing-Frye Realty, in a statement. “It will be interesting to see how this plays out because it appears the increased demand for single-family homes from full-time residents has the potential to keep absorbing our existing inventory.”