Surprising Changes in the Florida Real Estate Market
Edited by Ashley McCrea

It is officially high season in Florida! The snowbirds have returned to escape the brutal northern cold and
enjoy the sunshine that we love. What will this mean for the real estate market? Let’s look at the latest
numbers from Collier County and Lee County.

Sold Properties and Days on Market
The number of transactions is down quite significantly compared to where they were last year. In
Collier County, 351 single-family homes were sold, which is down 38% year over year. In Lee County,
955 single-family homes sold, which is down 33%.
When we look at Days on Market, we see some interesting numbers. On average, properties are
staying on the market for 42 days and Collier County and 33 days in Lee County. This is up over 100%
for both areas compared to last year. This means that properties are taking longer to sell, most likely due
to interest rates and the number of properties available. There have been 423 new listings in Collier
County and 1,174 new listings in Lee County, down 1% and 5% respectively. Conventional wisdom
would say that if prices are starting to retract, people will want to put their homes on the market and
capture what they can before prices come down even more. However, we’re not seeing this right now,
probably due to people’s reluctance to give up low interest rates they enjoyed the past few years. This puts
constraints on the supply of available properties because fewer people want to sell and lose what they
have.

Sale Prices and Dollar Value
In Collier County, the median price for properties is at $780,000, up 7% from last year. However,
this is actually down 10% from last month, when the median price in this area was $850,000. In Lee
County, the median price is $408,000, a 2% increase from last year— pretty flat compared to Collier
County. Collier County saw $535 million change hands in the past month, whereas Lee County saw $520
million in exchanges over the same time period, down 31% and 40% respectively. We have seen a retreat
from a pricing perspective since the height of the market in May 2022, which we can see in the 11%
decrease in prices in Collier County and a 13% decrease in Lee County. However, these changes have levelled
out over the past few months. Before Hurricane Ian came through, prices were retracting somewhat quickly and
interest rates were pushing higher and higher. Now that interest rates are stable and coming down a little
bit, we’re starting to see buyers who’ve been waiting for an opportunity to buy start to come out of the woodwork.

Pending Inventory
We have 583 properties in inventory in Collier County, which is down 32% year over year. This is
similar to Lee County, which saw a 31% decrease with 542 properties in inventory. When we look at the
data year over year, the height of activity was in 2021, when we had about 1,800 properties pending in all
of Southwest Flordia at any given week. While this has decreased, we’re only about 100 properties off
and at a 10% slower selling pace compared to where we were last year. This is nothing catastrophic, but it
does mean that things are moving a bit slower.

In Collier County, this translates to a 4.2-month supply, meaning that given the current pace of
sales, there would be no properties available in 4.2 months if nothing new came on the market. This is an
increase from the 1 month supply that we have been seeing in the past. The market has shifted from a
strong seller’s market to more of a buyer’s market, especially in Collier County. In Lee County, we’re at a
3 month supply, up 200% year over year. The shift from 1 month to 3 months in just one year is a
significant change that means that we’ve reached equilibrium in the market.

Overall Market Update
Just because contracts are moving slower, it doesn’t mean activity is slowing down. Open houses
are very busy and there are a lot of properties going under contract in the MLS. This is a good sign for
what’s to come and proof of the stabilization that we’re seeing in the overall market.
If you’re looking to purchase property in Southwest Florida, you’re in a pretty good place. Some
people are actually negotiating to get closing costs covered, which is a nice bonus for you. We’re in a
much healthier place than we were in the past selling craze and there seems to be equilibrium in the
market. There are people who still want to come to Southwest Florida, and that’s great news for everyone.

If you are considering selling and want to get an idea of what your Florida home is worth, send an email to info@gulfpointeproperties.com. If you’re looking to purchase in the area, you can get a jumpstart by filling out your home wish list here: https://forms.gle/B91pjBStQbEnUCBPA

📲 Thank you for your support! We have so many people contacting us who are moving here to Naples & Fort Myers, and we ABSOLUTELY love it! If you are moving or relocating here to Southwest Florida, my team and I can make that transition so much easier on you.

Reach out…we’re here for you!

Brad Dohack, Broker/Owner at Gulf Pointe Properties, Team Lead
📲 Call/Text Direct at (239) 734-7723
📲 Email: info@gulfpointeproperties.com
👨‍💻 Website: https://www.homesearchinswflorida.com/