naplesnews.comSPECIAL REPORT: The Real DealSome real estate agents struggling but others still cashing in By Laura Layden Saturday, November 3, 2007 Even in tough times, homes sell. Now it’s a market like you might have seen in 2002 or 2003, local Realtors say. No one disagrees. Transactions are off, even compared to four or five years ago. In Collier County, property appraiser records show that countywide 2,689 single-family homes sold in the first nine months of this year. That compares with 5,340 sales in 2002. But the median price _ the price at which half the homes in the market are selling above and half below _ is nearly $200,000 higher. Some of the biggest players in real estate say they still are having one of their better years in the business. For at least a few agents, it has been a record year for sales. With more to buy, there’s more to sell. A report by NABOR shows a total of 3,114 closed residential sales through the Multiple Listing Service in the Naples area from January to September, down from 3,675 sales a year ago and 7,437 sales in the period of 2005. That includes all areas in Collier County, except Marco Island. There were 786 residential sales in the third quarter, down more than 18 percent from 961 a year ago and nearly 63 percent from 2,113 two years ago. Realtor associations in Lee County don’t produce the same quarterly reports. Statistics from the Florida Another indicator of the market is sales through the Sunshine Multiple Listing Service, which covers south Lee and Collier counties. In the first nine months, there were 4,000 closed residential sales, said Jim Scartz, president of the Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors. “There were 278 sales in September, which is the slowest month of the year. That is a very significant amount of activity,” he said. The high signPrices remain strong at the high end and have even escalated. There have been record-breaking sales in Naples, Marco Island and Captiva this year. While the market is not red hot like it was a few years ago, some high-end agents are pocketing more money this year. In the Naples area, there were 257 homes sold for $2 million or more through the first nine months of this year, up slightly from 250 a year ago, said Joe Ballarino, president and chief executive for Amerivest Realty. “The higher-end buyer is more sophisticated and understands the market and when it’s time to buy. They have come back to the market a lot sooner than the average buyer,” he said. In the Port Royal area, including South Gordon Drive, 37 homes and lots have sold this year, and three more sales are pending, said Tom Campbell, a Realtor with Premier Properties in Naples. That compares to 46 properties sold last year, he said. Eight spec homes are going up on multimillion-dollar lots in Port Royal, where there were none a few years ago, Campbell said. “We’ve got a very healthy market going on down here,” he said. “The fact of the matter is there is a lot of cash in our economy and a lot of people getting paid a lot of money.” At the high end, values have been on the rise since 2005. In May, a waterfront estate on 4.8 acres skirting Port Royal went for $40 million, beating an all-time record in Collier County of $30 million set in 2001. Last month, Villa Venezia, an eight-bed, eight-bath mansion on Caxambas Court, fetched $9 million, a new record on Marco Island. Mike McMurray and Trevor Nette, with McMurray & Nette of VIP Realty Group Inc., handled the top five sales on Sanibel and Captiva this year. That includes a $13.5 million sale for a two-story home on about an acre on Captiva that set an all-time record in Lee County. “There are spots in the marketplace that are seeing strong activity, and there are spots in the market that are not,’’ McMurray said. The duo has done close to $120 million in sales, making it their best year ever in the real estate business. “There are still Realtors out there doing OK, and there is still business out there. It’s just the market has changed and you have to change with the market,” McMurray said. “You can’t wait for the phone to ring anymore. You've got to pick up and dial,” he said. Down, but not outIt may not be the busiest year ever for Downing-Frye Realty Inc. in Naples. But from January to
September, agents handled 1,600 transactions valued at more than $1.1 billion. “We're actually having a pretty good year, considering the climate that is out there,” he said. For the year, his company expects sales in the range of $1.3 billion. That compares to more than $1.6
billion last year. In October, the company had 133 transactions. In September, it had 107. “It’s encouraging that it’s going up,” Hughes said. “And it’s going up at time that historically is The average sales price for the company is above $680,000 this year, higher than last year.
In two of the last four months, sales transactions were up over a year ago. “For two months in a row, in August and September, our net unit sales were above that of last year’s ... I’ve seen some progress being made,” said Charles Richardson, a senior regional vice president for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. Homes under $400,000 and those above $1 million are seeing the most activity, he said. With so many homes on the market, the company has trained agents on the “new direction” of the market so they can better help clients determine a selling price that will draw interest from buyers, Richardson said. “You are seeing some very extraordinary values right now,” he said. Tom Bringardner, general manager for Premier Properties of Southwest Florida, said sales are up not only month-to-month, but year to year at his company. “What’s selling? Homes that are priced well. Homes that are well-located are selling well,’’ he said, noting that waterfront is doing particularly well. Selection, selection, selectionInventories remain high. At one point, the least expensive home in North Naples was $402,000. Now it’s about $200,000 less, Bob Heller said. “We’re doing pretty well compared to a lot of Realtors,” he said. “We are hearing a lot of Realtors are leaving the business. We have continued to market and to do the right thing for our customers. We hope to be well-positioned when the market does turn around.” © 2007 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. |
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