Demand for the Naples lifestyle eclipsed all expectations and helped to break several home-sales records in 2021. The year ended with a 25.8 percent increase in overall closed sales and a 20.3 percent increase in median closed price (year over year). Broker analysts reviewing the December and Year End 2021 Market Reports released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), agree that the Naples housing market is going through a transformation and the last 18 months of record sales activity will not be sustainable in 2022. They strongly urge that sellers and buyers work with a local REALTOR® to help them navigate transactions smoothly with the least obstacles.

Sellers of homes located in Naples capitalized on a long wave of pent-up buyer demand in 2021, a year that exceeded many NABOR® records, including over $17 billion in home sales, a 52 percent increase from 2020.

According to NABOR®’s Market Reports, 487,677 showings and 15,523 closed sales occurred in 2021. Pending sales listings increased 14.8 percent to 18,664 pending sales from 16,254 pending sales during 2020.

Broker analysts agree that pandemic-induced changes to housing needs and preferences that began in the fall of 2020 contributed greatly to heightened buyer demand during 2021. Only during July and August, when families with children tend to relocate, did closed sales of single-family homes outpace condominiums during the year. The data indicates that home-type preferences shifted in 2021 to condominiums, as shown by an increase in closed sales of 37.2 percent to 8,206 condominiums from 5,979 condominiums in 2020. Condominiums in the $500,000 to $1 million price range reported the highest increase (97.8 percent) in closed sales compared to all other home types and price ranges tracked by NABOR®. Brokers agree there’s never been a better time to sell in Naples, and recommend sellers work with a local REALTOR® to obtain an in-depth market analysis to secure the maximum return.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Home Sellers Capitalized on Surging Buyer Demand in 2021