05/30/2026
Before we get to the recent market activity, I wanted pass along this recent story about the pressure on renters in the Naples area, particularly our workforce and lower income residents. You might ask, "what does that have to do with me?" The fact is it affects ALL of us.
It's been reported that SW Florida rental prices have recently declined. Why then is it still unaffordable?
According to Whitney Airgood-Obryckia, a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, "Rents consume an increasing share of household incomes. From 2001 to 2024, renter incomes rose by 9 percent in real terms while rents rose by 30 percent. As a result, the residual income that households have left over after paying rent has declined, especially for lower-income renters. (The) cost of food and healthcare is rising. This forces difficult tradeoffs, (and) recent cuts to SNAP and Medicaid will make it even harder for lower-income renters to manage growing costs."
Nowhere in the country is there mismatch between residents and rental rates more pronounced than in than in Collier County, according to ATTOM's 2026 report. It is also the only market where rent, on average, exceeds 100% of local wages (it's actually 119.4%) − underscoring how even a softening of rental prices has not fundamentally changed the equation for many residents.
OK...on to our review of market data and scuttlebutt for the month of April 2026.
As high season begins to settle and traffic around town eases, the Naples real estate market is showing no signs of cooling off. Overall pending sales (homes under contract) in April increased 38.2 percent to 1,388 pending sales from 1,004 pending sales in April 2025. Steady demand for the Naples lifestyle during April resulted in a 7.7 percent increase in the overall median closed price to $630,000 from $585,000 in April 2025. Broker analysts predict a solid summer market ahead, especially before the August elimination of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac limited review process for condominium buyers, which will require lenders to review more data, including a condominium association’s reserve fund status. This by the way, is a very big deal for the condo market. More on that later.
The percent of list price received in April increased .3 percent, which means more sellers are pricing homes right for today’s market. In fact, less than 30 percent of homes for sale in April initiated a price decrease. The market is stabilizing in a way that supports long-term value. If our inventory were rapidly increasing, then buyers might expect low-ball offers to work. But that’s not happening in this market.
Condo Market Stabilization
Many condominium associations required to complete structural integrity reserve studies have opted for pooled reserves to help give the associations financial flexibility and avoid imposing sudden assessments against unit owners. Grouping funds together allows condominium associations to pay for reserve items as they occur over time in contrast to rigidly allocating funds to a specific reserve item. Pooled reserves can help condominium associations implement a variety of repairs from storm damage more quickly.
The condo market is definitely showing signs of improvement. Especially so considering all the things thrust upon them in recent years like mandatory structural integrity reserve studies for those three stories of higher and laws requiring associations fund reserves to adequately pay for structural repairs that exceed $25,000.
Compared to sales in the single-family homes market, sales in the Naples condominium market lagged until recently. Respected market guru Cindy Carroll of Carroll & Carroll Appraisers and Consultants contends that “special assessments and quarterly association fees made the cost of condo ownership challenging, but the new regulations are making it easier for buyers to understand the total costs upfront.”
Sales of single-family homes outpaced condominiums during 2025, most likely because condo associations were rebuilding those reserves by issuing special assessments upon its owners. But in April, the report showed a 51.4 percent increase in condominium pending sales. Likewise, there were 575 closed sales of condominiums compared to 493 closed sales of single-family homes for the month. And despite a higher cost of ownership, in the last 12 months, there were 1,083 closed sales of condominiums priced below $300,000, while the single-family market could only claim 192 closed sales below $300,000.
The April Market Report identifies 527 condominiums for sale under $300,000 compared to only 120 single-family homes for sale below $300,000. And while inventory has decreased across every other price category and home type, the under $300,000 condominium market grew 3.9 percent in April.
Equity-rich Investment
The median closed price has increased 86 percent since 2019,” said Carroll. “There are a lot of homeowners in Naples sitting on some good equity.”
New listings, despite decreasing 14.9 percent in April to 1,169 new listings from 1,373 new listings in 2025, are not far off from what we enjoyed pre-COVID. But because a remarkable increase in sales is occurring, new listings can’t keep up with demand so the overall inventory in Naples decreased 21 percent to 5,919 properties from 7,492 properties.
Geographically, the median closed price of condominiums in Central Naples (34104, 34015, 34116) increased 9.7 in April to $334,500 from $305,000 in April 2025. The median closed price of single family homes in East Naples (34114, 34117, 34120, 34137) and Immokalee/Ave Maria, where most new homes are being built, increased 12.6 percent in April to $675,000 from $599,500 in April 2026, and 6.2 percent to $504,500 from $475,000 in April 2026, respectively.
The area still suffers from some oversupply in historically desirable neighborhoods including Aqualane Shores and Park Shore, but other desirable neighborhoods east of I-75 like the Vineyards have less than a two-month supply of properties for sale.
Heightened activity in the condominium market (20.5 percent increase in closed sales) during April resulted in an 8 percent decrease in its overall median closed price to $450,900 from $490,000 in April 2025. But demand for single-family homes in April (28.4 percent increase in pending sales), pushed its the median closed price up 14.1 percent to $850,000 from $745,000 in April 2025.
The NABOR® April 2026 Market Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings for 2026:
As always, please don't hesitate to call with any questions around the world of SWFL real estate. You can also find additional market info via the following link to my past newsletters on my website blog found here: https://www.napleshomesbyrich.com/blog Until next time, I am here when you need me!
Kind regards...
Rich Townsend
"Your Realtor for Life"
Richard Townsend LLC
Downing-Frye Realty, Inc.
www.napleshomesbyrich.com
