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More Real Estate

• Real estate sales: September 3, 2008
• Market Update: Marco’s sales up from previous year
• Real estate sales: August 27, 2008

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When people look at Marco Island, what do they see? In news reporting from the Naples Daily News to Streetinsider.com, you see the significant strides that Marco Island is making in the real estate market especially in comparison the rest of Florida. Marco Island represents the most progressive growth in a year-over-year comparison to the other reporting areas of the state.

-- For the first quarter of 2008, Marco Island outpaced other areas of Florida with sales growth in both condos (30 percent increase) and single family homes (27 percent increase).

-- In the single family home category, Marco Island reported a whopping increase of 66 percent in sales from May 2007 to May 2008. For condos, Marco Island reported a marginal increase of 2 percent that inhibited its top rating for the state in the month of May.

As we review the June 2008 reports, we find that Marco Island posted another strong month for sales with a positive increase of 16 percent in comparison to June 2007. The total sales number for June 2008 reflected one of the strongest sales numbers found in the past three years. Reference the attached chart that reflects this positive sales trend.

At the time this article was written, half-way through July, Marco Island continued to move in a positive direction with 40 sales recorded for the month. For July 2007, only 46 properties closed. The significant number of closed sales through mid-July shows that the positive sales trend is likely to continue for July 2008.

Other items to consider with regards to Marco Island’s real estate market:

1. Marco Island is experiencing unprecedented buying power for those looking to purchase at this time. We see the most desirable properties come off of the market on a frequent basis. In select areas of the market, we are experiencing price appreciation.

2. Marco Island continues to see declining inventory of more than 12 percent in comparison to June 2007.

Why is Marco outperforming most of the state in year-over-year sales growth? While there are many reasons, from climate to lifestyle, one predominant reason is our lack of new properties coming to the marketplace. In some areas of the state, inventories are quickly replenished with new inventory from developer product with high-rise condos and large scale developments; whereas, Marco Island does not have this issue.

Another sign of good news for local and national market stems from a recent article in Barron’s titled “Bottom’s Up: This Real-Estate Rout May Be Short-Lived,” which indicates that there are “early signs to recovery.” Some of the items addressed in this article are as follows:

-- Nationally, single family homes on the market are down by 21 percent from the 2006 peak.

-- Sales of existing homes are showing signs of growth.

-- NAR Economist Lawrence Yun anticipates price leveling shortly. He states that “home sales are currently running at a pace of about five million a year, around the same level as a decade ago. Yet, the population has grown by 25 million in the past 10 years, and the U.S. has created 10 million new jobs.”

When you consider the positive sales trends and the lack of forthcoming new inventory entering Marco’s inventory, all indications are that Marco is heading in the right direction. As the inventories continue to decrease, so does the selection for buyers, limiting their buying opportunities. Waiting buyers should take into consideration that your dream property may not be available tomorrow at today’s prices.

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Natalie Kirstein, MBA, Realtor, works for Premier Properties of Southwest Florida Inc at The Esplanade. She can be contacted at NatalieK@premiermail.net or 642-2222.