Naples Florida Real Estate: A ray of sunshine in the housing market, analyst says.
Real Estate seems to be the topic of much conversation lately, but who would have guessed that Naples, Florida would have made national news on CNBC among all other markets. In the wake of all the financial trouble on Wall Street the real estate market appears to be making a financial downslope in terms of the market, but according to Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at National City Corporation Richard Dekasar Naples, Florida, where he named only three years ago, “the poster child for excess valuation in America,” seems to be experiencing an increase. In an interview with CNBC Wednesday evening, Dekasar swallowed his prior words and stated that the Naples real estate market may now be seen as “slightly undervalued.” Dekasar singled out Naples, Florida saying it is showing the, “first rays of sunshine on a possible end to the housing crisis. I don’t want to overstate the case, the housing bust is not over, but we are in a later stage of stabilization.” So far second quarter prices have dropped an approximate 33%, meaning houses are slightly undervalued than before. Now is the time to buy, and with home prices lower than they should be houses could become even more undervalued over the next six months. Naples may be witnessing its lowest housing prices right now or soon, but they will begin to rise again as people start to buy more.
In 2006, National City judged the median home price in Naples, the price at which half of the homes sell for more and half for less, to be valued at $383,000, more than double what they should be. In August, the Naples Area Board of Realtors reported a drop in prices from $375,000, a year ago, to $238,000. Over the past seven months sales have picked up, showing the first positive light to be in Naples. Soon this gap may narrow, though, as foreclosures begin to slow and Wall Street begins to stabilize. Times may look tough around America right now, but it seems as though Naples is looking brighter than ever.