Total number of properties sold:
Homes in 2025 - 24
Homes in 2026 - 22 DOWN 8%
Condos in 2025 - 35
Condos in 2026 - 25 DOWN 29%
Lots in 2025 - 1
Lots in 2026 - 3 UP 200%
Total Sales Volume:
Homes in 2025 $45M
Homes in 2026 $36M DOWN 20%
Condos in 2025 $32M
Condos in 2026 $20M DOWN 37.5%
Lots in 2025 $829K
Lots in 2026 $2.1M UP 153%
Average Sale Price:
Homes in 2025 $1.9M
Homes in 2026 $1.6M DOWN 16%
Condos in 2025 $810K
Condos in 2026 $909K UP 12%
Lots in 2025 $829K
Lots in 2026 $691K DOWN 17%
Inventory:
201 Single-Family homes
317 Condominiums
66 Single Family Vacant Lots
584 Total Homes, Condos, and Vacant Lots for sale.
Years ago, I told everyone to buy up the vacant lots. I was right, and those who listened to me owe me dinner. G-d stopped making waterfront lots years ago, but he's still building golf courses up in Naples.
Summary:
Although the numbers above show significant losses, things are not as bad as they seem. Plain and simple: inventory is dwindling, and with that comes fewer opportunities to purchase properties. While beggars can’t be choosers, they can be finicky like a cat, passing on options until the right property comes along.
The average combined days on market for all property types is now about 160 days, roughly six months. A year ago, that number was closer to 105 days. I believe that as the “busy season” progresses, sales will pick up, especially if more properties come onto the market.
Think of it like going to a car dealership and not finding the model in the color you want with the options you prefer. What do you do, compromise? Usually not. You leave and drive old Bessie home, waiting for the supply to improve. I drive a car with a manual transmission, and I assure you, I had to wait for that baby to come along.
Two of my favorite customers, Mr. and Mrs. Corridor, owned a Chevy dealership out in the woods of Michigan. They could sell the bejusus out of pickup trucks all day long, but they couldn’t give away the Corvettes. So what did they do? They traded with another dealer who was “left on the highway, but right on the price.” That dealer had the opposite problem and was happy to swap two pickups for one Corvette. Now, they all still had problems, but pickups and Corvettes just ain't one of them anymore.
Now, in real estate, unfortunalely we can't do that, so you're just going to have to be patient and wait for what you want to come along, or you can go move to Cape Coral or Bonita, where they have tons of pickups.
Gerry's Fable:
I had lots of questions from readers of the Big Year End Review regarding my tattoos, and here is the backstory. For those that don't know, like all good Realtors, I drink every night of the year (and most days too) except New Year's Eve, that way, if anybody ever asks me about drinking, I can always say, "Ah, I quit last year". Well, on one particular New Year's Day, I was in Miami with my boys. After the traditional breakfast of corned beef hash and poached eggs, dry wheat toast with strawberry jam, home fries, and a cup, not a mug, of coffee at the 11th Street Diner, the boys and I went for a walk (having returned the scooter from the day before). As we meandered down Washington Ave. in South Beach, we looked in the window of a tattoo shop and saw 3 "artists" sitting around holding their heads. We went in to see what's up and found out the 3 were totally hungover, but they had to staff the shop because Jan 1st is apparently a busy and bad day in the tattoo world. (Note to self: never go to a tattoo shop on Jan 1st again). I imagine the artists must have looked at my Adonis-like body and thought, "What a great canvas he would make." Anyway, the one artist said, "Are you interested in getting a tattoo, or are you just here to look sexy?" I said, "Just sexy today, sir, but now that you mention it, I want to get my boys' whole names tattooed on my pinky toes". The artist said, "And what are their names?" I said, "This here redheaded boy is named Andrew John Jacob Wisenheimer Rosenblum. The other boy here's name is William Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Redivider Racecar (foreshadowing) Rosenblum." I then kicked off my Nikes and socks, the artist looked at the size of my toes and said, "You've got room there for Bo and Jo..... maybe". I said, "How about just Andy and Willy?" The artist pondered this for a moment and said, "I'll tell you what, normally I'd charge $200 for Bo and Jo, but today we are doing a hangover special. You can have your boys Andy and Willy tattoo their own names on those stubs you call toes for $27.44." I said, "deal". They got the gun ready, and the boys really went to town, unfortunately the dyslexic kid got a bit overconfident and now my one toe says "Ylliw". (If you look at it in a mirror, it's not bad). The other kid is a literal Wisenheimer, and after 10 minutes of me screaming, feeling burning, itching, and pain, I came out of the bathroom to have my second pinky done. I then endured buzzing, more burning, smoke, blood, terror and was begging Andy to stop. After 17 agonizing minutes he proudly looked up with his evil grin and said, "Wallah!", proud as a peacock. I looked down and there plain as could be in 20-point, double-bold Sans Serif font, for all the world to see was my new tattoo....... "Barb". Over the years, the tattoos have faded and are now practically worn off, but the memories and hepatitis C from the dirty needle remain. And that, my 7.6 faithful readers, is the story of the Pinky Inky.
Now, what does Pinky Inky have to do with real estate? Permanency, or the lack thereof, that's what it has to do with. Now, like tattoos, marriage and home ownership, some folks get one tattoo, one spouse, or one home, and they hang on to that thing forever. Heck, they even die with that tattoo, spouse, or in that house that had a mouse and a grouse. As time goes by, some get that old tattoo enhanced, or that middle-aged spouse gets plastic surgery work, and the house gets an addition, but underneath all these things are the originals (OG), and you love them no matter what. THEN, there are those that have their tattoos removed with lasers, those who get divorced, and there are those who sell that home and get a new one. The choice is yours; you can either stick with what you have or you make a change and try something new. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has to be permanent. That is where I come in; I have experience with tattoos, spouses, and houses. Call me, text me, email me, or better yet, take me to dinner, and let me share my advice on these subjects, keeping in mind that only the advice I give on Real Estate is worth taking. And if you have no tattoos, have never been married, and rent, for you, I got nuffin, but you can still feed me. And lastly, when it comes to tattooing, matchmaking, or buying or selling real estate, use a professional, don't do it yourself.
The Highs and Lows for the month:
For homes, the highest sale was 130 Hollyhock Court, which sold for $ 4.1M by one of my favorite Realtors, Brittany Stoller. Just because her initials are BS, don't believe she is full of it. This was a home built and lived in by legendary local home builder John Slocum, and it has everything. It sold for $803 per sq.ft. The bargain home sold was 356 3rd Ave, which was a 4-bedroom home that went for $470,000 at $212 per sq.ft. It was a fixer-upper.
The high condo sale goes to Tampico 506 at $2.4 million. On the beach and totally remodeled at $888 per sq.ft. The condo deal was Marco Inn Villas unit C-22 for $248K or $526 per sq.ft.
Lots only had 3 sales, but the high was 1540 Kingston at $815,000 for indirect water access. 748 Seagrape was an inland lot that went for $625,000. I kinda like the water lot deal here.
As always, I won't be out-thought or out-fought.
