Email ashivers@johnrwood.com

Think Naples Real Estate Is Still in the ‘Dumper’? Think Again.

This article in the Naples Daily News about Naples Economic Summit last Friday might make you think about buying your piece of Naples Waterfront paradise sooner rather than later…

Naples Home Prices to Appreciate by 10 Percent This Year, Economist Predicts

Naples homeowners can expect as much as a 10 percent increase in the value of their homes by the end of the year, a national economist told a packed house of Realtors at an economic summit held Friday in North Naples.

In fact, all the speakers at the 2012 Naples Economic Summit were optimistic about the real estate market in Southwest Florida.

Real estate is in recovery, locally and nationally, buyers have stepped up and prices are firming up, said Lawrence Yun, a chief economist and senior vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors.

Some of the hardest hit markets, including Naples, have been leaders in the recovery, he said. That has a lot do with their location.

“As you all know all real estate is local,” Yun said. “You can not pick it up and move it somewhere else.”

He predicted as much as a 10 percent appreciation in home prices by December in the Naples market over last year.

“This is not some wishful thinking,” Yun said, adding that he believed an over correction in the local market has pulled prices down too far.

While the markets in neighboring Lee County are recovering too, it’s not happening as fast because they saw more overbuilding during the boom years, he said.

Read the rest of the article here …