Sales of Naples residences rose 11% in first quarter

First-quarter sales of Naples-area houses and condos increased 11 percent to 3,097 from 2.786 last year.

The Naples Area Board of Realtors also reported that the total number of active listings in the first quarter rose by 13 percent from last year to 6,466 while the average number of days on the market jumped 23 percent to 99 days.

“Overall, we ended the first quarter better than last year, and I think the local brokers are cautiously optimistic that we might have a decent summer for sales,” Mike Hughes, Vice president and general manager for Downing-Frye Realty, Inc., said in a prepared statement.

The median closing price in sales of Naples-area houses was $402,000 in the first quarter, down 1 percent from the same period last year.

“Inventory is up and prices have come down,” Budge Huskey, President of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, said in a prepared statement. “This is an indication that some fundamental economic principles are taking effect in the Naples housing market.”

The median closing price for condos was $270,000 in the January-March period, a 3 percent increase from the same period last year.

The number of closed condo sales in the first quarter rose 19 percent to 319 while the number of closed house sales increased 8 percent to 294.