The Quiet Weeks That Decide Your Season

Season does not begin when the first plane lands at RSW. It begins now, in September and early October, in the preparation nobody sees. By the time buyers are walking properties in January, the decisions that determine how a home performs have already been made.

Here is where the market stands as those decisions get made.

Collier County closed 803 sales in July, up 13 percent over last July, with supply down to 5.8 months, a 35 percent drop. Lee County closed 1,754 sales, up 12 percent, with supply at 5.6 months, down 32 percent. Pending sales rose 8 percent in Collier and 17 percent in Lee. That is a market absorbing inventory faster than it is being replaced.

Prices held steady while that happened. The overall median was $600,000 in Collier and $350,000 in Lee, both flat against last July. Underneath the flat number, the segments moved in opposite directions. Collier single family homes reached a median of $776,250, up 11 percent, while Collier condominiums came in at $408,500, down 6 percent. Lee single family homes were at $380,000, up 3 percent, with condominiums flat at $257,500. Condominium closings rose 21 percent in Collier and 23 percent in Lee, so the buyers are there. They are simply more particular about what they pay.

Why timing matters more than most sellers expect

Median days on market in July was 110 in Collier and 92 in Lee, and both are longer than a year ago. Work backward from that. A home that goes live in January is often closing in April or May, when the buyer pool is already thinning. A home that is ready in late October or early November meets the buyers who arrive with intent, financing arranged, and a short list they have been building all summer.

The other number worth noting is what sellers actually received. In Collier, closed sales came in at 95 percent of asking. In Lee, single family sellers received 97.6 percent while condominium sellers received 95.4 percent. That spread is the cost of entering the market unprepared, and it is decided long before the first showing.

Getting ready is not a matter of a weekend of tidying. It is 6 to 8 weeks of unglamorous work.

What actually takes the time

Insurance documentation comes first. Roof age, wind mitigation, and 4 point inspection results shape what a buyer can obtain and at what cost, and buyers now ask about this before they ask about the kitchen. Knowing your position early prevents a surprise during someone else’s due diligence.

Association documents come next. Budgets, reserve studies, and any pending assessments should be assembled and understood before the listing goes live, not requested after a contract. This matters most in condominiums, where buyers read the financials before they fall in love with the view.

And finally the price, set against the comparable sales that will exist in October, not the ones that closed last spring.

If you are weighing a sale this season, the useful conversation is the one that happens now, while there is still room to act on what it turns up. Send a note or call and we can walk through where your property sits and what, if anything, is worth doing before season. There is no obligation attached to that.

Your choice to buy or sell a property is a significant one, and I approach it with the same care as if it were my own.

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