Naples sales, prices falling

NAPLES — The residential real estate market in Naples continues its search for the beginnings of a recovery, as both closings and the median price for those sales fell by double-digit percentage points over the year in January.

Just 507 single-family home and condo closings were completed in January 2011, down roughly 10% over the year, according to data released by the Naples Area Board of Realtors. The slowdown in condo sales — from 301 closings in January 2010 to 260 this year — was more pronounced than that in the single-family home market (down from 261 to 247).

But the median sale price for single-family homes was the hardest hit of all the metrics reported by NABR. The median price in January 2011 was $167,000, compared to $220,000 a year ago — a 24% drop.