Naples Housing Market September 2026: Inventory Drops 17% as Sales Rise

Naples enters the winter season with fewer homes for sale, slightly higher prices, and buyers who are still making deals. But one important number suggests the market isn't out of the woods just yet.

The Naples housing market is doing something interesting.

Homes are selling. Prices are holding up. And the glut of properties that gave buyers considerably more choices last year is shrinking.

But before anyone declares another real estate boom, there's a catch.

Buyers are still taking their time, and fewer homes went under contract in September than a year earlier.

That's the story behind the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR) September 2026 market report, released October 23.

With snowbird season approaching, the latest numbers suggest a market becoming more balanced after years of extraordinary price swings, rising inventory, and changing buyer expectations.

Here's what Naples homeowners, buyers, and sellers should know.

Let's start with inventory.

In September 2025, there were 5,128 properties available for sale across the Naples area.

That's a 17.3% reduction in available inventory.

For sellers, less competition can be encouraging. For buyers, it means fewer properties to choose from compared with this time last year.

But there's another important piece of the puzzle.

Inventory actually increased 3.6% from August to September, rising from 4,093 available properties to 4,240.

And new listings jumped approximately 35% month over month, from 792 in August to 1,073 in September.

In other words, the market is tightening compared with last year, but homeowners are also beginning to list properties ahead of the busy winter season.

That's not necessarily a contradiction. It's what a changing seasonal market can look like.

The overall median Naples home sale price reached $575,000 in September, up from $550,000 a year earlier.

That's an increase of 4.5%.

But the overall number only tells part of the story.

Look at the difference between single-family homes and condominiums:

Single-family prices moved higher, while the condo median slipped.

That's an important distinction for Naples homeowners who often hear about the overall market without seeing how their particular property type is performing.

And there's another caution: Median prices describe the middle transaction in each period. They don't necessarily mean that an individual property gained or lost the same percentage in value.

Changes in which homes sell can also influence the median.

The takeaway: Naples isn't experiencing one uniform housing market. Conditions differ by property type, community, price range, and even individual buildings.

September recorded 623 completed home sales, compared with 608 in September 2025.

That's a modest 2.5% increase.

Single-family closings rose from 324 to 332, while condominium closings increased from 284 to 291.

So buyers are clearly still purchasing properties.

But here's the number we're watching closely.

Pending sales—the homes that went under contract—fell 6.8%, from 753 last September to 702 this September.

Because completed sales generally reflect purchase agreements negotiated weeks earlier. Pending sales provide a more immediate snapshot of current buyer activity.

One softer month doesn't establish a downward trend, especially during Southwest Florida's seasonal slowdown.

Still, it's a reminder that demand is not accelerating across every part of the market.

Mortgage rates are one possible explanation.

Local real estate professionals cited in the NABOR report say higher borrowing costs are causing some buyers to reconsider monthly payments, particularly homeowners who would have to give up an existing low-rate mortgage to purchase another property.

Cash buyers face different financing considerations, but even they remain sensitive to pricing and property quality.

Here's another number sellers should pay attention to.

The average Naples property spent 99 days on the market in September, down from 107 days a year earlier.

That's a 7.5% improvement.

The inventory supply also declined from 7.8 months in September 2025 to 5.5 months this September.

Months of supply estimates how long current available inventory would last at the prevailing sales pace if no additional homes were listed.

A reading around five to six months is often associated with relatively balanced conditions, although the appropriate benchmark can vary by market.

But balanced doesn't mean every listing sells quickly.

A property priced above what comparable buyers are willing to pay can still spend months on the market.

And with more new listings arriving for season, buyers may become increasingly selective.

For sellers, the lesson isn't to raise prices simply because inventory is lower.

It's to make sure the property is competitively priced when it enters the market.

One of the most revealing statistics in NABOR's September report concerns the lower end of the housing market.

There were 555 active listings priced below $300,000, an increase of 3.5% from last year.

That might sound encouraging for first-time buyers.

Until you look at what those properties actually are.

Of the 555 listings, 470 were condominiums.

That means roughly 85% of homes available below $300,000 were condos, leaving only about 85 listings in other property categories.

For buyers hoping to purchase an affordable single-family home, the choices remain extremely limited.

And condominium buyers must consider more than the purchase price.

Association fees, insurance costs, reserve funding, potential assessments, and building-maintenance obligations can materially change the cost of ownership.

A lower asking price doesn't automatically translate into a lower overall monthly housing expense.

The resale market isn't the only place seeing changing buyer behavior.

In NABOR's report, Mike Bone of Christopher Alan Homes described a challenging environment for some Southwest Florida production builders.

According to Bone, builders have been offering incentives ranging from approximately $30,000 to $50,000, covering closing costs or offering mortgage-rate buydowns to attract buyers.

He also described a sharp reduction in regional construction starts.

Those observations reflect a builder's assessment of the broader Southwest Florida new-construction market, not separate verified statistics for every Naples development.

Still, they highlight another consideration for buyers comparing resale properties with newly constructed homes.

A builder's incentive can sometimes change the economics of a purchase, even when the advertised price remains unchanged.

For buyers, September's numbers offer a mixed message.

There are fewer available homes than last year, but inventory has begun increasing again as the winter season approaches.

Some sellers may face less competition, yet buyers still have negotiating opportunities—particularly when a home has been listed for an extended period or doesn't compare favorably with recent sales.

For sellers, the situation is equally nuanced.

Less inventory is helpful, but it doesn't erase the importance of pricing, presentation, property condition, and marketing.

And for homeowners who aren't planning to move?

These numbers are useful indicators of market direction, but they aren't a substitute for evaluating recent comparable sales in your particular neighborhood.

September's market report doesn't support predictions of a major collapse or another runaway boom.

It shows a Naples housing market moving toward a more sustainable balance.

Sales increased modestly. Inventory fell significantly from last year. Median prices moved higher overall, even as condo prices softened.

But pending sales declined, and mortgage costs remain an obstacle for many buyers.

The next test comes during the winter season.

Will returning seasonal buyers absorb the new listings entering the market? Or will increased competition force more sellers to adjust their expectations?

For now, the strongest position in the Naples market belongs neither automatically to buyers nor sellers. It belongs to those who understand what their particular property is actually worth.

Source: Naples Area Board of REALTORS®, September 2026 Market Report, released October 23, 2026. Statistics cover Southwest Florida MLS listings in Collier County, excluding Marco Island.