Limited inventory continues to be the story of the Naples area Real Estate Market as we head into season in SW Florida. Demand is definitely outweighing supply. Statistics* released Friday by the Naples Area Board of Realtors (NABOR) for the 3rd Quarter of 2014 showed an 11 percent decrease in Closed Sales year-over-year and 12 percent drop from August's sales numbers. Pending sales were down 10 percent year-over-year and dropped 4 percent from last month. Overall home prices continued to rise though jumping 13.5 percent to $265,000 year-over-year. For September, the closed sales price was up 1 percent to $262,000 from August's $260,000. Inventory fell 9% and average days on the market (DOM) shrank 45 percent year over year. Here's the recap of the 3rd Quarter's numbers: Overall closed sales in the $300,000 to $500,000 category increased 13 percent from 398 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 451 in 3rd quarter 2014. Overall closed sales in the $1 million to $2 million category increased 14 percent from 91 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 104 in 3rd quarter 2014. Almost 65 percent of the closed sales were to "all cash buyers." Overall inventory of Single-Family homes in the $300,000 to $500,000 market increased 15 percent from 422 in 3rd quarter 2013 to 487 in 3rd quarter 2014. Closed Single-Family home sales in the $300,000 and below range fell 22 percent, due mostly to a dramatically short supply of inventory. Distressed sales fell to only 7 percent of overall closed sales. Closed sales in the $1 to $2 million price range rose 14 percent. Closed Condominium sales in the $1 to $2 million price range rose 36 percent. The median closed sales price in the $500,000 to $1 Million range rose 2 percent to $650,000. The median closed sales price in the under $300K range rose 9 percent to $180,000. The overall median closed sales price in the $1 Million to $2 Million range fell 1 percent to $1,337,000. The median closed price for Single-Family homes in the $2 million and above category increased 18 percent to $3,400,000. Total inventory supply stood at 3,702 at the end of September. The inventory supply of Condominiums was at 1,748 units, down 17 percent versus last year. The average number of days on the market (DOM) for the quarter was 78, down from 142 a year ago. While the overall Naples real estate market was great in the 2014 winter season, the on-going shortage of inventory in many price range categories continued to take its toll in the 3rd quarter. Prices are rising at an uncomfortable pace in many of the ranges and buyers are often times finding themselves in bidding wars for the most desirable properties currently available on the re-sale market. The one saving grace is all the new construction that is going on through-out the SW Florida area, especially in the Bonita Springs and Estero real estate markets. Without its availability, pricing pressures could easily get out of hand in no time at all. It will be interesting to see how things go in the 4th quarter as season begins in earnest. Hopefully, we'll see more of the "on the fence" sellers finally listing their properties for sale and things will stabilize a bit more. As we always find is the case here in SW Florida, only time will tell the tale. *Sales Data Statistics from NABOR.