Naples Condo Sales Came Back First. Why Haven't Prices Followed?

From January through August 2026, Collier County condo buyers closed 3,288 sales. That is 21.8% more than in the same months of 2025. Over the same stretch, the condo median closed price slipped 4.3%, from $460,000 to $440,000, according to the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® August 2026 market report. The report covers Collier County outside Marco Island, and its data is current as of September 10, 2026.

More sales at lower prices can look like a market that is still sliding. The rest of the report points the other way. When buyers return to a market after years away, the first thing that changes is how many sales close. The price changes later, after the discounted listings have sold. Through August 2026, Naples condos were in the middle of that sequence. The number that shows where things are heading is supply, and supply is falling quickly.

The Same Split Shows Up in Every Naples Submarket

A countywide figure can hide a lot. In this case it doesn't. Every Naples area NABOR tracks shows year-to-date condo sales rising while the year-to-date median stays flat or falls.

Both the coastal ZIP codes and the inland ones follow the same pattern, at very different price points. Naples Beach condos sell for more than three times as much as Central Naples condos, yet both areas had more sales at slightly lower medians. A pattern that holds across price tiers that far apart points to something affecting the whole market, not just one building type or neighborhood.

South Naples has the steepest year-to-date price drop. Its August condo median also rose 26.7% year over year, to $380,000. NABOR warns that percent changes "can sometimes look extreme due to small sample size," and South Naples closed 57 condos that month. Price changes in a single area can swing a lot from month to month. The supply column changes more steadily, and in every row it fell by roughly a quarter to two-fifths in one year.

Buyers Came Back to Buildings With Known Costs

The sales recovery has an identifiable cause. Florida's 2022 condo safety law, SB 4-D, requires milestone structural inspections for qualifying buildings of three or more stories. Within three miles of the coast, the first inspection generally comes at 25 years, and then every 10 years after that. The same law created structural integrity reserve studies, known as SIRS, and limited associations' ability to waive reserves for specified structural items. In 2025, HB 913 moved the SIRS deadline to December 31, 2025. It also gave unit-owner-controlled associations that are required to have a SIRS ways to fund reserves through special assessments, lines of credit, or loans, with approval from a majority of the voting interests, and it allowed pooled reserve accounting.

Before that work was finished, a buyer looking at an older Naples building couldn't know what the condo would really cost to own. In a Naples Press report on the spring 2026 condo rebound, local brokers described buyers who had stayed out for years over hurricanes, insurance rates, and rising association fees. Those buyers were waiting to see whether the inspections and reserve studies would lead to special assessments. One broker in that report said that once associations had worked through the SIRS and milestone requirements, buyers felt much more comfortable. In many cases they were getting a property that had been fully vetted and updated, at a lower price than a few years earlier. The same article cites the Gulf Shore Association of Condominiums: 83% of the 245 buildings identified by the city's building department had completed the reports as of mid-2025. That figure is a snapshot from more than a year ago, and we found no newer aggregate count.

Florida Realtors chief economist Brad O'Connor made the connection directly. In a Naples Press story dated September 25, 2026, he said Central Naples condo sales jumped 55% and credited associations that completed milestone inspections and addressed reserve funding. His figure covers a different period and dataset than NABOR's Central Naples year-to-date gain of 13.3%, so the two numbers measure different things. Both show the same rebound.

The Repriced Listings Sold First

The cause of the sales recovery also explains why prices lagged. The first condos to sell when buyers returned were the ones whose sellers had already lowered their prices.

The spring Naples Press report said current pricing no longer reflected the aspirational asks of the 2020 and 2021 buying boom. It quoted a broker who said many sellers "have been trying to sell for two or three years" and had "come to terms with the state of the market." Two examples in that report show the difference. In Bay Colony, two condos, including a $3.4 million residence in the Carlysle, sat on the market until their sellers adjusted pricing, and then they sold. A $1.35 million low-rise unit in Pelican Bay's Breakwater building went pending on its first day near asking price, with two backup offers.

A market made up of many sales like the Carlysle one will post high volume and a soft median. The backlog clears at the prices sellers finally accepted. In spring 2026, local market data showed that condo prices under $5 million had not yet begun to rise. Above $5 million, where 36 condos sold over the prior 12 months, the average sale price and average price per square foot each rose 7.8%. O'Connor put it plainly in September. Condo prices are below previous highs and "definitely down year-over-year."

August Shows Signs of the Turn

The year-to-date median is weighed down by the backlog that sold in the first half of the year. The August 2026 numbers alone look different. Across Collier County excluding Marco Island, August condo results compared with August 2025 were:

• The median closed price rose 2.7%, to $417,500 from $406,500.
• Sellers received 94.4% of the current list price, up from 93.5%.
• Days on market until sale dropped 11.4%, to 109 from 123.
• Active inventory fell 15.2%, to 2,099 from 2,474.
• New listings fell 17.4%, to 360 from 436.

August closed sales were 3.5% lower than a year earlier, at 272. Fewer new listings meant fewer condos available to sell. With 5.6 months of supply, a market moves toward balance. At 8.7 months a year earlier, buyers had nearly a full season of extra choice. Across all property types, NABOR counted 790 price decreases in August, down 30.2% from 1,132 a year earlier.

One month doesn't confirm a trend. The 2026 release schedule on NABOR's market statistics page lists October 23 as its next report date, and that report will be the next test.

The Costs That Are Still Moving

Finishing the reserve studies made a building's costs knowable. It did not make them fixed. Several cost lines are still changing in ways that affect what a condo will cost to own over the next few years:

1. Association insurance. Citizens Property Insurance received approval for a statewide average increase of 7.7% on condominium association multiperil policies and 14.1% on condominium association wind-only policies. The increases apply to new and renewal policies effective on or after July 1, 2026. These are statewide averages, and actual changes vary by risk and territory. Associations whose coverage renews under these rates will be setting their next budgets with those numbers.
2. How reserves are funded. Under HB 913, a qualifying association can spread reserve funding through pooled accounting, a loan, or a line of credit instead of one large assessment. According to the spring Naples Press report, NABOR had noted associations choosing pooling to avoid imposing sudden assessments on owners. A building with a loan has no large bill due today, but its owners still repay that cost over time.
3. Repair timelines. Under Collier County's milestone inspection rules, when a Phase 2 report finds repairs are needed, a permit must be applied for within 150 days. Repairs for substantial structural deterioration must begin within 365 days after the building official receives the report. A building in that window has known work ahead even if its sale price doesn't reflect it yet.
4. Report fees. Collier's milestone report fee went from $50 per report before 2026 to $500 per report for submissions on or after January 1, 2026. The county states that the association pays all inspection costs.

These cost differences between buildings help explain why one Naples condo sells on the first day and another sits until its price drops. Collier County's milestone page links to a building-level status lookup, so a building's inspection status is public record before anyone looks at its listing.

Questions Buyers Ask About the 2026 Naples Condo Market

Is the falling median a sign that Naples condo values are still declining? Through August 2026, the year-to-date median was down 4.3% while sales were up 21.8% and months of supply fell from 8.7 to 5.6. In August alone, the median rose 2.7% year over year. The year-to-date figure mostly reflects the repriced listings that sold earlier in the year.

Do completed inspections mean a building won't have future assessments? No. A completed milestone report and SIRS show the expected costs. Repairs flagged in a Phase 2 report follow Collier County's 150-day permit and 365-day start timelines. Under HB 913, a unit-owner-controlled association that is required to have a SIRS can fund reserves through special assessments, a loan, or a line of credit if a majority of the voting interests approve.

When will the next market data be available? NABOR's posted 2026 schedule lists its next market report release for October 23, 2026.

If you are comparing Naples condos this season, a building's paperwork can tell you as much as its price history. The Westerfield Group can help you look at a building's milestone status, its reserve funding approach, and how recent sales compare before you write an offer. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.