28% More Buyers. 9.5% Fewer Listings. What That Means for You.

The Season Is Here.

The Window Is Shorter Than You Think.

Whether you are thinking about selling, buying, or simply keeping an eye on this market, here is a straight read on where things stand right now, and why the next few weeks matter more than most people realize.

The February numbers tell a clear story.

Pending sales across Southwest Florida are up 28% year over year. Buyer showings per listing are up nearly 17% region-wide. New listings, on the other hand, dropped 9.5% compared to last February. More buyers, fewer properties entering the market. That combination does not last indefinitely.

For Sellers

The buyers who are here right now are not the ones who come in May. They flew in with a list, a budget, and a timeline. They are pre-qualified and they are comparing multiple properties in a single visit. When they leave, the next group will not look the same.

New listings are down 9.5% versus last year, which means less competition for sellers who move now versus those who wait for the spring wave. That is a meaningful advantage — and it closes as more inventory comes online.

One thing I tell every seller: one-third of active listings in this market previously failed to sell. When those sellers came back, 81% returned with a price cut averaging 6.5%. Overpriced homes sat 26 to 68% longer than well-priced competition. Pricing right the first time is not conservative. It is strategic.

For Buyers

This may be the best buying conditions Southwest Florida has seen in four years. Inventory sits at 8.1 months of supply — well above the balanced market threshold of six months. Sellers are negotiating. The median sale-to-list ratio is 95 to 96 cents on the dollar. You still have leverage, but the data is moving against you.

Pending sales have risen year over year for nine consecutive months. That is not a blip. It is a sustained shift in buyer demand, and it is absorbing the inventory that gave buyers their upper hand. The window where you hold the advantage is open. It will not stay that way through summer.

One more thing worth noting: prices remain 31% above 2021 levels despite recent adjustments. Buyers who enter now are not catching a falling market. They are buying into a correction that the data suggests is nearly done.

What this means in practical terms

For sellers: presentation and pricing are doing real work right now. Buyers touring multiple properties in one trip make decisions fast. First impressions close deals or end them.

For buyers: nearly 67% of luxury and coastal transactions in this market are all-cash. Those buyers are not waiting on the Fed. If you are financing, you are competing with people who have already removed rate risk from the equation — which is exactly why acting in the current window matters.

For everyone: the SWFL market is not crashing and it is not booming. It is correcting — and corrections create the clearest opportunities for people who are paying attention.

Thinking about a move this year?

Let's talk before the window shifts. Fifteen minutes is usually enough to get a clear picture of what makes sense for your situation. No pressure, no pitch — just an honest conversation grounded in what the market is actually doing.

As always, if something here sparked a question — about your property, a neighborhood you are watching, or what the numbers mean for your specific situation — my number is below. Happy to talk through it.