NAPLES 2025 Market Statistics


ISLAND WALK 2025 Sales by Community

To see all the properties, by Community, which sold in 2025 click HERE

My Year End Report with full details of Median Sales Prices, Price Per Sq.Ft. and DOM will be published shortly. (more…)

Will mortgage rates fall if the GSEs buy $200 billion of MBS?

If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac materially increase their purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), the most likely impact is modest downward pressure on mortgage rates. The effect is limited, uneven, and conditional on broader market forces.

Transmission Mechanism:
When GSEs buy more agency MBS, demand for those securities increases. This pushes MBS prices higher and yields lower, which compresses the primary–secondary spread for mortgage lenders. Lenders can then offer slightly lower mortgage rates to borrowers. This mechanism is similar to quantitative easing, though on a much smaller scale.

Expected Magnitude:
Historical experience suggests mortgage rates could fall by approximately 5 to 25 basis points (0.05%–0.25%), with most estimates clustering around 10–15 basis points for a program on the order of $200 billion. This is noticeable but not dramatic.

Why the Impact Is Limited:
The agency MBS market is very large, roughly $9–10 trillion, so even a $200 billion purchase program represents only a small share of outstanding securities. Treasury yields still play a dominant role in mortgage rate determination, meaning rising Treasury yields can offset the benefits of GSE buying. Additionally, banks and the Federal Reserve are not expanding balance sheets, limiting the overall effect.

Secondary Effects:
Potential positives include narrower MBS spreads, improved rate stability, and better lender confidence. Risks include perceptions of political interference, which could raise term premiums elsewhere, and concerns about prepayment risk among investors.

Net Assessment:
The base case is small but real rate relief. In the best case, mortgage rates could improve by 15–25 basis points if macro conditions are favorable. In the worst case, GSE buying merely prevents rates from rising further.

Bottom Line:
Increased GSE MBS purchases are best viewed as a cushioning tool rather than a transformative policy. They can modestly lower mortgage rates, especially when Treasury yields are stable or declining, but they are not a game-changer for the mortgage market. (more…)

Are mortgage rates holding back the market?

I get asked this question regularly. The chart below covers the last 3 years, and shows that since September 2022 the 30-year FRM has been mostly between 6% and 7% with 3 spikes over 7%, and one drop to 6% in the fall of 2024.The current rate of 6.5% is in the middle of the range for most of the last 3 years.

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10 Value-Adding Home Improvements You Can Do for $1,000 or Less

A farmhouse sink. LED lighting. A pot filler. You might think these relatively low-cost home upgrades wouldn’t add much value, but our research shows that these and other home upgrades with modest price tags could pay for themselves — or even generate big returns — when you sell your home.
A Zillow analysis of more than 350 features in the listing descriptions of more than 2 million homes listed for sale in 2024 found that some home improvements are associated with higher than expected sales prices. The features analyzed won’t guarantee that your home will sell for more if you include them in a for-sale listing. But the following upgrades — gleaned from those listings — offers a good starting point for moderately priced home renovation ideas that could add value to your home while making life a little sweeter.
This article from Zillow lists 4 upgrades uber $500, 5 under $1,000, and 2 over $1,000. (more…)