Dante DiSabato's disciplined and competitive spirit is directly aligned with the overall needs and satisfaction of his clients. Throughout his career, DiSabato has sold over $250 million in luxury real estate and has been named "Top Producer" in handling transactions in Old Naples. DiSabato sat down with Haute Residence to discuss the top three characteristics luxury homebuyers are seeking, and where he foresees the real estate market heading this year.
What are the current real estate market trends and conditions in your market?
Our Current market is strong going into December. Closed sales of homes in the Naples market grew 20 percent to 674 sales in October 2018 compared to 561 sales in October 2017. The last few months have seen not only a return to a steady housing market for Naples since Hurricane Irma but also an increased buyer appetite for homes in Collier County (where Naples is located). The high-end market continues to be steady with decreased days on market as people return for the season.
What are the top 3 things luxury homebuyers look for?
Location. Lifestyle. Quality. The first seems cliché, but obviously, you want to be in the best location possible. Lifestyle is closely connected to location because you want to live the life you want: maybe you want to be close enough to walk to restaurants and shopping or have a spectacular view of the water or complete privacy. Everyone is different. And it should go without saying that at these price points homebuyers know and expect top-level workmanship and materials.
Where do you foresee the real estate market heading in the new year?
I am very excited about the new year. The season is upon us and traffic is beginning to become very steady earlier than normal. This is a good sign that we will have a strong season early pushing through to Easter. I have a wide range of listings from 400K- 12 Million and have activity on all of them every week.
Is there a push for vertical living in your market or is it still horizontal based?
There is a little bit of a push for vertical living, but it all depends on the location. Kalea Bay and Naples Square are two examples with very heavy traffic and sales over this past summer. There is not much more ground for people to go Horizontal on so adding a few floors helps. This increases views and lifestyles that Naples hasn’t had new product in for a while.
What do you recommend to homebuyers looking to invest in your market?
I recommend they hire a good real estate agent to make sure that they make the right decision to fit their lifestyle. Always think resale value, as the average owner moves every 3-5 years down here once they understand where they really want to be. They are not making any more sand so keep that in mind when thinking location!
