Here’s the only way that Naples will ever show up at the top of a national list for housing affordability: When a study by the largest independent real estate brokerage on the planet finds that you lead America in the biggest decline in housing prices.
And here’s what to know including the newest foreclosure data that has Southwest Florida impacts, and what to expect for Collier and Lee County housing in 2026.
By how much did Naples lead U.S. in dropping house prices?
Naples not only had the biggest percentage plunge in the country for 2025, but the metro area also had the largest overall price plummet by far ― a gut-wrenching $50,000 ― according to the “Where Housing Affordability is Improving the Most in 2026” data developed by eXp Realty and its subsidiary Zoocasa.
The only ones that even come close are Dallas and Durham, North Carolina, and it’s half that. And only two others lost more than $15,000, barely: Denver and Sacramento, California.
How much was Naples, Lee County freefall? What’s the rank?
The 6.5% Naples tumble was the only exceeding 6% and only one of four above 5%. Illustrating how rough its freefall compares in the United States through late 2025, it’s only one of a half-dozen that sunk more than 4% in the new stats released last week.
Just outside of those six is Lee County, which had the seventh biggest drop with a 3.8%, seeing its median land at $380,000.
How many tens of thousands of dollars did Naples price sink?
All this while most of the country is seeing pricing rise. Overall, it had a 1.7% increase from 2024 and an 8.3% increase from 2023 in the latest National Association of Realtors numbers.
But even at a $720,000 single-family median, down from $770,000, eXp finds Collier County still is one of the most expensive places in the continental U.S., ahead of spots, such as Washington, D.C. ($715,000), Brooklyn, N.Y. ($700,000), Portland, Maine ($585,000), Phoenix ($480,000) and Austin, Texas ($429,000).
Where does Naples rank in pricing? Where was biggest jump?
In the eXp study of 80 markets, Naples ranks 10th most expensive, with all of them ahead of it seeing rising prices, including Los Angeles ($823,000 median), Boston ($907,500), Seattle ($899,950), San Diego ($990,000) and San Jose, CA ($1.94 million).
San Francisco had the biggest jump, with the median surging more than $200,000 to $1.8 million, a 13% boost.
What are causes for Southwest Florida homes losing value?
“In Florida, many once red-hot markets are coming down from pandemic peaks,” said Zoocasa’s Mackenzie Scibetta, and it’s not just Naples, as other Sunshine State spots become more affordable for homeseekers. “This includes Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Jacksonville and Tampa. The standout, however, is Ocala, where buyers can snag a single-family home for just $285,000.
“During the pandemic, many city dwellers sought refuge in the more affordable and sunnier South. But that migration trend is reversing as return-to-office mandates increase, climate concerns grow and lifestyle preferences shift.”
What is the housing outlook for Southwest Florida in 2026?
The climate change issue ties quite a bit to the surge in powerful storms smacking Southwest Florida and coastal areas, as six of the eight costliest hurricanes in American history have occurred over the past eight years.
And unfortunately for sellers, the Southwest Florida outlook shows it mostly becoming worse for housing, according to economists at several major real estate companies.
Lee County is only metro expected for double-digit price plunge
Lee County stands out as the only metro where the typical for-sale home in 2026 is expected to see a double-digit price sinking, down 10.2% year over year, according to Realtor.com, which in its examination looked at metros larger than Collier for its annual study.
Behind the Lee market: the Sarasota metro, (-8.9%); Stockton, California (-4.1%); Raleigh, North Carolina (-3.7%); and Tampa Bay (-3.6%).
‘Buyers likely to find even more price cuts on for-sale homes’
And overall, challenges continue for the housing market, said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
“Active listings and new listings both continue to grow,” Hale said. “The housing market is moving slower than at this time last year, and buyers are likely to find somewhat more price cuts on for-sale homes.”
‘Homes to languish on market’ due to climate change, insurance
Echoing Realtor.com, Redfin’s economic report for 2026 concluded that as climate-driven events like hurricanes become more frequent and intense, climate will keep growing as a reason to move from the coast: “Homes will languish on the market (due) partly to natural disasters and surging insurance costs and partly to pandemic-era remote workers moving back to where their office is located. People who need to sell may be forced to take a loss.”
And the struggles don’t end there.
Where did Lee County rank on U.S. foreclosures? It was high.
Florida had the highest foreclosure rate of any state in 2025, with foreclosure filings on 0.44% of residential properties in the Sunshine State. Following were Delaware (0.42%) and South Carolina (0.41%), according to Thursday Jan. 15 data from real estate analytics firm ATTOM.
While Florida had one in every 230 housing units with a foreclosure filing, it was even more difficult in Lee County, which ranked fourth nationally with a rate of one in every 189 homes. But that’s not top billing in the Sunshine State: Lakeland had one in every 145, No.. 1 in the nation.
Florida ‘homeowners face heightened affordability pressures’
Among the challenges in the state and counties, “homeowners there face heightened affordability pressures from rising insurance premiums, property taxes and overall ownership costs,” said Hannah Jones, Realtor.com senior analyst. “Growing home supply has softened demand in parts of the state, contributing to slower price growth and longer time on market.
“Together, these dynamics increase the risk of foreclosure for some homeowners, particularly those who bought near the peak of the market or are carrying higher monthly costs.”
Dec. foreclosures rose even higher, up 24% from previous month
Nationally, 0.26% of residential properties had a foreclosure filing in 2025, less than the 0.36% seen in 2019 and far below the crisis-level peak of 2.23% recorded in 2010.
The ATTOM findings also include new data for December 2025, showing there were 44,990 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings last month, up 26% from the previous month and 57% higher than a year ago. Even with that, it’s still well below Great Recession levels.
What are the Top 7 metros where house prices freefell most?
The 8 costliest hurricanes in U.S. history all occurred since 2005
Adjusted for today’s dollars, federal data shows this century has featured U.S. history’s eight costliest hurricanes:
Writing In the Know for the USA TODAY Network, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com) grew up in Southwest Florida and has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. Sign up for our free Breaking Ground growth and development newsletter. Subscribe to our News-Press and Naples Daily News apps.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples, Florida on U.S. home affordability list? Surprising home stats
Reporting by Phil Fernandez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
