5 Surprising Things a New Naples Condo Study Says About Your Condo's Future Value

A brand-new market study reveals what today's buyers actually care about — and some of it will surprise you.

Here's a question worth sitting with: If you put your Glades unit on the market tomorrow, what would prospective buyers care about most to ensure you get the highest sale price possible?

The price? Assessment costs? The golf courses? The Pickleball and Tennis Complex? The location?

According to a brand-new study of Naples condo buyers, the answer is all of the above. What today's buyers care about has shifted — and understanding that shift matters for every one of us at The Glades right now.

1. Who Is Actually Going to Buy Your Condo?

The people most likely to buy in a community like ours over the next 15 years are what researchers call Younger Boomers — people in their late 50s and early 60s. They're active, healthy, and they have money to spend. But they want different things than buyers did 20 years ago.

What do they want?

• Pickleball. It's at the top of the list, every time.

• Modern fitness and wellness options

• Relaxed, social dining

• A great community pool

What they don't want? Communities that haven't updated their amenities since the early 2000s. The study is blunt: "Communities reinvesting in 2005-era amenities will lose this segment to newer competitors." Our buildings are much older than 2005.

This is the buyer pool that will pay for the community moving forward ulitmately determining what our condos are worth over the next decade and beyond. Investing in what they want isn't optional — it's how we protect our property values.

2. Pickleball Adds Up to 10% to Condo Values

You read that right. This isn't about golf vs. Pickleball. Its about what new buyers want - and they want both. Pickleball when their younger and golf as the age.

Communities with active pickleball programs see resale premiums of up to 10% compared to communities without them. Condos sell 14% faster. And pickleball courts cost as little as $15,000 to build — paying back many times over in buyer demand.

Why? Because pickleball is booming. 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025 — nearly triple the number from just three years ago.

And here's what makes this especially important for The Glades: two out of three serious pickleball players are over 55. That is our community. That is our buyer pool.

So what is The Glades Board currently considering? Eliminating our three dedicated pickleball practice and drilling courts — used every day for warm-ups, lessons, and overflow play — and converting that entire space to golf hitting bays.

Does that sound like a move toward what buyers want — or away from it?

3. We Love Our Golf. But There's a Problem Brewing.

Nobody is saying golf at the Glades isn't important - it is very important - but it's importance has changed in the eyes of new buyers.

New buyers primary concern is the total cost of their investment - purchase prices + assessment costs relative to usage. Younger, active buyers look to the fitness and social nature of pickleball and then pivot to golf more as they age. Bundled golf communties in Naples still hold value but the cost of maintaining two course and staff can raise red flags for important younger buyers.

Golf costs rose nearly 11% in 2025 alone — the single biggest cost increase in our entire budget. That trend wont stop.

The study warns that when mandatory golf fees keep rising — especially for owners who don't golf — it becomes a reason buyers choose somewhere else. "Drift is the worst outcome," the study says. Letting costs climb without a deliberate plan is the single most damaging thing a community can do to its long-term value.

4. Our Reserve Fund Is Low — and Buyers Know It

This doesn't get talked about enough. But it may matter most of all.

Across Naples, a clear two-tier condo market has emerged. In communities with healthy reserve funds and well-maintained buildings, condos sell quickly and at full price. When buyers feel confident of community finances deals close. In communities with underfunded reserves, it's a different story: buyers get nervous, prices get negotiated down, and condos sit on the market longer.

Right now, The Glades General Club reserve fund holds just 20.2 cents for every dollar it should have — a $7 million gap. Every single one of our 11 condo sections is underfunded too.

That puts us in the second tier — the one where current owners leave money on the table.

The fix isn't complicated. It means putting money into reserves before spending it on new discretionary projects. It means making the harder financial decisions now so our condos hold their value later.

5. It's Not the Price. It's What It Costs Every Month.

Here's what ties everything together.

When a buyer looks at a Naples bundled-golf condo, the first thing they calculate is the total annual cost of owning it. Not the sale price. The yearly cost.

For communities like ours — in the $250,000 to $350,000 price range — that number typically runs $14,000 to $18,000 a year when you add up HOA fees, insurance, club dues, and assessments. That's between $1,200 and $1,500 coming out of your pocket every single month, just to own your condo.

Buyers know this number. And when it keeps going up, they start looking elsewhere.

The study puts it plainly: "Communities letting carrying costs drift will lose buyers regardless of unit price. Snowbirds and seasonal owners are the most price-elastic — first to list when costs spike."

When the cost of living here goes up faster than our condo and common properrty values, we all lose. That's what this study is really about — and it's what The Glades First Alliance is working to change.

So What Do We Do About It?

That's exactly why The Glades First Alliance exists.

We're a group of Glades owners who believe this community deserves better information and better decisions. We're not anti-golf. We're not anti-anything. We're pro-Glades — which means we want every owner to understand what's at stake and have a real voice in what happens next.

The study we've summarized here is real, it's local, and it's directly about communities like ours. We'd love for you to read the full version — and we'd love for you to join us.

Want to learn more or get involved? Register here to join The Glades First Alliance and stay informed at The Glades FirstAlliance.

The Glades First Alliance is a community organization formed by Glades Golf & Country Club unit owners to promote transparent governance, sound financial stewardship, and decisions that serve all 1,253 units.