Single family Southwest Florida housing supply increased from 5.9 month’s supply last November to 8.36 months presently. We’ll identify which price ranges are the hottest and which are the coolest in this article and provide some insights.

The price range of less than $300k price range saw the greatest increase in listing inventory, up 89% in 5 months. The next price range was $600-800 k with a 64.79% increase in listings followed by the $ 1 Million + range with a 61.85% increase. These increases affected the month’s supply in each of these categories.

Southwest Florida Housing Supply Increase

The price range that saw the most increase in the month’s supply was the $1 Million + range. It gained 6.43 months supply in just 5 months. In November Lee County had 9.74 months’ supply in this price range. That shot up to 16.17 months presently. If you have a $1 Million + priced home, it has to be marketed well and provide value. Buyers have an excellent choice to choose from, and they will only select the best value to them.

If buyers cannot find a suitable home they like, many are waiting on the sidelines, because they are not worried that prices will rise anytime soon. Buyers perceive it in their best interest to wait because they know prices are falling. There is too much competition amongst sellers and inventory is rising. A buyer will act when a home meets their needs, and they perceive the value of the home they like far and exceeds that of other homes they’ve looked at. You’ve heard the saying, “If you’re not first, you’re last.” This is true when there is an abundance of homes on the market in a particular price range.

Pricing and Marketing Critical

Anything $500k and up has about a 10-month supply or more of homes on the market currently.  Pricing and marketing are critical to sell in this market. Working with a Realtor who can listen to the buyers’ wants and fears is also critical to overcoming buyer reluctance in uncertain times. Offering suggestions and alternative ways of thinking about the buyer’s situation is crucial to making a sale today.

While pending sales are down compared to 2024, we had hopes of an improving market when interest rates declined. There was an uptick in pending sales a few weeks back when rates dropped, but suddenly rates shot up again about ¾% overnight as trade wars escalated. Global uncertainty has caused some to pause, which is not good because we already had a backlog of inventory going into season.

Trade Wars

This could all work itself out, but we better get some good news fast. It takes time to work through inventory backlogs, and capital is frozen until supply chain decisions are made. Money is available for lending on homes, but money doesn’t know where to find safety in the economy. The longer this persists, the more repercussions we will see. The good news is, if trade agreements are announced soon, this could all reverse itself quickly and we could begin working down the inventory along with lower rates.

We are frozen in time, and nobody knows for how long. We are still selling homes, but solving uncertainly in the economy makes everyone feel better about making big purchases.

If you have a home to sell, Always Call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-310-6500. Put our marketing and expertise to work for you. Or, find out the approximate value for your home instantly at www.swflhomevalues.com Our system will update you the change in value every month, so you’ll know which way the market is headed consistently on your home.

We’re here to help. Good luck, and Happy Selling!

“Nobody wants to buy real estate right now” is what I heard a seller say this past week. They were taking their home off the market with their agent because they felt like there were no buyers. When your home fails to sell, and you didn’t have many showings, it might feel like nobody is buying.

Nobody Wants to Buy Real Estate -Actual Numbers

There were 927 closed single family home sales in February. That is down from 1,022 last year, but it’s not nothing. There were 335 closed condo sales in February, compared to 445 last year. That is a bigger percentage drop than the single-family home sales.

What this tells us is there is pricing pressure. Fewer buyers are buying, but it’s not nobody.  To put this in perspective, let’s say you have a home that is worth $500,000. If you put that home on the market for $50,000 would you have offers? If you put that home on the market at $100,000 or $250,000, would you have offers? The answer is a resounding yes, you would have multiple offers.

So, there are buyers. The real question is, at what point do buyers turn off for that $500,000 property? Is it $450,000, $475,000, or $500,000? If the property is truly worth $500,000 that is going to be the point where buyers accept the property but not over. If buyers turn off at $480,000, is it really a $500,000 property? Just because it is worth $500,000 in the seller’s mind doesn’t mean it is in the market’s mind. The market is the totality of buyers, not simply one buyer. If you overprice the property, you will not find even one buyer. If you underprice the property, you’re likely to find many buyers.

Marketing

The other question sellers ask is was my property marketed to its full potential? If the market was aware of your property and your price, it wasn’t the marketing? However, if it wasn’t presented in its proper light, or marketed fully, that’s another story. I’ve seen instances where a property was classified wrong, or didn’t have certain key features listed. If an agent can’t search on a field, you could be missing buyers. If just one key item is wrong, your listing could be invisible to the market.

Reach

If everything is correct in the marketing, what was the reach? Was the marketing muscle enough to have the proper reach for the intended audience? Getting everything correct and not spending money to market is a common mistake agents make. Perhaps the agent doesn’t have the money, or they’re counting on their broker to market it. The problem with that strategy is the broker then advertises all their company listings, and each listing waits their turn until the next time.

Portals

Agents rely too heavily on the national real estate portals like Zillow, Realtor.com, or Homes.com While buyers do look there, they don’t have all the features of a site like www.LeeCountyOnline.com Additionally, these portals sell user data to agents as a lead source, so when you search on them, an agent who is not the listing agent may contact you to sell you a home somewhere, anywhere. The portals have no incentive to sell your home.

Ask Your Agent

Ask your agent where else they advertise. Do they advertise in print? What about digital advertising, segmented ads, and other forms of advanced advertising. What are they going to do to make your home stand out? Most of the sellers are also on the portals, so what will make your home stand out?

Two Reasons Why Homes Don’t Sell

There are typically two reasons why a home didn’t sell. Was it marketed properly, and was it priced correctly? You, the seller, oversee who you hire. You are also in charge of pricing it correctly. In other words, the agent you hire makes all the difference.

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-310-6500. We’ll explain how to fully market your home, and price it correctly. Or visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com for an instant ballpark price on your property. Don’t forget to call us to validate the price, and go over your marketing options.

Good luck, and Happy Selling!

See Last Week’s Article “SWFL Real Estate Buying Signals Flashing”

Featured Home of the Week

5839 SW 1st Ct Cape Coral

March Real Estate Update

Expired Listings April 1, 2025

We are starting to see some SWFL real estate buying signals flashing in the market right now. Everybody always asks, “is now the time to buy real estate?”

The correct answer is not to try to time the real estate market. Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait.  This article is not going to focus on that. This article is for all the people who want to time the market.

Several indicators are flashing green right now. This does not mean prices will begin rising right away. In fact, prices could continue to go down some as these are leading indicators, meaning it takes time to take effect, and conditions could change in the meantime while we wait.

Inventory Levels

For the first time in a while, single family inventory in Lee County declined this past week. Pending sales have picked up nicely. They are not to the level of last year but welcomed just the same.

CMI Index

The Ellis Team CMI index has been falling since its peak in January. This is a good sign for future prices in SW Florida, albeit down the road. If this continues falling in April and May sellers will breathe a sigh of relief.

Interest Rates

Interest rates have been falling since January 16^th when they peaked at 7.04%. This week they were down to 6.67% according to the St Louis Fed. As rates drop, housing becomes more affordable to more buyers.

Insurance Rates Drop

 4^th qtr. insurance rates fell by .7% for single family homes and 1.7% for condos. This is the first drop in over 2 years. Granted, rates rose much more than that, but it is a sign that recent insurance reforms enacted are helping with insurance costs. Everyone said it would take time but watch for lower premiums in the future.

The Gap

The gap is the difference between the number of homes on the market and pending sales. The gap peaked on Feb 11^th and has been declining since. This is another welcome sign for homeowners.

Tariffs

Tariffs on lumber and steel may help home sellers. Resales have been competing with new construction for years, and many times losing. As the cost of lumber, steel, and other commodities increases it raises the cost of new construction. This may help resales compete with new construction prices and stem the loss of buyers who have been buying new construction.

The SW Florida real estate market was flashing red for the past 2 years, but now some SWFL real estate buying signals are flashing green. We do not believe prices are headed higher anytime soon. We do believe if you are trying to time the market, there are some buying signals that look favorable.

Have We Hit Bottom?

We will never know when the market has hit bottom until some time after and it is heading up. We see signs of increased buyer affordability. It is better to buy at 1-2% before the market has hit bottom than 1-2 % after, because of the leverage buyers have today versus when everybody knows, including the sellers, that the jig is up. Today, buyers have maximum leverage and might one day regret not buying.

To search for your home and help analyze the market, check out www.LeeCountyOnline.com. Not only will you see all the listings, but you’ll also appreciate the neighborhood market reports.

Sellers love the free and instant home value tool at www.SWFLhomevalues.com Still others prefer to talk to us. You can reach us at 239-310-6500 and we can talk about your situation and the market. See last week’s article “Top 10 Reasons Sellers Become Frustrtated With Their Listing Agent”

Good luck, and Happy Selling!

The Future of Real Estate Market Update March 2025

Which is Better, Zillow, Realtor.com or Homes.com?

Fort Myers Beach in March

Expired Listings April 1st