Tag Archives: Cape Coral real estate

SW Florida Real Estate Home Sales Statistics Released for September 2008

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SW Florida Real Estate Home Sales Statistics

Fort Myers and Cape Coral saw a 128% increase in home sales over last year as reported by the Florida Associatiopn of Realtors.  Statewide sales were up 24%, but locally they were up much greater becuase affrodability is back in the SW Florida real estate market what is not priced into all Florida markets. Median sale price is Fort Myers and Cape Coral dropped to $141,400 from $231,600 last year.

Condo sales in Cape Coral and Fort Myers saw a 50% rise in condo sales over last year, while the median price dropped 17% to $185,000.

Home sale prices declined for the 4th straight month in Fort Myers and Cape Coral real estate.  See our month over month prices graph. You can also view a monthly price summary by year for Fort Myers and Cape Coral real estate.  We’ve also included a home sales by month for the past several years for Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

We’ve created some videos for you to learn about the SW Florida real estate market better.  Some of these videos were newscasts done on TV, while others were simply us on a video camera talking about the market in our office.  We’ll be adding more videos like the newscast we did for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams a few weeks ago, so stay tuned.

Thank you for reading our SW Florida Real Estate Home Sales Statistics update this week.  We look forward to bringing you further SW Florida Real Estate Home Sales Statistics.

October Ellis Team SW Florida Real Estate Current Market Index Shows Improvement

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The October 2008 Ellis Team Current Market Index shows slight continued improvement in the SW Florida real estate housing market.  The index went down to 7.27, down from 7.75 the month prior.  The lower the number the better it is for sellers, and the higher the number the better for buyers.

Ellis Team SW Florida Real Estate Current Market Index Fort Myers Real Estate

Cape Coral real estate led the way with a market index of only 5.93, down from 6.38 in September.  Fort Myers real estate stands at 13.13, down from 13.76 in September.  There is currently 15,570 single family home listings in Lee County, up from 15,530 in September, so listing inventory is remaining relatively steady.  Pending sales in SW Florida rose to 1700, which is a very good sign going forward.

It’s important to keep in mind that many of these sales are a result of foreclosures hitting the market at affordable prices.  These listings are replacing short sales that were not sellable, and once they become sellable and affordable, the market gobbles them up.

It is still a tough environment for agents though as marketing costs remain high, gas prices remain high, and sale prices are half what they used to be.  Add in financing troubles and many times the agent has to sell the home more than once to get that one sale.  So bottom line is margins are tight, workload has doubled which adds administrative costs, and prices are down.  This is perhaps why there is a flight to quality by home sellers to top agents capable of selling in a tough market.  The same is true with mortgage professionals and title professionals, as only the strongest have survived in this market.

 We are noticing seasonal vistirs again, and may are inquiring about buying this year as prices are much more to their liking.  They’ve held off in past years waiting for the bargains, snd this year will be the year of bargains for our northern friends.

We beleive there may be pent-up demand from northern buyers as we are still receiving calls from our NBC Nightly News  with Brian Williams report we did last week showing affordability is back in the market, as well as The NBC Today Show we did a few weeks ago.  We also did a piece this past week for ABC-7 News on Sales up and Home Prices Down.

Fort Myers Florida Real Estate Video Update

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Who knew people actually wanted to tune in and watch a short video each week on what’s happening in the SW Florida real estate market?  The Fort Myers and Cape Coral market is changing rapidly, so I guess everyone is just trying to get a handle on what’s really happening and the trends we’re seeing on the streets.

Watch out 9-15-08 Fort Myers Florida Real Estate Update here presented by The Ellis Team at RE/MAX Realty Group in Fort Myers Florida.  This started out as a test a few weeks ago and people actually called and complained we didn’t post one last week.  Last week we were really busy writing new contracts, listing new properties, and keeping existing deals together.  FInancing has become increasingingly difficult to obtain, and lenders are updating their files just before closing and asking more questions, which is causing delays.  Add to that a shaky capital market, and you’ve got chaos in a moments notice, so sometimes we’re busy fighting fires.  Keep in mind helping consumers buy and sell real estate is our primary business, and even though we enjoy educating consumers and the media as to what’s really happening in real time, sometimes we have to fight the fires first so to speak.

Hope you enjoy this week’s video.  It is low budget (Free) so hopefully you’ll get something out of the content and not the production quality.

 

Ellis Team SW Florida Real Estate Current Market Index for Fort Myers Cape Coral Area

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The latest Fort Myers Cape Coral SW Florida real estate Current Market Index has been released today and the overall Fort Myers Cape Coral housing index numbers fell to 7.75, from 7.88 the month prior.  Cape Coral again led the way as Cape’s index fell to 6.38 while Fort Myers stands at 13.76.  The lower the number the more favorable it is for sellers, and the higher the number the more favorable for buyers.

Current Market Index for Fort Myers Cape Coral Area

 

Fort Myers Cape Coral SW Florida real estate current market index chart

Lee County listing inventory for single family homes remained steady at 15,530 up a mere 7 homes from last month, and pending sales increased to 1,617, up from 1,546 in August.  The overall Lee County Florida Current Market Index is at 9.60 in September, down from 10.04 in August.  The September condo index stands at 20.21, up from 19.27 in August.

These numbers tell us the overall market is basically holding steady to slightly improving since August, and should bode well for closings in future months.  It also tells us that so far the market has been absorbing the influx of foreclosures and selling them as they are not adding to inventory supply.  This is another positive sign as the local SW Florida real estate market would be in trouble if the foreclosure activity added to inventory supplies.  The large number of foreclosures is however keeping the supply where it is and preventing it from declining.

Updated Florida Statewide Home Sales Numbers Released including Fort Myers and Cape Coral Real Estate

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Late last week we released two additional charts containing the SW Florida real estate sales numbers, as well as the entire state of Florida.  The Fort Myers Single Family Homes chart shows the Fort Myers and Cape Coral home sales up 80% over last year, as well as single family home sales for the entire state of Florida. The Fort Myers Cape Coral Condo Sales chart shows the Fort Myers and Cape Coral July 2008 sales as compared to July of 2007, as well as the entire state of Florida.

Each month the Florida Association of Realtors releases official sales numbers for Fort Myers real estate, Cape Coral real estate, and several other metropolitan areas.

Home Buying Frenzy – Official July SW Florida Real Estate Housing Sales Numbers Released Including Fort Myers and Cape Coral

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July 2008 SW Florida real estate sales numbers were released today by the Florida Association of Realtors which includes data for Fort Myers and Cape Coral real estate.  The latest data shows a home buying frenzy as single family home sales in Fort Myers and Cape Coral were up 80% over last year’s numbers.  From the SW Florida Real Estate Homes Closed 2005-2008 chart, you can see home sales surpassed both 2006 and 2007 levels for the month of July.  Last July there were 426 single family home sales and this July there 768 home sales.  Condo sales in SW Florida increased 35% from 129 last year to 174 this year.

Median single family home sale prices in Fort Myers and Cape Coral dropped 37% from $246,100 last year to $154,900 this year.  Median sale prices dropped 10% in July from June 2008 levels, and have dropped about 27% in the last two months alone.  See SW Florida Real Estate Month Over Month Prices chart.  Our SW Florida Real Estate Sale Prices 2005-2008 chart illustrates sales price trends for the last 4 years.

Be careful not to judge the overall market by the median price, as foreclosures are skewing the data downward in the lower price end of the market.  While it is possible that multiple market segments are dropping to some degree, we really don’t see all market segments dropping to the degree the median price is.  Home buyers are jumping in with both feet as they have found affordability back in the market.

We believe home sales, while at a frenzied pace right now, would actually be stronger if financing wasn’t such an issue for homebuyers.  Lenders have certainly tightened the screws, and to some extent have caused the market to decline due to tougher underwriting standards.  We are not arguing as to whether the banks are right or wrong, as each lender has their own specific situation to deal with and less money to lend, but it is a fact that sales are being curtailed due to tighter lending policies.

Nationally pending home sales numbers have been stronger, which hopefully will be a good sign for the future as well.  We’ll keep reporting what we’re seeing in the local SW Florida real estate market, so tay tuned.  Be sure to check our Fort Myers real estate website for updates on the market as well.  You might also like our Housing Statistics webpage.

Click here to Search the Entire SW Florida real estate MLS.  You can also view Ellis Team Virtual Tours of our listed properties.  Feel free to visit our Bank Owned Bargains webpage for SW Florida bank foreclosures, and don’t forget our weekly radio show entitled “The Future of Real Estate” which you can listen to online.

Brett was recently interviewed on TV regarding what caused the local SW Florida foreclosure crisis.  Click here to watch that interview.

 

Ellis Team SW Florida Real Estate Current Market Index August 2008

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The August SW Florida Real Estate Current Market Index is out for Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Lee County real estate, and as you can tell, it’s been fairly level but weakening slightly, which should lead to strong sales numbers going forward, but not quite as strong as we saw in the summer months.

Ellis Team SW Florida Real Estate Current Market Index August 2008 Fort Myers Cape Coral real estate

The official index climbs slighty to 7.88, up from 7.51 the month prior.  The Index consists of Fort Myers and Cape Coral combined.  The overall Lee County index stands at 10.04 for single family homes and 19.27 for condos this month.  Fort Myers single family homes index is 12.89 and Cape Coral is 6.62, so Cape Coral is definitely the hottest part of the county for sales compared to inventory levels.  Lehigh Acres numbers are reflected in the Lee County numbers.  The graph depicts Fort Myers and Cape Coral  real estate single family home sales index numbers.

We’re predicting sales to remain good, but cool off slightly.  Financing is having an impact on current pending sales, and new sales will be tougher after October 1 when down payment assitance goes away.

Fortunately we do have some homes listed that are foreclosures and the credit union is willing to finance with only 2% down, and will offer low rates to buyers with less than perfect credit, so this is a very good program for buyers who may get squeezed out of qualifying or who cannot come up with the minimum down payment due to the new financing rules.

Official June SW Florida Real Estate Housing Sales Numbers Released Including Fort Myers and Cape Coral

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Official housing numbers for Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and all of SW Florida were released for June 2008.  Single family home sales prices fell 18.83% in one month from May 2008, and 32% from last year’s numbers.  See Florida Single Family Home Sales Report June 2008  The only good news in all of this is that single family home sales in Fort Myers and Cape Coral rose 29% over year ago levels as homes became more affordable.

Condo sales in Cape Coral and Ft Myers were down 18% while median prices were down 19% over year ago levels.  Many in the industry felt good about sales going forward due to affordablity being back in the SW Florida real estate market, but others aren’t so sure.

The new Housing Rescue Bill will help certain borrowers, but will harm others.  Down payment assistance is going away effective October 1 on FHA loans, so a large segment of first time borrowers could be affected.  We’ll have another post in the coming days on what effects the new Bill will have on real estate in SW Florida.

SW Florida Real Estate Market Being Driven by the Lower End of the Market

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Foreclosures, short sales, and entry level homes are dominating the Southwest Florida real estate market with most of the sales coming from Cape Coral.  When we look at the Percent of April’s closings under $200,000 chart, we can clearly see that closings under $200,000 dominate the Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, and Lee County real estate markets in general.  If you are priced above $200,000 in Lehigh Acres, you’ve got a slim chance of selling as that is not where the buyers are at in Lehigh.  Over 95% of Lehigh’s closings was at $200,000 or less.

We need not look any further than the Months Supply of Inventory Priced Less Than $200,000 chart.  As you can see, Lehigh Acres has over a 2 year supply of homes on the market right now, while Cape Coral and Lee County overall are less than 1 year.

Another interesting chart is the Percent of Homes Listed as Short Sales graph. 

Over 52% of homes listed in Lehigh Acres are short sales compared to 38.70 Percent for Lee County overall.  If we examine the shear number of short sales listed in Lee County priced less than $200,000 we can gain a little perspective.  Cape Coral has approximately half of the short sales listed in the entire county, and over half of the sales.  This tells us that when affordability meets opportunity, buyers jump off the fence and purchase.

Lastly, let’s look at the Percent of Homes on the Market is SW Florida Priced Less Than $200,000.  So it looks like Cape Coral is where the action is right now, and Cape Coral is probably closer to recovery than Lehigh Acres is, but you can see how fast a market can turn once transactions start occurring in a market segment.

We are also seeing the market being driven by the low end, but also a bleed-up effect which translates to more sales and more offers now in the $300,000-$500,000 range as well.  We expect May to be another good month for sales numbers once they’re posted at the end of the month.

Entry Level Homes Driving Market in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres

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Entry level homes are driving the demand for homes in Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral Florida real estate.  Several lending institutions asked us to do some analysis on the foreclosure market here in SW Florida, and by far Cape Coral leads the way in the county for transactions.  In fact, it can be said that Cape Coral is the hottest market in Lee County.  Lehigh Acres is much more soft.  We’ve uncovered some interesting facts exploring this data.

Here is a graph of all SW Florida real estate homes on the market.  This data was pulled from the Greater  Fort Myers and the Beaches MLS.  As you can tell, Cape Coral has the most listings on the market, and Lehigh Acres is home to some of the most affordable homes in Lee County.  As you can see from the April 2008 closings graph, 371 of Lee County’s 677 transactions were in Cape Coral.  This means that over half of SW Florida’s closings occurred in Cape Coral Florida.  Another startling graph is the SW Florida real estate months supply of inventory graph for homes under $200,000.  As you can tell, Lee County is down to 9.69 months of supply and Cape Coral is even better at only 7.74 months of supply for homes priced under $200,000.

What this is telling us is that buyers are definitely off the fence and buying now, and most of these buyers are end users.  It’s also telling us that they prefer to buy in Cape Coral over Lehigh Acres.  In the Boom market, Lehigh did very well because Cape Coral was priced about $85,000 higher for the same house.  The difference was in the land prices.  Now that price differential has come down to about $15,000, and buyers are saying to themselves, for only $15,000 difference they’ll choose Cape Coral.  For $85,000 difference Lehigh Acres looked affordable and attractive.

This also tells us that either prices will go up in Cape Coral, or prices must come down further in Lehigh Acres, or a combination of both until we hit equilibrium.

Feel free to check our SW Florida real estate housing statistics webpage for lots of other charts and graphs.

This article is the first in a series utilizing this new data, so check back often for more updates to the entry level home pricing market in SW Florida, or subscribe to receive e-mail updates to this Blog.