Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Surrounding Area Market Report
Sales of resale homes in the Greater Fort Myers area rose again for the tenth consecutive month in October, with a total of 805 properties sold - up 122.4% versus the prior year. However, the value of homes continued to drop due to the continued presence of short sale and bank owned properties. The median price is now $119,900, which is 22.6% below the 2003 level.
There were 12,611 single-family homes for sale in October in the area, for an estimated 8.3 month supply of inventory. Sales activity is picking up pace as over 1,877 properties are pending, including properties that are active contingent and require lender approval. This is an increase of 170% versus a year ago and a 5% increase versus September.
Have we reached the bottom? That is a question people ask all the time. My take on that is not so much have we reached the very bottom but are prices at a level that the buyer can feel comfortable that they are receiving value for their dollar. One of the methods I use to determine this is the cost per square foot. Currently homes are being sold for less than what you could build them and to me that means the bottom may be here or very close. The above stats bear this out since we are at levels that go back to before 2003.
Homes in Gated Communities have dropped but not as much as homes outside of gated communities. The reason for this may be because there have been fewer short sales and foreclosures in these communities. However they have dropped significantly, as well.
There are still funds available to those who want to finance a home. A large part of the sales in this area are second homes. Although some of the funding requirements have changed for foreign national, there still is a finance market available.
Foreclosures offer the greatest opportunity but also are very competitive. The great buys often have multiple offers with some going for $5,000 to $10,000 over asking. Banks seem to want to move these properties and price some of them way below even the current market. Not all of them but more than I have ever seen in the past. These are the homes that end up with the multiple bids. However they are normally priced so far under that even at the above asking offers they are still sold at below market. A good example was a two year old pool home with 2100 square feet and in excellent condition. It sold for $338,000 in 2006. It was on the foreclosure market for $101,000. There were 7 bids on it the first day. The market for this home was in the $150,000 range when you compared it to similar homes in the area. So if you are looking for some great opportunities, they still exist and more come to market daily. However, this market will not last forever and perhaps this is the time to examine the opportunities available.