Gulf access homes in Cape Coral are selling at record rates. In May, Realtors sold 110 gulf access single family homes in Cape Coral. This is the highest monthly total we have seen since we started tracking in Sept 2004. Our median sales price appears to have stabilized and we may have finally hit a bottom. Our median sales price is up from 6 months ago. Buyers still have a good selection of homes with 812 homes on the market or about an 8 month supply. REO’s are influencing this segment as they are all of our market. 30% of gulf access homes sold in May were foreclosed/REO homes.
Inventory of unsold homes continues to go down in Cape Coral. As of end of May our inventory is at 4481 homes. This is a drop of 237 on sales of 618 homes. This means that while 618 sold 381 other homes came onto the market. 75% of sales were either foreclosed bank owned homes (55%) or short sales (20%). This is good for sellers in our market as the sooner excess inventory disappears; the sooner we may see values start to increase. Our agents are finding considerable buyer competition for well priced homes.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Koffman and Associates
Century21 Sunbelt Realty
2396-443-2463 Steve@koffman.com
Sales of off water homes continued at a very brisk rate with 532 homes closing in April. The median sale prices are continuing to drift downward with bank owned (reo) sales dominating the market. 449 of the sales were either bank owned or short sales with reo’s being almost 70 % of closed sales. 15% of closings were short sales and 15% were “normal” non distressed sales. The median sale price was $80000 which is slightly lower than last month’s $81900.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Century21 Sunbelt Realty, Inc
239-443-2463 Steve@koffman.com
Coming on the heels of March’s 684 single family home sales in Cape Coral, April looks to find another 600 plus sales. This has succeeded in dropping our inventory of homes to below 4900 homes. This peaked at over 5800 in April of 2008. This is the trend we need to keep seeing for us to start to the reversal of monthly drops in sales prices. Especially hot in our market are REO or bank owned properties. Record numbers of buyers are stepping up to purchase as banks are competing in price to capture buyers. Buyers today are a mix of former renters, investors, and future retirees jumping to buy now.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Koffman and Associates
Steve@Koffman.com
239-443-2463
40 freshwater homes sold in Jan through MLS in Cape Coral. In Feb, 29 have closed. The median sales price was $154000 which like the gulf access homes is the lowest median sale price since prior to Sept 2004. The 40 sales is a solid sales pace exceeding most months in the last 5 years. Again good prices are driving buyers. We have about 15 months of inventory available.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Century21 Sunbelt Realty Inc
239-443-2463 Steve@koffman.com
For Jan 2009, 48 gulf access homes closed in Coral Coral. In Feb, through today 59 have sold. The median sale price through January was $266500 which is lowest median price since our Sept 2004 tracking. Prices peaked at almost $700000. The number of sales remains solid with buyers attracted to our much lowered prices. MLS current has approximately 19 months of gulf access inventory in Cape Coral.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Century21 Sunbelt Realty
239-443-2463 Steve@koffman.com
Cape Coral currently has 5229 single family homes on the market. This is up from about 5100 in December. Each month many homes come onto the market while other homes are selling. In January, 409 single family homes closed. This would primarily be homes which went under contract in December. We typically see less homes selling in January due to the holidays. Reduction in our inventory is the key to price recovery of our market. Ultimately, population growth will absorb the inventory. The challenge is predicting our rate of population growth over the next few years. Hopefully, our great weather and prices will continue to draw newcomers to our area.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Koffman and Associates
Century21 Sunbelt Realty Inc
Looking at MLS sold data for December, 385 off water homes sold in Cape Coral. These sold at a median price of $88825. This is the highest number of off water home sales we have seen. The great prices have driven buyers, both homeowner and investor, to purchase. The median price went down from $94250 in November. We are seeing some data which indicates that the steep price declines may be slowing. For the first 3 weeks in January, MLS sales data shows us that homes which have closed were at a median list price of $85500 and sold for 97.2% of list. Although this would indicate that sale prices will be lower than December, we also see that pending sales are at median price of $89900. These most likely will close for over $87000. This validates what we are seeing as buyer’s agents finding that nice Cape Coral off water homes competitively priced are getting multiple offers and a lot of showings and coming under contract within 30 days.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Century21 Sunbelt Realty, Inc
239-443-2463 Steve@koffman.com
We saw steady gulf access sales through December in waterfront homes in Cape Coral. In December, Realtors sold 68 homes with a median sales price of $275,000. Although down from November’s $305,000 median price, the median sale price has been has been relatively steady since last April. The 68 sale number is higher than any month in 2006 or 2007. Buyers are taking advantage of prices that are approximately half of peak values. Historically, gulf access homes have been top Florida attraction in our coastal communities and this should continue in the future as the economy recovers.
Fresh Water Homes For fresh water homes in Cape Coral, 57 homes sold through MLS. This is the highest number we have seen in the past 4 years. The lowering prices have brought buyers with the $159,000 median sale price being the lowest we have seen in 4 years. Fresh water homes allow people to enjoy canal or lake front living without the gulf access price. 
Steve KoffmanBroker/AssociateCentury21 Sunbelt Realty, Inc239-443-2463Steve@koffman.com
For December, single family home inventory continued to decline. Cape Coral currently has 5138 SFH on the market in MLS. This is a drop of 293 from November. November saw a 122 unit decline. The December decline came on sales of 458 units, in other words 458 homes sold and 165 new homes came on the market. This currently is about an 11 month supply, but with new homes being added we are more in the 24 months or more range. We will not get a stable picture of true inventory until the current backlog of homes in foreclosure is cleared. Declining inventory is required for us to sustain any price stability as prices are still falling. In the market, we are seeing strong sales activity in the affordable under $80000 price range with good homes getting quick sales. Our great current mortage rates are definitely helping buyers. This kind of activity should start to stabilize price. Homes which are overpriced are seeing very little buyer interest.
Steve Koffman
Broker/Associate
Century21 Sunbelt Realty, Inc
239-443-2463