Home sales continue to rise in the Greater Fort Myers Area

July 9, 2009

Source: REALTOR® Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, Inc.

Members of the REALTOR® Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, Inc. in June sold 1,586 homes, which is 121 percent more homes than in June of last year, contributing to the area’s year-to-date sales increase of 116 percent.

Of these June sales, 56.5 percent of the homes were bank-owned; 15.5 percent of the homes were short sales and the remaining “traditional” sales made up 23.9 percent.

In addition to an increase in existing home sales in the Greater Fort Myers Area, there is a startling change to the number of homes currently available for purchase through the MLS. There are 7,239 single-family homes currently listed in the MLS, a number that is 5,009 (40.9 percent) less than this time last year. This inventory
level reflects a 3.5-month supply at the current pace of sales, which is down significantly from the 8.9-month supply recorded in June of last year.

Bank-owned and short sale home sales have had a dramatic influence on the Greater Fort Myers Area reported median price. The median price of all homes sold in June is $83,000 (a 47.5 percent decrease compared to June 2008); however, year-to-date, the median price for “traditional” sales is $175,000, $69,000 for bank-owned properties and $105,000 for short sales.

“Distressed homes have definitely influenced our pricing in the current market,” explains Association President Suzanne Sherer. “If at-risk homeowners can keep their homes, and banks work more closely with REALTORS® to process short sales, we might finally see some relief to the foreclosure crisis here in Southwest Florida. Instead, lenders are turning down homebuyers using financing in favor of all-cash
deals from investors because they unfold faster as the value of the property does not have to match the sales price. This does not bode well for stabilizing our housing market.”