Thanksgiving sales, Labor day sales, Christmas sales, are all times that we think of for record shopping activity. But there is a different kind of sale going on in southwest Florida. May sales of existing single-family homes in Lee County continued at a near-record pace while prices spiked up, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Florida Association of Realtors.

The median price rose to $88,500, up 3.5 percent or $3,000 from April’s $85,500. But prices remained less than half what they were after the precipitous drop of the past year — the median was $212,400 in May 2008.

Some area agents expect the median price to continue rising as more mid- to high-end homes come on the market.

There were 1,417 existing houses sold with the assistance of a Realtor — down from April’s record 1,468 but up sharply from the 823 sold in May 2008, according to the association.

In most of those homes the seller was under financial pressure to sell relatively quickly.A breakdown for the Florida association’s statistics wasn’t available, but the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach showed 62 percent were sold by lenders that had taken the house back in foreclosure and then resold it.

Another 14 percent were “short sales” in which the lender agreed to reduce its mortgage so a house could be sold for a lower price.

In a separate report also released Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors said U.S. home sales rose 2.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.66 million in April.

The increase in Lee County prices may have come because rock-bottom prices for low-end homes in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres have spurred bidding wars for those homes.  

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A good question, and the answer depends on who you ask. For the third month in a row, home sales are at a blistering pace.

The number of single-family homes sold in Lee County with the help of a Realtor in April shot up to 1,468, an all-time record, according to statistics released today by the Florida Association of Realtors today.

That number is 81 percent up from April 2008, when 809 homes were sold.

Meanwhile, the median price of a home sold in April was $85,000, down 57 percent from $200,300 a year earlier and about what that figure was 14 years ago.

February and March also saw figures above 1,200 sales.

But who is buying these homes? The answer is everybody!

The local market has jumped in to the mix, finally seeing that homeownership is affordable. This is attributed to the historically low interest rates, the pricing on distressed sales, and the recent downturn in the unemployment numbers.

Boomers are also heavy in to the equation. With liquid capital and years of sensible credit management, this sector of buyers have been chasing the "luxury" market. With many waterfront, golf course, and "hands-off" communities reducing their pricing to 40% of 2005-2006 prices the boomers are again looking at Florida.

The international market has also been heavily involved in purchasing Florida. Some 27% of sales have been made to foreign nationals.

But the first question stands, is this really a buyers market? After all homes are selling at a record pace, but many buyers are faced with multiple offer situations. Cash offers are knocking out the financed buyers. And even though inventory is still high, eliminate the short sales that no one wants to mess with, and also eliminate the 20% of homes that are overpriced or are un-sellable at any price, and you will find a fairly balanced market.

To view properties for sale visit us at Hope4homebuyers.Listingbook.com

Buyers, you have no doubt heard that sales are moving again in southwest Florida. What an understatement! Sales are moving in a big way. In March of this year, home sales in Lee County accounted for 1,504 transactions versus 564 for March 2008.

Now anyone can argue that foreclosures contributed to this. They did! Record low pricing also contributed, so did historically low interest rates, and so did the $8,000 tax credit to homebuyers.

But the single biggest contributor was the area itself. It is still sunny, warm, beautiful southwest Florida. It is the same place that people aspire to retire to, that place where families want to go to enjoy themselves. It is the same place where the Brits, Germans, Canadians want their second homes. It is the same place where New York, Boston, Chicago and Indianapolis want to escape to.

Southwest Florida still has beautiful weather, fishing, boating, shopping, dining. Southwest Florida still has growth in education (FGCU), travel, and a comfortable pace of life.

Southwest Florida also has some really good real estate deals too. Homes with pools for around 120-160 are in huge demand. Waterfront homes for a fraction of 05 pricing. Riverfront condos for less than 200k are also available. Homes from 40k are also available but are becoming more scarce every day.

If you have thought about looking in to southwest Florida, what's stopping you now? Take a look at the opportunities available at SWFloridaMls, and contact us for any additional information.

Neil G.Blair-Bennett
Broker/Associate
Alliance Realty Group
14090 Metropolis Ave #206
Fort Myers, Florida 33912
239 645-3798
NeilBlairBennett@Gmail.com
www.Hope4HomeBuyers.org

Competition is really heating up in the southwest Florida market. During a recent buying tour with an out of state client, we encountered multiple offers on nearly every property that we placed offers on. My client, like many others, was looking to pick up a great second home at a very good price. Not very difficult you might think, considering the number of homes for sale in our market.

Once we waded through the overpriced listings and discarded the short sales (short on sales, long on time!) we came to the bank or corporate owned homes. Now my buyer thought that just because of the economy, he could lowball offers because no one is buying right? How wrong could he be, as I mentioned there were multiple offers on nearly everything he wanted. He really wanted something to buy and was getting frustrated. So my advice to him was;

You're in a strong bargaining position -- meaning, you look particularly welcome to a seller -- if:

• You're an all-cash buyer; or
• You're already pre-approved for a mortgage; and
• You don't have a present house that has to be sold before you can afford to buy.

But you are competing with everyone who has seen the news, read the newspapers, or tracked this market online. Investors are back looking at cash flow properties, snowbirds are looking for a place to escape, and primary homebuyers who were once shut out due to price are all looking to buy.

Sales volume for the first 2+ months of 2009 have been at a frenzy. Foreclosed homes and distressed properties are obviously leading the way, but how long will it last? Inventory is on the decrease, new housing starts are virtually nonexistent.

If you are looking for opportunity, then look no further than southwest Florida. Check us out today at http://www.Hope4Homebuyers.Listingbook.com

In Faith

Neil G. Blair-Bennett
Broker-Associate
Alliance Realty Group
14090 Metropolis Ave #206
Fort Myers, FL 33912
Direct Line: (239) 645-3798
NeilBlairBennett@Gmail.com
http://www.Hope4HomeBuyers.org

The number one question that I get asked as a Realtor is: When will the market bottom out?  I think I even hear that question in my sleep I'm asked it so much.  There are several indicators that will give you a good idea, but there is one major indicator that you should be looking for. That indicator is supply and demand.  Most experts will tell you that a healthy market has 2- 4 months of inventory.  I live in Fort Myers, FL.  We have seen our ups and downs in the real estate market in the last 36 months.  At one point in late 2005 Fort Myers/Cape Coral was the fastest appreciating area in the US.  That number was a staggering 47%.  In the last 12 months we have been tagged as the foreclosure capital of the US.  At one point we had more foreclosures than anyone.  That includes California, Arizona, and Las Vegas.  The reason house prices went up so quickly and plummeted so quickly is inventory.  Three years ago there were 3-6 families for every house on the market.  2 years later there were 6-10 houses for every buyer.  It isn't rocket science folks.  When inventory is high prices will fall.  When inventory is low prices will increase.  Inventory is getting eaten up quickly by first time homebuyers and investors in my area.  I have never seen more multiple offer situations than I am seeing now.  Take a look at the statistic below.  Cape Coral is 5th in the nation in most improved house prices. 

No. 5

Cape Coral, Fla.
ZIP: 33914
Metro area: Coral-Fort Myers
Annual home sale increase: 103%
Fourth-quarter sales: 274
Median home price: $137,450
Median home price change: -14.5%
Nondistressed sales percentage: 30%

Why the sudden increase in sales you ask?  Where else in the nation can you buy a home that is 2-3 years old (and sometimes brand new) for $40,000-$50,000?  Where else in the nation can you buy a duplex that is 2-3 years old (and sometimes brand new) for $40,000-$50,000?  The answer is nowhere!  Oh and did I mention you are less than 30 minutes from the white beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. 

Excerpts taken from the Business Weeek article:

"Signs of Life From the Real Estate Market" by Prashant Gopal Friday, March 6th 2009

Israel Emory

Alliance Realty Group

isemory@hotmail.com

239 292 2499