"For sale, nearly new home, comes with all appliances, this home needs nothing....listing price $55,000"

Ads like this can be found all over southwest Florida as the bargains are being snapped up at a rate not seen for some time.

Buyers from across the nation and around the world snapped up bargain-priced homes in Lee County in December, pushing sales up 146 percent from a year ago.

Realtors assisted in the selling of 1,064 homes in Lee in December - up from 432 in December 2007 - according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Last month, 600 existing homes were sold.

What's the motivating factors?

Well of course price is first. Activity wasn't going to increase while homes were so overinflated. The median sales price fell 50 percent to $106,900, from $215,200 in December 2007. The median price was essentially flat from November, up about $800.

For the year, 8,217 existing homes sold in Lee, up 43 percent from the 5,753 in 2007. The median price was $158,200, down 38 percent from $254,700 in 2007.

Statewide, existing home sales continued to rise in December as prices fell. Realtors helped sell 11,053 homes in December, a 27 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

Record low mortgage rates have also been a big contributing factor. 30 year fixed rates have dropped below 5% in some cases, and national builder Toll Brothers recently announced a 30 year fixed 3.99% program to give incentive to buyers.

Forbes.com recently named the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area as one of the 10 best areas for future growth. Citing the expansion of Southwest Florida International Airport, the rapid growth of Florida Gulf Coast University, the rise of commercial building in Cape Coral as just some of the reasons why this market is well poised to expand in the future.

And can we forget the obvious? Warm weather, sandy beaches, great golf, baseball spring training, excellent restaurants, recently opened retail centers, easy access to theme parks, fantastic fishing, are just some of what the Florida lifestyle is all about

Take a few minutes and review some of the homes that Hope4HomeBuyers.org has to offer. Ask the tough questions about financing. Come and see the best of what Florida has.

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