On average it cost just over $21,000 more to purchase a home in the Fort Myers area in 2011 than it did in 2009 with average selling prices increasing from $132,068 to $153,021.  This increase of 15.87% in the average selling price is among the highest in the nation for the 2009 – 2011 time period.

A key factor driving these home price increases was a significant drop-off in 2011 in the number of foreclosed homes hitting the market.  We are also seeing an increase in the percentage of end-user buyers vs. investors participating in the market as investors are finding it challenging to borrow to purchase real estate.

The increase in days on market can be most likely be attributed to the increased scrutiny buyers are experiencing in obtaining financing for their real estate purchases.  It is interesting to note that the average selling price to listing price ratio of 94% has remained virtually unchanged for three consecutive years.

In 2011, 18,634 residential properties sold in Lee County for a total of $2.8B in sales.  The average listing price was $163,541 and the average selling price was $153,021.  This represents an average selling price to listing price ratio of 94%.  This average selling to listing ratio of 94% remains unchanged from 2010 and 2009 in Lee County and is an excellent barometer for buyers to keep in mind when making an offer.

Anyone who tells you that banks are accepting offers at 50% of asking price is just not dealing in reality.  If you are interested in finding a discounted home in Southwest Florida, here is a resource to search for Southwest Florida Foreclosures.

TripAdvisor has named Fort Myers as the #3 Destination on the Rise in its most recent survey of travel destinations.  Fort Myers garnered the top ranking in Florida and only trailed Nashville and Austin on the national scale.

The TripAdvisor report cited deep-sea fishing, golf, beaches and the revitalized downtown River District as top draws.  Other attractions mentioned include the Edison and Ford Estates, Naples, Sanibel and Captiva.

Its great to see Fort Myers get national acclaim as a tourist destination.  I would add our weather, Red Sox and Twins spring training and a world-class airport as other tourist draws for the Fort Myers area.  If you are visiting and decide that you want to make make this your seasonal or permanent home, here is a resource to assist in purchasing Fort Myers real estate.

Our region scored a 2.09 on the Trulia Index for a 5th place ranking nationally.  The Trulia data supports user trending on our popular Greater Fort Myers website which has had heavy traffic throughout 2011 including the typically slower summer months.  Visitors to our site are heavily dominated by the Midwest and Northeast regions.  After Florida, the top five states whose residents are visiting our website are: New York; Ohio; Illinois, Massachusetts and MIchigan.  No surprise that these are all cold weather states with blistery, snowy winters.

With several million baby-boomer generation Americans retiring each year, the ongoing interest in Southwest Florida is both predictable and understandable.  The strong draw to the Fort Myers region is driven by a number of factors including tropical weather, rock-bottom prices, Gulf beaches, year-round golfing and boating, spring training baseball and a modern international airport.

Wow, it sure feels good to type “Fort Myers” and “turn-around market” in the same sentence.  We are no longer the ugly-duckling, poster child for the housing bust……but rather one of the markets leading the nation’s real estate recovery.

Realtor.com ranked the Fort Myers-Cape Coral market third nationally in its October 2011 Turnaround Report.  A key driver in this ranking was that over the last year, median prices in the Fort Myers market have increase by nearly 33%.  A major factor contributing to the price increases is the significant slowdown in the number of foreclosed homes hitting the market.  Over the past couple of years, distressed listings have dominated the Fort Myers MLS.  This is no longer the case as regular listings are currently propelling the market.

The surge in market activity is being driven by baby-boomer and pre-retirement second homeowners.  Many are paying cash and looking towards Florida real estate as a means  to diversify their portfolio of assets.  International buyers are also a key driver with many Canadians and Europeans currently active in the market.

With median list price increases of 34.56%, Realtor Magazine has named the Fort Myers-Cape Coral market as the top market nationally for real estate price increases for 12-month period ending September 2011.  Southwest Florida dominated the price increase list with Naples and Punta Gorda also in the top five.

Price increases have been driven by a number of factors including the rapid decline in the quantity of new foreclosure listings hitting the market. In the field we are seeing a significant number of clients who put off buying in the previous couple of years but are now jumping into the market with both feet.  The overwhelming majority of these buyers are purchasing a second home and a large percentage are cash buyers.

Clients are buying across all sectors with new construction being the most popular.  Many new communities are now building out the remaining homesites and it is currently possible to get a brand new home or condo at a price point competitive with a five or more year-old resale.

The Montreal Gazette highlights the significant number of Canadians buying property right now in the State of Florida.  In the 12-month period from mid-2010 to mid-2011, 10% of all homes sold in Florida were purchased by Canadians.

The Gazette highlights five regions in Florida that Canadians are concentrating their second home buying: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach; Orlando-Kissimmee; Naples-Marco Island and Cape Coral-Fort Myers.  Two thirds of all Canadian home purchases were in these five areas.

Over 90% of the Canadian home purchases were all cash and the median price of home purchased was $151,000.  The Cape Coral-Fort Myers region was cited as a region to look for bargains, particularly if you are priced out of the Naples market.

Many of the very best deals are homes that have been foreclosed and now bank owned.  Here is a resource that Canadian buyers can utilize to target Southwest Florida foreclosure listings.

UPI reports that seven of the top ten markets with real estate price increases this year are in Florida.  Median prices in the Fort Myers market for August where up a whopping 33% over August 2010.

A key driver leading to median price increases is the dramatic reduction in the inventory of homes listed for sale in the Fort Myers market.  Inventory levels are down 41% over the past year, mainly attributed to the decrease in bank-owned foreclosures coming on the market.

If you are considering a second home in the Fort Myers area, there still are opportunities to participate while prices are near the bottom.  Here is a resource which offers all the inventory of active Southwest Florida foreclosures categorized by both geography as well as lifestyle options.

The IV has been pulled and the hospital gown is gone as the Fort Myers real estate market passed a monumental recovery milestone last month.  For the first time in over two years, more than half of our sales were conventional transactions rather than distressed short sales or foreclosures.

Great prices, amazing weather and friendly neighbors are the cornerstones of the Fort Myers area.  If you are considering a home in the Fort Myers area, here is a resource to view active Fort Myers real estate listings.

In the real estate trenches, we are seeing a significant uptick in serious buyers this winter.  It appears to me that many seasonal visitors that have kicked the tires of the housing market over the past couple of years, are sensing that this winter may be the last chance to get a rock bottom housing deal.

If you are looking for a rock bottom deal, we still have a robust inventory of distressed housing assets here in Southwest Florida.  Here is a resource to view active Fort Myers area foreclosure listings.

In 2010, 19,372 residential properties sold in Lee County for a total of $2.6B in sales.  The average listing price was $144,459 and the average selling price was $135,445.  This represents an average selling price to listing price ratio of 94%.  This average selling to listing ratio of 94% remains unchanged from 2009 in Lee County and is an excellent barometer for buyers to keep in mind when making an offer.

Anyone who tells you that banks are accepting offers at 50% of asking price is just not dealing in reality.  If you are interested in finding a discounted home in Southwest Florida, here is a resource to search for Fort Myers area foreclosures.

Portfolio.com rated each area in the six categories below. The highest scores in each category went to the markets described in parentheses.

1. Seniors as share of total population—Percentage of all residents who are 65 or older. (Highest scores: largest percentages.)
2. Median age—The market’s midpoint age, with half of all residents being older and half being younger. (Highest scores: oldest medians.)
3. Seniors born out of state—Percentage of all seniors who were born in a different state from their current state of residence. (Highest scores: largest percentages.)
4. Incoming seniors—Percentage of all seniors who moved to their current county of residence from another county (or nation) during the previous 12 months. (Highest scores: largest percentages.)
5. Difference in out-of-state births—Comparison of the percentages of seniors and younger residents (64 or younger) who were born out of state. (Highest scores: largest advantages for seniors.)
6. Difference in incoming rates—Comparison of the percentages of seniors and younger residents who moved to their current county from another county (or nation) during the previous 12 months. (Highest scores: largest advantages for seniors.)

Here in the trenches of Southwest Florida, we are seeing a steady flow of pre-retirement baby boomers from Northern cold-weather climates looking to jump on a retirement home while our prices are really low.   A large percentage of these clients are paying cash and viewing the purchase as an asset relocation from a stock portfolio to value-priced Southwest Florida real estate.  On average over the past year, our clients are spending just under $200K on their Fort Myers area properties.  The housing style is fairly evenly divided between town homes, condos and single-family homes with a significant majority located in gated communities.

If you are considering an investment in a retirement home in Southwest Florida, here is a comprehensive Fort Myers area real estate resource to begin your search from the comfort of your home.  Hopefully, this resource will help you evaluate different housing options from afar so that your trip down to view properties is most productive.

The Save Our Homes Amendment, which was passed in 1993, was put in place to limit changes in home valuations for full-time homesteaded residences.  The purpose of this amendment was protect Floridians from being taxed out of their homes as values increased over time.

This amendment did not protect part-time snowbirds from valuation increases and their properties adjusted in value every year with the market.  The effect of this was that snowbirds were paying significantly higher taxes for like properties even though they are part-time residents.

The Save Our Homes Amendment also limits downward reductions in home valuations to 3% annually for homesteaders.  Non-resident valuations have dropped with the market, but residents are capped, creating a scenario where the snowbirds are seeing huge reductions while full-time residents are not.  It is rather ironic that the designers of the Save Our Homes Amendment must have never envisioned a scenario where property values would drop as dramatically as they have over the past few years.

Hopefully the taxpayers of Florida will collectively move to repeal this unfair tax act and normalize the valuations of all Florida property.

The latest Brookings Institute State of Metropolitan America Report has some very interesting data regarding the Cape Coral-Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).  This area is categorized as a Mid-Sized Magnet with similar characteristics (high growth, low diversity, low education) as cities including: Baton Rouge, LA; Boise, ID; Greenville, SC; Jacksonville, FL; Little Rock, AR and Oklahoma City, OK.

Some of the key indicators about the Cape Coral – Lee County including our ranking out of the top 100 MSAs:

• Total population: 593,136     US Rank: 86

• % change in population 2000-2008: 33.6%      US Rank: 4

• % non-white population% 27.4%      US Rank: 56

• % of population that is foreign-born: 15.1%     US Rank: 27

• % of population age 45 and over 47.3%     US Rank: 3

• Percent seniors (65+) 22.9%     US Rank: 2

• Percent adults with bachelor’s degrees 26.1%     US Rank: 74

• % of households that are married couples with children: 16.2%     US Rank: 97

• Median household income: $51,081     US Rank: 60

The age demographics truly jumped out at me, with our region ranking second nationally for senior citizens and third for baby boomers.  The baby boomer (45+) stats truly correlate with what we are seeing in the trenches.  The overwhelming majority of our customers right now fall into the pre-retirement baby boomer demographic bucket.  Many have lost confidence in the stock market and are looking to reallocate assets away from the stock market and into a piece of Fort Myers real estate.  Key drivers for this demographic group include a move toward urbanism, a growing interest in amenity-rich gated communities and 55+ communities.

In TV terms the wonderful suburban neighborhoods of Leave It To Beaver, The Brady Bunch and Bewitched are fading and the urban lifestyles of the Odd Couple, Mary Tyler Moore and Frazier are coming of age.

What does this mean for the Southwest Florida and the greater Fort Myers area?  While no one is ever going to confuse Southwest Florida with the Upper West Side, we do have some really dynamic urban areas like 5th Avenue in Naples.  In recent years, a handful of urban-oriented projects have been developed or renovated that address this shifting lifestyle demographic.

Developments in the Fort Myers area offering an urban lifestyle experience include:

High Point Place – Riverfront high-rise in downtown Fort Myers walk to restaurants, Publix, Starbucks, offices, parks, theatres and museums.

Residences at Coconut Point – Condos located on the upper-levels of the Coconut Point Mall which has emerged as the destination in South Lee County.

Rapallo – Gated condos and villas adjacent and very walkable to the dynamic Coconut Point Mall

Cape Harbour – Waterfront boating community with vibrant boardwalk featuring restaurants, retail and community events.

Patio De Leon – Downtown Fort Myers renovated historic condos located above commercial space.

Earnhardt Condominiums – Downtown Fort Myers renovated historic condos located above commercial space

When the market turns and development starts up again, it would sure be wonderful to see more project like these completed rather than starter homes on random 1/4 acre plated lots in the hinterlands.

University of Florida Economist David Denslow recently spoke on the topic of Florida’s Economic Recovery and the Sunshine State News reports on his speech.  Denslow pegs recovery to demographics and the graying of America with a significant increase in baby-boomers looking to move to Florida.  The report about Denslow’s speech is a must read for anyone considering an investment in Southwest Florida real estate.

Canadians are drawn to the Fort Myers area for our average annual temperatures of 72 F, our year round golfing and our Gulf coastline.  The Southwest Florida market downturn has reduced home prices in many upscale communities to a level of unprecedented affordability. Buying a Fort Myers foreclosure property from a bank is an approach many Canadians are taking to get the absolute best deal.

If you are considering a real estate investment in Southwest Florida, it is important to understand all the costs involved with both the transaction itself as well carry costs after you own the property.  A  Montreal Gazette column titled, Is it time to bottom fish for real estate in the U.S.? discusses these issues and is a must read for any Canadian considering an investment in Southwest Florida.

Lee County apartment occupancy rates in 4Q09 climbed 7.2% to 91.1%, the highest gain in the State of Florida.  Lee County rents for the same period dropped 12.2% to an average of $776/month.  This decline in rental rates was second in the State of Florida, trailing only the Ocala market.

It would appear that many of our residents who have lost their homes to foreclosure are now renting.  With severely damaged credit associated with a foreclosure, many of these residents will be renting for quite some time.  As these leases start to expire, I expect that we will see a significant uptick in demand for lease-to-own arrangements.  These types of arrangements may prove very attractive for investors with skinny or negative cash flow assets.

Distressed real estate and foreclosures dominated the discussion.  The panel fielded calls from local homeowners facing foreclosure and having great difficulty trying to renegotiate with their lenders.

The panel discussion was recorded and is available for replay.

One of the buyer misconceptions about our current Fort Myers area real estate market is that banks will approve ultra-aggressive, low-ball offers on short sales and foreclosures.  Approving low-ball offers in Lee County has absolutely not been the operating model for lending institutions during 2009.   Particularly for foreclosures, much of the discount on these properties is reflected in the aggressive selling price.

The numbers speak for themselves regarding the ratio of selling price to listing price.  In 2009, 20,480 residential properties were sold in Lee County for a total of $2.7B.  The average listing price was $140,706 and the average selling price was $132,068.  This represents an average selling price to listing price ratio of 94%.  Anyone who tells you that banks are accepting offers at 50% of asking price is just not dealing with reality.

Complete inventories of Estero foreclosure listings, Fort Myers foreclosure listings and Cape Coral foreclosure listings are available on our site.

A Miami Herald article titled, Real-estate bottom is not when things appear to be better, rang true with me and all these bottom predictions.  The article suggests that despite the uptick in sales and decreasing inventories that we have seen in 2009, we are truly not at the bottom.  The article opines that government intervention is the cause for the apparent market improvement.  Two examples cited include the first time buyers tax credits and court systems that are stalled due to being clogged with foreclosures.

While I don’t think I will truly know the bottom until it hits me over the head, we are continuing to see significant interest in well-priced Fort Myers foreclosures and Estero foreclosures from those looking for a pre-retirement second home.  Tough to argue with a 70 degree day down here when the Northeast is getting slammed with a foot of snow!

Highlights from the November 2009 figures released by the Realtor board include:

• An increase in homes sales over November 2008 of 70.5%
• 2009 YTD single-family home sales of 15,336 – up from 8,768 for all of 2008
• November sales included 47.4% bank owned, 18.9% short sales and 33.7% conventional
• MLS inventory of 6,976 homes down from 12,106 in November 2008

It is a great time to be a buyer in Southwest Florida, there are interesting opportunities across all housing types and price ranges.  Use our map tool to start your search of every active listing in the Greater Fort Myers area.

Pre-retirement baby-boomers are taking a serious look for a second home in Southwest Florida. Our highly discounted prices are very enticing and the continued strength of the stock market this year are two of the key drivers for this class of buyer.  Most of the buyers in this category are paying cash.  This opens the market up to deeply discounted condo projects that are currently not finance-able with conventional mortgages.

Here is an excerpt from the Credit Suisse report:

Here is a resource to view Fort Myers real estate including all the currently available active listings.  There are interesting bargains to be had across all housing types and pricing levels.

With the Loonie at parity with the US Dollar and across the board price reductions, many Canadians are now considering an investment in Southwest Florida real estate.  The Canadian Press reports that the currency equality is very enticing but shouldn’t be the key driver in your decision to buy real estate in Florida.  Some of the drivers that should be considered include lifestyle goals and investment expectations.

An investment by a Canadian in Florida real estate is certainly a decision that should not be rushed into.  It can be most helpful to visit or rent in a community prior to making the decision to buy.  Our team is hearing from many Canadians who have previously taken this approach and are now considering a purchase primarily due to the significant price reductions on much of the real estate inventory in Southwest Florida.  Popular areas for Canadian buyers include Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach and Estero.

This dramatic increase in sales activity is putting a big dent in our inventory of available homes.  Currently there are 6,809 single-family homes available in the MLS system, down from over 12, 000 in September of 2008.

Bank-owned properties are currently about half of the monthly sales, here is a resource to view available Fort Myers foreclosure listings.

Over the past few years, I have been rather critical of the Save Our Homes Amendment as I have historically believed that it placed an unfair burden on the lifeline of Southwest Florida……..second home owners.

It has always seemed very unfair to me that second homeowners, who were down here on a seasonal basis and not using resources like our schools, were being penalized because they didn’t qualify for a homestead exemption.   These second homeowners have had very little power to change this inequity as they are not residents, don’t vote and are not represented in Tallahassee.

With the drastic reduction in home values throughout our region, the Homestead Act is now penalizing homesteaders as their valuation reductions are capped at a maximum of 3%.  It will be interesting to see if these penalized homesteaders can generate enough of a voice to repeal this unfair act and and  bring normalcy to Florida real estate valuations.

Distressed properties that were either foreclosures or short sales represented 76% of the June 2009 sales in Lee County. It will be interesting to see how the local rental market holds up as a majority of these sales were to cash buyers that will be renting them out.

Cape Coral foreclosure and Fort Myers foreclosure inventories continue to offer buying opportunities as court system works through the existing backlog of over 20,000 foreclosures.

At the present time, there are interesting real estate investment opportunities across the Southwest Florida market in Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Estero, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Sanibel and Captiva.

The fact of the matter is that median home prices in Cape Coral have not materially changed at all in 2009 with the median price in January within a 1/2 percent of the MTD median price for June.