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Cape real estate market turning around, some
say
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By JACOB OGLES • jogles@news-press.com •
March 15, 2008
Nicole Rennie figures a college
student could not have dreamed of owning a home in Cape Coral when she moved
here two years ago.
But she and boyfriend Steven Coburn closed Monday on a three-bedroom,
two-bath home in southwest Cape Coral.
"My parents don't even own a house, but look at me," Rennie said. "I'm 21
years old and buying a house. Nobody is helping us. We are doing this on our
own. It means a great deal to me."
Cape Coral Realtors say Rennie's story is just one sign the real estate
market may be turning around in the city of 164,000.
Pending sales in the region jumped dramatically in the last month, according
to the Florida Gulf coast Multiple Listing System Common Database used by
Realtors to track sales in Lee County and small parts of Charlotte, Collier
and Hendry counties.
In January, 159 single-family homes in
those counties had sales pending, according to Cape Coral Realtor Gloria
Tate. In February, the number climbed to 753, Tate and other Realtors said.
A pending sale means the buyer and seller have agreed on a price and terms.
Financing has not yet been secured. About 85 percent of pending sales became
sales, according to Gloria Tate, an agent at Realty Trac.
In addition, the database shows 436 sales, 191 in Cape Coral, were closed in
the area in February, compared to 330 sales, 144 in Cape Coral, closed in
January.
More affordable homes are driving the increased activity, which will be
highlighted at the annual FutureScape event in Cape Coral on March 18 at
First Baptist Church.
The event, organized by the Cape Chapter of the Women's Council of Realtors,
provides a real estate and development forecast for the city, and this year,
the forecast looks sunny.
Buyers such as Rennie who couldn't get in the game when prices were up are
taking advantage of a down market.
"What folks are hearing around the country is that there are great buys
right now in Southwest Florida," said Annette Barbaccia, president of AMB
Planning Consultants.
"There are some pretty long-term developers and investors looking not just
at tomorrow, but at the long-term future."
Tate said the number of pending sales remains far lower than it was in 2004
or 2005, when there were 300 or 400 pending sales a day. But there is much
more activity than Realtors saw just a month ago.
Realtors say Cape Coral may recover faster than other areas of Southwest
Florida. A 24-Hour Market Watch report from earlier this week showed 132
pending sales for properties in the area, 53 of which involved Cape Coral
properties.
"The prices in Cape Coral are very tempting, and it is an attractive place
to live," said Realtor Vivian Hydzu of Sellstate Professional Realtors.
In Lee County, the median price for a single-family home sold in January
with the help of a Realtor was $234,000, down 12 percent from $266,900 a
year prior, according to a report issued by the National Association of
Realtors.
Century 21 Realtor Scott Turner said he has seen a bounce in housing that
has helped Cape Coral more than other areas. He just put three houses under
contract, he said, all in Cape Coral.
Passage in January of a state initiative expanding homestead benefits helped
the market throughout Florida, he said, but Cape Coral has also reaped
rewards because of commercial development on the Veterans Memorial Parkway
and Pine Island Road corridors. |