Fort Myers home prices Down, Sales Up

It will be interesting to see what happens when the shadow inventory starts being released. Still many title problems due to Mers, Rocket Docket, and robosigning.

As inventory shrank and more distressed sales came onto the market in August, existing home prices in Lee County headed down and sales headed up, according to statistics released Wednesday by Florida Realtors.

In a separate report also released Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors reported the number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes rose in August. But sales were driven by an increase in foreclosures, a sign that home prices could fall further next year and slow a housing recovery.

The median price in Lee County fell 3.5 percent to $103,200 from July while the number of homes sold rose 2 percent to 1,122, according to the Florida Realtors report, which measures sales made with the assistance of a Realtor

But prices were still well above where they were a year ago, and the number of sales was down.

The Naples Area Board of Realtors submits its numbers to Florida Realtors but doesn’t allow them to be made public, although the Collier County total is included in the statewide statistics.

Brett Ellis of the Ellis Team with Re/Max Realty Group in Fort Myers said August’s lower prices came as distressed sales — bank-owned properties or short sales — increased as a percentage of the total.

Meanwhile, buyers continued to grind away at the county’s inventory of homes for sale.  There are about 7,600 homes on the market.

“It’s been going down every month,” Ellis said. “We’re rapidly running out of inventory but because the economy’s not in great shape, there’s no significant upward pressure to push prices up to the point where sellers would be inclined to sell.”

That’s unlikely to change until the economy turns around and provides more buying power, he said.

Meanwhile, buyers are having to deal with the realities of a shrinking number of homes for sale, said Steve McBane, an agent with the Ellis Team who was showing a home in Whiskey Creek in Fort Myers to a couple who have been looking for months.

Greg Barker and Elizabeth Harris made a $185,000 offer on the house, which was less than two other bids, but they recently found out they’re still in the running, McBane said. Article courtesy of the Fort Myers News Press.

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