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What’s Happening in Southwest Florida Real Estate

Quick Market Overview: What’s Happening in Southwest Florida? As of early February 2024, a whopping 16,078 properties are up for grabs in Southwest Florida, offering a diverse range for potential buyers. Fort Myers, in particular, leans toward a buyer’s market. This means there’s an abundance of homes available relative to the number of buyers. For savvy buyers, this situation […]

March 7, 2024/by dave swanson

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Greater Bonita Springs—Estero real estate market shows strong end to 2023

January 11, 2024/by dave swanson

January 11, 2024/

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What’s Happening in Southwest Florida Real Estate

March 7, 2024/by dave swanson

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Greater Bonita Springs—Estero real estate market shows strong end to 2023

January 11, 2024/by dave swanson

January 11, 2024/

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What’s Happening in Southwest Florida Real Estate

Quick Market Overview: What’s Happening in Southwest Florida?

As of early February 2024, a whopping 16,078 properties are up for grabs in Southwest Florida, offering a diverse range for potential buyers. Fort Myers, in particular, leans toward a buyer’s market. This means there’s an abundance of homes available relative to the number of buyers. For savvy buyers, this situation presents an opportunity to negotiate favorable terms and prices.

Spotlight on Fort Myers: High Demand with a Twist

Fort Myers and Naples are buzzing with activity as people from the Midwest and Northeast flock to these sunny havens. As of early March 2024, the housing stock has reached an 8-month supply, signaling a buyer’s market. However, there’s a subtle twist: buyer interest has slightly waned due to rising interest rates (although they’ve recently eased from their peak).

Looking Ahead: Prices and Predictions for 2024

In February 2024, the median home sold price in Fort Myers stood at $369,734, marking a 3.8% increase from the previous year. Additionally, the median price per square foot was $243. The outlook for 2024 remains positive, driven by strong demand from seasonal visitors and cash buyers seeking their slice of paradise. Despite a slight dip in buying activity, the market’s foundation remains solid.

Advice for Buyers: Why Waiting Might Not Be Wise

If you’re contemplating a purchase, seize the moment! Get your finances in order and present a compelling offer. Remember the golden rule: “Marry the house, date the rate.” Buying now and potentially refinancing later can pay off handsomely. So, let’s navigate this exciting real estate landscape together! 🏡🌴

March 7, 2024/by dave swanson

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Greater Bonita Springs—Estero real estate market shows strong end to 2023

The highlights for November were inventory and the median price. Inventory ended the month at 1,038, the first time it’s been above 1,000 units since November of 2020. As for the median price, it’s still holding in pretty much the same range since April of 2022. While showing an increase from last November, new listings, pending sales and average days on market all declined from the previous month. New listings were down 12%, pending sales were down 4.3% and average days on market were down 19%. Closed sales, however, were up 1.4% from a year ago and 16% from this October.

“I think the slowdown in new listings and pending sales from October are another indication of the market returning to pre-pandemic behavior as both buyers and seller shift their focus to the holiday season,” said Adam Ruud, managing broker and owner of Domain Realty.

“Overall the market feels much healthier now than where it was a year ago,” said Steve Kolenda, managing broker for Berkshire Hathaway Florida Realty’s Bonita Springs office. “It’s great to see a larger selection for buyers while maintaining strong price points. In many ways it’s a win-win scenario.”

Looking at November of 2022 compared to November 2023, the market showed positive gains for new listings increasing 21.9%, pending sales units increasing 4.7%, closed sales units increasing 1.4% and median closed price increasing by 12.2%. Despite the many positive increases, days on market also increased from 32 days to 51 days. This figure, historically, is still not bad. Sales price as a percentage of listing price decreased by 1.1% and the percentage of cash sales decreased by 7.6%.

There is a lot of speculation regarding 2024 and where the market will go. Many local brokers and realtors applaud NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun and other leading housing analysts that better days are ahead for the real estate market nationwide.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “Mortgage rates likely have peaked and are now falling from their recent high of nearly 8%. NAR predicts the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 6.3% in 2024; realtor.com projects 6.5%. This likely will improve housing affordability and entice more home buyers to return to the market, Yun says. NAR’s data shows that rates near 6.6% enable the average American family to afford a median-priced home without devoting more than 30% of their income to housing, the threshold commonly used to measure affordability.

NAR is projecting that existing-home sales will rise 13.5% and new-home sales — which are up about 5% this year, defying market trends — could increase another 19% by the end of next year.” ¦

Courtesy of NAR

January 11, 2024/by dave swanson