Housing market: Area Realtors read the numbers

Jul 10, 2025 By MEGHAN BRADBURY 8 min read

Industry leaders say national reports decrying Cape Coral housing stats lack local context.

The Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association and Florida Gulf Coast Multiple Listing Service, Inc. responded last week to a Wall Street Journal article entitled “The Worst Housing Market in America Is Now Florida’s Cape Coral,” saying … “such a characterization lacks critical context and overlooks the broader dynamics shaping our regional real estate trends.”

“Over the past decade, Southwest Florida has experienced notable appreciation in home values. As of June 2025, the median sale price in the region stood at $400,000, identical to the median price in December 2021. This reflects a normalization rather than a collapse, particularly when viewed through the lens of post-pandemic price surges driven by unprecedented demand and limited inventory,” the letter states.

“In Cape Coral, for example, the June 2025 median sale price was $361,975, compared to $355,000 in October 2021. These figures underscore a relatively stable pricing trend over the past four years, contrary to headlines suggesting steep declines.”

The association compared numbers from October 2021 to June 2025:

“To properly assess market health, one must consider both price trends and inventory dynamics. In October 2021, Cape Coral recorded:

• “Median home price: $369,000

• Homes for sale: 773

• Closed sales: 551

• Pending sales: 611

• Months supply of inventory: 1.3

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 100%”

“This was a classic seller’s market characterized by low inventory and strong buyer demand. By June 2025, the picture had shifted:

• “Median sale price: $371,850

• Homes for sale: 3,046

• Closed sales: 447

• Pending sales: 482

• Months supply of inventory: 7.3

• Sale-to-list price ratio: 97.7%”

“While inventory has increased significantly, the median price has held steady, and buyer activity remains consistent, albeit at a more sustainable pace,” the association said, adding that foreclosure activity remains low and a slowing of new home construction permitting for new homes … “may help recalibrate supply and support market equilibrium.”

Its conclusion?

“The Southwest Florida housing market, particularly Cape Coral, is transitioning from a historically tight seller’s market into one where buyers have more choice and negotiating power. This is a natural correction, not a collapse,” the letter states.

The WSJ cited several factors including falling home prices.

“Home prices for Cape Coral-Fort Myers have tumbled 11% in the two years through May, the most of any major metro area, according to an analysis for The Wall Street Journal by the listing site Homes.com. 

“The area’s home prices have declined for 12 out of the past 13 months, and 52% of the homes have experienced price cuts, according to Parcl Labs, a real-estate data-analytics company. While that is more than nearly anywhere else in the U.S., neighboring communities such as Sarasota and Tampa are in a similar bind.”

The WSJ report also says the Cape has more homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth in the current market.

“Cape Coral also has the most homeowners underwater in the country, with nearly 8% owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.”

This does not mean no one is buying, according to local Realtors.

Price, however, continues to be the deciding factor as to whether a home will sit on the market, or quickly sell in the area.

Bob Quinn, with RE/MAX Realty, said sellers who are having difficulty are generally starting at a listing price that is too high for the current market.

“I would say sellers and a lot of Realtors are pretty frustrated with how long it takes to get homes sold,” he said. “If you are priced right to the market, you will generally sell fairly quickly — get showing appointments and you will generally get an offer in a reasonable time frame. If you are not getting showing appointments, that means the market is overpriced.”

Quinn provided an example of the current highest priced single-family home listed for sale in Cape Coral; a new construction riverfront home built in 2023. The home was listed at $11.9 million from Oct. 25, 2023, to Feb. 27, 2024, before being taken off the market because it did not sell. It came back on the market in 2024 for three months at $10.9 million, again not selling. On June 20 it was listed once again at $8.9 million, a $3 million price reduction in less than two years.

There are a number of factors affecting the housing market, many not unique to Southwest Florida.

According to Veros Real Estate Solutions, the housing market for the United States continues to face headwinds in mid-2025, due to elevated mortgage rates, high home prices and the rising economic uncertainty.

The mortgage rate continues to be around 6.5% – lower than the peak in late 2023, according to Veros Real Estate Solutions, and the average monthly mortgage payment is up 35% compared to 2021 levels for the same home price, due to the jump in interest rates.

Veros stated that Cape Coral/Fort Myers is ranked one in the 10 weakest metropolitan statistical areas, followed by Naples and Marco Island in the second slot and Punta Gorda in the fourth slot.

Quinn said there is potentially a structural issue in the market — median incomes are too low for where the home prices are listed.

“For a lot of people, incomes are not high enough. Income has to go up quite a bit, or home prices need to come down more,” he said.

Quinn said ever since Hurricane Ian, Helene, and Milton, people are looking to list their homes to move away due to high cost of homes and insurance, as well as hassles that come with hurricane damage.

There is also a structural change in the population demographic.

Cape Coral has always been a community with a heavy retiree population — buying a second home for the winter, before eventually moving to Cape Coral full-time. When a spouse pass away, Quinn said the remaining one moves back up north.

“A lot of people in that age group, with storms and high costs, they move back up to where their kids and grandkids are,” he said resulting in a population shift. “This isn’t just happening here. It’s happening throughout most of Florida, along with other states. We are not alone. This is happening in a number of areas.”

The change in the market, started about three years ago when the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates — aggressively raising in March 2022, resulting in a big drop-off in sales in July 2022 beyond what is normally seen seasonally, Quinn said.

With that said, homes are still selling, but are price sensitive. He said the price has to be right to attract the buyer, or the home will sit.

Median sales prices for Cape Coral single family homes — excluding short sales or foreclosures — was at an all time high in April 2022 at $470,000, and then $455,000 in May 2022 and $455,000 in June 2022, Quinn said.

“Median sales prices have not reached these levels since then, and they have slowly deteriorated in what I have called a stealth price decline and a slow-motion trainwreck for home sellers,” he said.

Other Realtors agree “we are in a market correction,” which is great news for people who want to buy.

Raso Realty Realtor Gloria Tate said it is a wake-up call for sellers who need to reevaluate what they are selling their properties for.

“Real estate is a cycle, and we have seen this over and over again. It’s nothing new,” she said. “It’s definitely not the end of the world. We are strong. Sales are good. My June was great; my July is great.”

Tate said there are a lot of homes on the market, and as always, it is all about the price — if it is right, it will sell.

In addition, insurance is another key factor.

“Insurance continues to be a challenge for us. Our legislature, both locally, state and federally, need to work harder and smarter to get us better insurance,” she said.

Anne Vaughn, with Century 21, is also staying busy.

“It’s slower than usual because there is such a high inventory,” she said, adding people are looking at 10 houses instead of five before making a decision.

Those who she is helping are relocating to Cape Coral because of a job, or schools.

“They are moving here to live. They have a goal, relocate to Florida. When you have a job to move to, you have to have a house to live in,” Vaughn said. “We have a lot of people moving into Cape Coral from Miami because it’s too expensive. I have several buyers coming from out of state. Everybody wants to move to Florida, regardless of what the media says.”

She too said that price is always key in selling a home — “that is not news, that is old news.”

To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com