In the month of April, the number of closed Cape Coral condominium sales were significantly lower across the board compared to sales in both April 2019, and March of this year. The culprit of this sales decline was the social distancing shutdowns of the virus crisis, and the negative impact was more immediate on condo sales than it was for single-family homes. Also, based on the preliminary numbers coming out for the month of May, closed condo sales will be even lower than what we saw in April.

On a positive note, supported by strong sales numbers during the first quarter of this year, the year-to-date sales totals for gulf and sailboat access canal condos in the Cape were still higher in the first four months of 2020 compared to the first four months of 2019. However, the year-to-date closed sales numbers in the dry lot condo segment were lower than a year ago, causing a drag on the sales numbers in our overall condo market over the first four months of this year.

These results will turn our attention to the preliminary real estate market activity in June, to see if the COVID-19 decline in local condo and single-family home sales bottomed out in May. We are continuing to see a very large amount of interest in our market from out-of-town buyers, which would seem to indicate that we could see sales “back-end loaded” into the second half of this year. Along with this pent-up demand, we are also noticing what we would term as a pent-up level of economic optimism being built into the markets. For now, a lot of “experts” seem to be building in market expectations based on the hope for a “perfect recovery,” where nothing goes significantly wrong with their views. We hope they are right.

As you will note in the market data below, the median sales prices for Cape Coral condos was a bit mixed, but has remained generally solid through the initial stages of the virus crisis.

In the overall Cape Coral condominium market, there were 45 closed sales in April, which was 42.31 percent lower than the 78 closed sales in April 2019, and 35.71 percent less than the 70 closed sales in March of this year. In the first four months of 2020, there have been 222 closed condo sales in the Cape, which was 2.63 percent below the 228 sales over the first four months of last year, and down from 270 sales in the first four months of 2018.

The median sales price in the Cape’s overall condo market was $174,500 in April, or 4.33 percent higher than the $167,250 posted in April 2019, but down 2.65 percent from $179,250 in March of this year. In the first four months of this year, the median sales price in the Cape’s overall condo market has averaged $174,275 per month, which was 5.98 percent higher than the average of $164,438 per month over the first four months of 2019.

Gulf access canal condos

In the Cape Coral gulf access canal condo segment, there were 25 closed sales in April, which was 40.48 percent lower than the 42 closed sales in April 2019, and 43.18 percent less than the 44 closed sales in March of this year. In the first four months of 2020, there have been 129 closed condo sales in this segment, which was 12.17 percent above the 115 sales over the first four months of last year, while edging past the 128 sales in the first four months of 2018.

The median sales price in the Cape’s gulf access condo segment was $205,000 in April, or 7.03 percent lower than the $220,500 posted in April 2019, but up 4.46 percent from $196,250 in March of this year. In the first four months of 2020, the median sales price in the Cape’s gulf access condo segment averaged $194,063 per month, which was 3.74 percent higher than the average of $187,063 per month over the first four months of 2019.

Sailboat access canal condos

In the Cape Coral sailboat access canal condo segment, which is a subgroup of gulf access condos, there were 16 closed sales in April, which was 42.86 percent lower than the 28 closed sales posted in both April of 2019, and in March of this year. In the first four months of 2020, there have been 76 closed condo sales in this segment, which was 16.92 percent above the 65 sales over the first four months of last year, while also edging past the 75 sales in the first four months of 2018.

The median sales price in the Cape’s sailboat access condo segment was $218,750 in April, or 24.57 percent lower than the $290,000 in April 2019, but up 8 percent from $202,500 in March of this year. It should be noted that the $290,000 posted in April 2019 was by far the highest single monthly total for median sales prices in this segment during 2019. In the first four months of this year, the median sales price in the Cape’s sailboat access condo segment has averaged $208,938 per month, which was 7.09 percent lower than the average of $224,875 per month over the first four months of 2019.

Dry lot condos

In the Cape Coral dry lot (non-canal) condo segment, there were 15 closed sales in April, which was 46.43 percent lower than the 28 closed sales in April 2019, and 25 percent less than the 20 closed sales in March of this year. In the first four months of 2020, there have been 71 closed condo sales in this segment, which was 19.32 percent below the 88 sales over the first four months of last year, and well below the 122 sales in the first four months of 2018. However, the preliminary numbers for closed dry lot condo sales for the month of May are up a tick compared to this April, but still indicating a likely decline of around 50 percent versus the sales totals from May of 2019.

The median sales price in the Cape’s dry lot condo segment was $140,000 in April, or 26.13 percent higher than the $111,000 posted in April 2019, and up 30.84 percent from $107,000 in March of this year. In the first four months of this year, the median sales price in the Cape’s dry lot condo segment has averaged $128,975 per month, which was fractionally higher than the average of $128,625 per month over the first four months of 2019.

(The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla., as of June 7, 2020. It was compiled by Bob and Geri Quinn and it includes information specifically for Cape Coral condominiums, townhouses and villas, and it does not include any single-family homes, short sales or foreclosures. The data and statistics are believed to be reliable, however, they could be updated and revised periodically, and are subject to change without notice. The Quinns are a husband and wife real estate team with the RE/MAX Realty Team office in Cape Coral. They have lived in Cape Coral for over 40 years. Geri has been a full-time Realtor since 2005, and Bob joined Geri as a full-time Realtor in 2014. Their real estate practice is mainly focused on Cape Coral residential property and vacant lots.)