The broad overview of the Cape Coral condo market is that after a strong first quarter of closed sales, the monthly supply of unsold condos was running about 32 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2019. But following the COVID-19 shutdowns in mid-March, condo sales plummeted in April and May, resulting in a 52.91 percent spike higher in the level of supply sitting on the market unsold in the second quarter of this year as compared to the second quarter of 2019. When the closed condo sales numbers bottomed out in May and turned higher in June, the monthly supply of unsold condos also started to recover by heading lower again in June. With a record number of July closed condo sales in the books, the monthly unsold supply levels continued to improve in July, but they are still generally higher than a year ago.

We have the specific monthly supply numbers for our various market segments shown below, but first, we thought we would give you a deeper view of the active condo listings currently for sale in Cape Coral.

Recently, on Aug. 7, we took a quick snapshot of the active listings for Cape Coral condominiums available for sale through a Realtor in the Multiple Listing Service. There is a bit of an ebb and flow to this number throughout each day as new listings come onto the market and as existing listings go under contract with a buyer and go off of the market as pending sales. At the time we pulled the data from the system, there were a total of 240 condos listed for sale in the Cape, with list prices ranging from a low of $79,999 to a high of $2 million. Of these 240 condo listings, a total of 176 of them, or 73.33 percent, were listed at prices below $300,000 with only five condos in this group priced under $100,000. 

On the other end of the condo spectrum, in what we would consider to be the Cape’s luxury condo segment, there were a total of 21 units, or 8.75 percent of our condo market, listed for sale between $500,000 and $799,000. There were another two units listed for sale, making up less than 1 percent of the active listings, in the Cape’s ultra-luxury condo segment at list prices above $1 million. These two high-end condos are priced at $1.975 million and $2 million, respectively. As a side note, the highest-priced condo sale in the Cape so far this year has been for $875,000. The current median list price for Cape condos is $217,900. This is the price point at which half are listed for sale at a price below and half are listed for sale above this price. To help put this into perspective, the median sales price in the overall Cape Coral condo market, which is the price point at which half of the condos are sold below and half are sold above, is averaging $170,611 per month through the first seven months of 2020. One might interpret this $47,289 difference between the higher median list price and the lower median sales price as a bit of over optimism by some sellers or their listing agents. 

In the overall Cape Coral condo market, the monthly supply of unsold condos in June came in at 8 months, which was 33.33 percent higher than the 6 months of supply in June 2019, but 20 percent lower than the 10 months of supply in May of this year. In the second quarter,  the level of overall unsold condo supply in the Cape averaged 8.67 months, which was up 52.91 percent versus the average supply of 5.67 months in the second quarter of 2019, and up 36.97 percent from the average of 6.33 months of supply in the first quarter of this year. In the first half of 2020, the overall supply of unsold Cape Coral condos averaged 7.5 months, which was even with the average of 7.5 months of supply over the first six months of 2019. Although the preliminary condo supply numbers for the overall Cape market in July appear to be coming in lower, our overall condo market remains in more of a neutral market for now. 

Gulf access canal condos

In the Cape Coral gulf access canal condo segment, the monthly supply of unsold condos in June came in at 7 months, which was 22.22 percent lower than the 9 months of supply in June 2019, and 36.36 percent below the 11 months of supply in May of this year. In the second quarter, the level of unsold condo supply in this segment averaged 8.33 months, which was up 19 percent versus the average supply of 7 months in the second quarter of 2019, and 24.89 percent above the average of 6.67 months of supply in the first quarter of this year. In the first half of 2020, the supply of unsold Cape Coral gulf access canal condos averaged 7.5 months, which was 22.44 percent below the average of 9.67 months of supply over the first six months of 2019. This segment is currently in a neutral market, with the preliminary July supply numbers set to move a bit lower.

Sailboat access canal condos

In the Cape Coral sailboat access canal condo segment, which is a subgroup of gulf access condos, the monthly supply of unsold condos in June came in at 9 months, which was 10 percent lower than the 10 months of supply in June 2019, and 47.06 percent lower than the 17 months of supply in May of this year. In the second quarter, the level of unsold condo supply in this segment averaged 11 months, which was 43.42 percent higher than the average supply of 7.67 months in the second quarter of 2019, and 50.07 percent above the average of 7.33 months of supply in the first quarter of this year. In the first half of 2020, the supply of unsold Cape Coral sailboat access canal condos averaged 9.16 months, which was 17.99 percent below the average of 11.17 months of supply over the first six months of 2019. This places the sailboat access canal condo segment in the higher-end of the neutral market range, bordering on being in a buyer’s market.  

Dry lot condos

In the Cape Coral dry lot (non-canal) condo segment, the monthly supply of unsold condos in June came in at 7 months, which was 40 percent higher than the 5 months of supply in June 2019, and even with the 7 months of supply in May of this year. In the second quarter, the level of unsold condo supply in this segment averaged 7.33 months, which was up 56.96 percent versus the average supply of 4.67 months in the second quarter of 2019, and 15.8 percent above the average of 6.33 months of supply in the first quarter of this year. In the first half of 2020, the supply of unsold Cape Coral dry lot condos averaged 6.83 months, which was 20.46 percent above the average of 5.67 months of supply over the first six months of 2019. The dry lot condo segment has moved from being in a lower inventory seller’s market in 2019, to a somewhat higher inventory neutral market with more than six months of unsold supply through the mid-year point of 2020.  

(The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla., as of Aug. 2, 2020, unless otherwise noted. 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 data for single-family homes, foreclosures or short sales. 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.)