Today, we will be reviewing the numbers for the monthly supply of unsold Cape Coral single-family homes for the month of July. The main takeaway from this data is that the monthly level of unsold supply in the Cape continues to shrink, with much of our market shifting into, or bordering on being in, a lower inventory “seller’s market.”

As a frame of reference, when the supply of homes listed for sale and sitting on the market unsold is below six months, it is considered a seller’s market. This creates a situation where there are a smaller number of available homes on the market, so the competition between potential buyers tends to heat up, putting home sellers in a stronger position when it comes to negotiating the sales price and terms of the sale. However, in our current market this has not meant that a seller can simply “name their price” and get a buyer to pay it, but rather, when a seller has their home priced properly to the market it will sell quickly — often in a matter of days or weeks of first being listed for sale. The telltale sign about being properly priced for someone trying to sell their home is through the showing activity, which will occur almost immediately and at a fairly brisk pace if your initial list price is set correctly. This is especially true for homes priced under $350,000 because this is the price range with the biggest pool of potential buyers searching for homes in the Cape.  

Before we get into the unsold supply numbers for July, here is a quick look at the preliminary closed home sales numbers so far in August. As of Aug. 24, there were 338 overall closed home sales in the Cape, and if this August finishes as strong as July, we could see sales top the record of 489 sales for the month of August, which was set last year. Part of our projection is based on the fact that there are still some 1,210 pending home sales currently under contract with buyers in the pipeline, most of which should be finalized as closed sales sometime within the next 30 to 60 days. 

At the beginning of this week, there were only 821 active listings for single-family homes in Cape Coral, ranging in price from $159,000 to $3.995 million. This was down from 858 active listings a week ago, and while this lower supply of homes is helping to support firmer home prices for now, it could eventually create a slowdown in sales if buyers struggle to find enough move-in ready homes on the market to buy. Right now in our market, about 40 percent of the active listings are priced below $300,000 and another 30 percent are listed at prices ranging from $300,000 to $499,999. In addition, about 8 percent of the active listings on the market in the Cape are listed for sale at $1.0 million and above, with the remaining 22 percent of Cape Coral homes listed at prices ranging between $500,000 to $999,999.   

In the overall Cape Coral single-family home market, the monthly supply of unsold homes for July came in at 3 months, which was 40 percent lower than the 5 months of supply in both July 2019, and in June of this year. In the first seven months of 2020, the level of unsold single-family home supply in the Cape has averaged 5.57 months, or 18.8 percent less than the average supply of 6.86 months over the first seven months of 2019. This has our current overall single-family home market in a seller’s market, however, as you will see below, this varies by the specific property segments in Cape Coral.

Gulf access canal homes

In the Cape Coral single-family gulf access canal home segment, the monthly supply of unsold homes for July came in at 4 months, or 55.56 percent lower than the 9 months of supply in July 2019, and 33.33 percent below the 6 months of supply in June of this year. In the first seven months of 2020, the level of unsold supply in this segment averaged 7.28 months, which was 23.93 percent lower than the average supply of 9.57 months over the first seven months of last year. This segment is arguably still in more of a neutral market, but the drop to only 4 months of unsold supply in the month of July is indicating that the current conditions may begin to feel a lot more like a lower inventory seller’s market in the near-term.

Sailboat access canal homes

In the Cape Coral single-family sailboat access canal home segment, which is a subgroup of gulf access homes, the monthly supply of unsold homes for July came in at 5 months, which was 44.44 percent lower than the 9 months of supply in July 2019, and 28.57 percent below the 7 months of supply in June of this year. In the first seven months of 2020, the level of unsold supply in this segment averaged 7.43 months, which was 23.48 percent less than the average supply of 9.71 months over the first seven months of last year. This segment is also in more of a neutral market, but could be acting a bit more like a lower supply seller’s market in the near-term based on July’s lower unsold supply level of 5 months. 

Freshwater canal homes

In the Cape Coral single-family freshwater canal home segment, the monthly supply of unsold homes for July came in at 3 months, which was 25 percent lower than the 4 months of supply in July 2019, and 40 percent below the 5 months of supply in June of this year. In the first seven months of 2020, the level of unsold supply in this segment averaged 6.29 months, which was down 13.72 percent versus the average supply of 7.29 months over the first seven months of last year. Aside from the abnormal spike to a higher inventory of 10 months back in May, when the number of closed sales plummeted to their coronavirus shutdown lows, this segment has been posting unsold supply numbers of less than 6 months since March. Based on that, we would consider the freshwater canal home segment to be in a lower inventory seller’s market at this point in the year, 

Dry lot homes

In the Cape Coral single-family dry lot (non-canal) home segment, the monthly supply of unsold homes for July came in at 3 months, which was 40 percent lower than the 5 months of supply in July 2019, and 25 percent below the 4 months in June of this year. In the first seven months of 2020, the level of unsold supply in this segment averaged 4.86 months, which was 24.42 percent lower than the average supply of 6.43 months over the first seven months of last year. This segment remains firmly in a lower supply seller’s market with less than 6 months of inventory.

(The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Florida, as of Aug. 16, 2020, unless otherwise noted. It was compiled by Bob and Geri Quinn and it includes information specifically for Cape Coral single-family homes, and does not include condominiums, 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.)