Geri and Bob Quinn

No big surprises here with condo sales and prices, as the results in the Cape’s real estate market have continued at a mostly blistering pace in both the month of March and over the first three months of 2021. The quick snapshot of the Cape Coral condo market involves record setting levels of closed sales and extremely strong increases in median sales prices for the month of March and in the first quarter of this year compared to a year ago. We saw a little bit of weakness in the saltwater canal condo segments in the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, but some level of a “pause to refresh” to allow our market to catch its breath is probably a good thing.     

As of May 4, active condo listings through a Realtor in the Multiple Listing Service in the Cape were running at extremely low levels by historical standards. In fact, our depleted condo inventory currently has only 48 condos listed for sale in Cape Coral at prices ranging from $98,000 to $719,000. There is also one additional condo currently listed as a foreclosure with an asking price of $116,900. To help illustrate the tightening supply, back on Nov. 1, 2020, there were 202 condos listed for sale in the Cape. On Jan. 31, the condo inventory had dropped to 149 units listed for sale, and by March 15, the supply of active listings was down to 102 condos. There are currently 153 condos under contract with buyers as pending sales, most of which should go into the books as closed sales within the next 30 to 60 days.    

In the overall Cape Coral condo market, there were 113 closed sales in the month of March, which was 61.43 percent higher than the 70 closed condo sales in March 2020, and 52.7 percent above the 74 closed sales in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, there were a total of 240 closed condo sales, which was up 34.83 percent compared to the total of 178 closed sales in the first three months of 2020, but 1.64 percent lower than the total of 244 closed sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

The median sales price came in at $209,500 for the overall Cape Coral condo market during March, which was 16.88 percent above the $179,250 posted in March 2020, and it was 6.35 percent higher than the $197,000 in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, the median sales price averaged $198,800 per month in the Cape’s overall condo market, which was up 14.55 percent from the average of $173,550 per month in the first quarter of 2020, and 5.09 percent above the average of $189,167 per month in the fourth quarter of last year. 

Gulf access canal condos

In the Cape Coral gulf access canal condo segment, which includes all saltwater canal condos, there were 52 closed sales in the month of March, which was 18.18 percent higher than the 44 closed condo sales in March 2020, and 36.84 percent above the 38 closed sales in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, there were a total of 115 closed condo sales in this segment, which was up 10.58 percent compared to the total of 104 closed sales in the first quarter of 2020, but down 16.06 percent versus the total of 137 closed gulf access condo sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

The March median sales price came in at $234,500 for the Cape’s gulf access condo segment, which was 19.49 percent above the $196,250 posted in March 2020, and 3.65 percent higher than the $226,250 in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, the median sales price averaged $220,083 per month in this segment, which was 15.58 percent higher than the average of $190,417 per month in the first quarter of 2020, but 2.69 percent below the average of 226,167 per month in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

Direct sailboat access canal condos

In the Cape Coral direct sailboat access canal condo segment, which is a subgroup of gulf access condos and includes condos with no bridges to go under in the canal system, there were 33 closed sales in the month of March, which was 17.86 percent higher than the 28 closed condo sales in March 2020, and 83.33 percent above the 18 closed sales in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, there were a total of 67 condos sold in this segment, which was up 11.67 percent compared to the total of 60 closed sales in the first quarter of 2020, but down 21.18 percent from the total of 85 closed sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

The March median sales price came in at $288,000 for the Cape’s sailboat access condo segment, which was 42.22 percent above the $202,500 posted in March of 2020, but down 4.14 percent from $300,450 in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, the median sales price averaged $271,233 per month in this segment, which was 31.88 percent higher than the average of $205,667 per month in the first quarter of 2020, but 2.9 percent below the average of $279,333 in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

Dry lot condos

In the Cape Coral dry lot (non-canal) condo segment, there were 46 closed sales in the month of March, which was 130 percent higher than the 20 dry lot condos sold in March 2020, and 39.39 percent above the 33 closed sales in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, there were a total of 99 closed condo sales in this segment, which was up 73.68 percent compared to the total of 57 closed sales in the first quarter of 2020, and 15.12 percent higher than the total of 86 closed dry lot condo sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

The March median sales price came in at $165,444 for the Cape’s dry lot condo segment, which was 54.62 percent above the $107,000 posted in March 2020, and it was just  fractionally higher than the $165,000 in February of this year. In the first quarter of this year, the median sales price averaged $149,648 per month in this segment, which was 18 percent higher than the average of $126,800 per month in the first quarter of 2020, and 1.17 percent above the average of $147,919 per month in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla., as of April 30, 2021, 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 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 41 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.