Geri and Bob Quinn

It is time once again for our mid-year tip of the hat to Robin Leach, the late host of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” as we offer up another toast of champagne wishes and caviar dreams by taking a look back at the Cape Coral luxury home market in the first half of 2021. Somehow we think that Mr. Leach would appreciate the fact that our luxury home market has been rocketing higher as his fellow Englishman, Sir Richard Branson, launched his historic private space flight in nothing short of a true “Lifestyles” fashion earlier this week. For our purposes, the high-end single-family luxury home market segment in the Cape consists of homes that have sold for $1 million and above.

The main takeaway in the first six months of 2021 is that the Cape’s luxury home market has been booming with 44 first quarter sales and 67 second quarter sales for a combined mid-year total of 111 closed home sales at prices from $1 million and above. Looking back to last year, there were 12 first quarter sales and 15 second quarter sales in our luxury home market, totaling only 27 first half sales. So we have experienced a 311.11 percent increase in closed sales in our luxury home segment during the first half of 2021 compared to the first six months of 2020.

When we dig a bit deeper into the numbers, we find that the 27 luxury home sales in the Cape during the first half of 2020 represented 1.07 percent of the 2,519 total number of overall closed home sales at that point last year. But in the first six months of 2021, the 111 closed luxury home sales represented 3.04 percent of the 3,657 homes sold in the overall Cape Coral market this year. Also of note, is that currently (as of July 13) there were 880 homes under contract with buyers as pending sales in the overall Cape Coral single-family home market, with 28 or 3.18 percent of these 880 pending sales qualifying for our luxury home segment. In addition, there were 440 active single-family home listings in the Cape through the Multiple Listing Service in the morning of July 13, with 56 or 12.73 percent of these listings priced at $1 million or higher.

Sales prices in our luxury home market have ranged from $1 million to a high of $2.85 million in the first half of 2021, with the median sales price coming in at $1.315 million in this segment. This was $145,000 or 12.39 percent higher than the median sales price of $1.170 million registered for luxury homes in the first half of last year. Also, during the first half of 2020, there were only three home sales above $2 million in the Cape, with the highest-priced sale coming in at $2.225 million. This compares to the first half of this year when there were 16 sales recorded above the $2 million mark, with the highest-priced sale through mid-year at $2.850 million. This was $625,000 or 28.09 percent higher than the top sales price from the first six months of 2020.

The percentage of Cape Coral luxury homes bought with cash has continued to decline, with 49.55 percent of the 111 closed sales in 2021 bought in all cash deals, compared to 56 percent of luxury sales in the first half of 2020, and 70 percent of luxury sales in 2019. This decrease in cash purchases and the increased use of mortgage financing is likely due to several reasons, including rising home prices and people not wanting to tie up larger amounts of their cash in homes. When combined with the attractiveness of the “cheap money” available to qualified borrowers through the still very low interest rates on mortgages, it may make sense for some people to use the bank’s money instead of their own money. This is especially true when people believe they can outpace their mortgage loan costs and earn more on their money by keeping it invested in other things, such as in the stock market.

By location, of the 111 closed luxury home sales at mid-year, 67 of these sales or 60.36 percent, were located in the Southwest Cape, and 43 or 38.74 percent were located in the Southeast Cape. There was also one luxury home sale for $1.1 million in the Northwest Cape. This home, which was built in 2019, was located on a direct sailboat access canal to the west of Old Burnt Store Road and just north of the Yucatan Parkway/Northwest 12th Street area. There were no luxury home sales in the Northeast Cape.

The top home sale in the first half of this year was for a home in the Cornwallis neighborhood located to the east of Del Prado Boulevard in the southeast section of the Cape. This home was initially listed for sale at $3.2 million on March 11, and it went under contract with a buyer as a pending sale on May 11, before being finalized as a closed sale in a cash deal for $2.850 million on June 22. The ultimate sales price was $350,000 or 10.94 percent below the list price and it was sold with the furniture.

According to the records, the seller of this home originally bought this property for $700,000 in December 2015, at which time it contained a home built in 1979 with 2,795 square feet of living area with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. A demolition permit was issued for this property in May 2016, and a new construction permit was subsequently issued in December 2016. The new 3,543 square feet of living area home with four bedrooms, a den and 4 1/2 bathrooms was completed in 2017.

Built on a five-lot site, this 36,678-square-foot, 0.84-acre piece of property is located on intersecting direct sailboat access canals with over 400 feet of seawall just around the corner from the river. A boater’s dream, it features a 400-foot captain’s walk dock with a covered boat lift and a tiki hut. There is an oversized saltwater pool and spa, heated with both solar and electric, plus outdoor dining and entertainment areas, including a pergola with a fire pit, and a gazebo-styled sitting area in the grand front entrance to the home. The interior of this home features a great room design with pocketing sliders expanding the mix of indoor and outdoor living spaces. There is a gourmet kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and a large walk-in pantry. Moving to the bedrooms, this home features two master suites located poolside, plus two guest bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and large walk-in closets. The four-car garage has air conditioning to accommodate automobile collectors and enthusiasts.

Looking ahead to the third quarter, a new high price for the year has already been set in our luxury home market with a sale that closed on July 8 for $3.5 million. The boom continues!

The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla., as of July 13, 2021. 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 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.