Cape Coral’s May home sales ‘normalizing’ as listings surge
One of the main takeaways in our real estate market involves the current number of active listings for single-family Cape Coral homes for sale in the Multiple Listing Service, which have surged 8.8 percent higher from 948 listings a week ago. Although we are technically still in a seller’s market, we are continuing to shift more towards a balanced market with our active home listings climbing back to pre-pandemic levels with more than 1,000 homes now listed for sale in the Cape.
To help illustrate the changes to our market, a year ago on June 23, 2021, there were 440 active Cape Coral single-family home listings through a Realtor in the MLS at prices ranging from $175,000 to $5.995 million with a pipeline of 966 homes under contract as pending sales. Other key takeaways involve new all time record single month median sales price highs being hit in the month of May in both our direct sailboat access canal home and dry lot home segments, while the buyer frenzy of bidding up offers above list prices has quickly subsided as our market conditions continue to “normalize.” Also, rising interest rates surrounding the Federal Reserve’s meeting last week are creating wildcards.
As of Tuesday, June 21, there were 1,031 single-family homes listed for sale through a Realtor in the Multiple Listing Service in Cape Coral at prices ranging from $245,000 to $5.995 million. A total of 184 out of these 1,031 active listings, or 17.8 percent of the market, were priced at $400,000 and under, with 10 of these homes priced below $300,000. At the other end of the price spectrum, there were 177 homes in the Cape priced at $1 million and above, totaling 17.2 percent of our market. The current median list price was at $579,000 on Tuesday, versus $581,450 a week ago. The median list price was at $519,495 back on Jan. 19 of this year, before peaking at $610,000 on April 19 (based on our weekly market “snapshots” at a given moment in time. These listing numbers can fluctuate by the hour). On June 21, there were 862 homes under contract with buyers as pending sales, with 377 of these at prices of $400,000 and under, and only 39 homes pending at $1 million and above.
In the overall Cape Coral single-family home market, there were 614 closed home sales in May, which was 3.9 percent lower than the 639 closed sales in May 2021, and fractionally higher than the 612 closed sales in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, there were a total of 2,968 closed sales in the Cape’s overall single-family home market, which was only 0.44 percent higher than the 2,955 closed sales in the first five months of 2021.
The median sales price in the overall Cape Coral single-family home market was $455,000 in May, or 28.2 percent higher than the $355,000 posted in May 2021, but down 3.2 percent from $470,000 in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, the overall median sales price for single-family homes in the Cape averaged $428,700 per month, which was 31.8 percent higher than the average of $325,340 per month in the first five months of 2021.
Indirect gulf access canal homes
In the Cape Coral single-family indirect gulf access canal home segment (meaning canal homes with bridges in the canal system), there were 74 closed home sales in May, which was 8.6 percent lower than the 81 closed sales in May 2021, but 7.2 percent above the 69 closed sales in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, there were 317 closed sales in this segment, or 15 percent less than the 373 sales in the first five months of 2021.
The median sales price in the Cape’s single-family indirect gulf access canal home segment was $787,600 in May, which topped the $610,000 posted in May 2021 by 29.1 percent, but it was 4.5 percent lower than the $825,000 in April of this year. In the first five months of this year, the median sales price in this segment averaged $787,600 per month, or 35.4 percent above the average of $581,800 per month in the first five months of 2021.
Direct sailboat access canal homes
In the Cape Coral single-family direct sailboat access canal home segment (homes with no bridges in the canals to reach open water), there were 47 closed home sales in May. This was 52 percent lower than the 98 closed sales in May 2021, and 31.9 percent below the 69 sales in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, there were 301 closed sales in this segment, or 17.3 percent less than the 364 sales in the first five months of 2021.
The median sales price in the Cape’s single-family direct sailboat access canal home segment was $1,150,000 in May, which was 86.5 percent above the $616,700 in May 2021, and 31.4 percent higher than the $874,900 in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, the median sales price in this segment averaged $928,080 per month, or 45.5 percent more than the average of $637,910 per month in the first five months of 2021.
Freshwater canal homes
In the Cape Coral single-family freshwater canal and lake home segment, which consists of landlocked canals and lakes with no boating access to the river or the Gulf of Mexico, there were 68 closed home sales in May. This was 11.5 percent higher than the 61 closed sales in May 2021, but down 1.4 percent from the 69 closed sales in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, there were 319 closed sales in this segment, or 2.4 percent less than the 327 sales in the first five months of 2021.
The median sales price in the Cape’s single family freshwater canal and lake home segment was $557,500 in May, or 39.4 percent above the $400,000 posted in May 2021, and 1.4 percent more than the $550,000 in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, the median sales price in this segment averaged $513,890 per month, or 34.2 percent more than the average of $382,990 per month in the first five months of 2021.
Dry lot homes
In the Cape Coral single-family dry lot (non-canal) home segment, there were 421 closed home sales in May, which was 5.8 percent higher than the 398 closed sales in May 2021, and 5 percent above the 401 closed sales in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, there were 2005 closed sales in this segment, or 7.2 percent more than the 1,870 closed sales in the first five months of 2021.
The median sales price in this segment was $400,000 in May, or 38.2 percent above the $289,500 posted in May 2021, and up 1.5 percent from $394,250 in April of this year. In the first five months of 2022, the median sales price for dry lot homes in the Cape averaged $373,070 per month, or 38 percent more than the average of $270,300 per month in the first five months of 2021.
The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla., as of June 19, 2022, 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 42 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.