Bob and Geri Quinn

As illustrated in the market numbers shown below, the dynamics of the Cape Coral condo market — along with our overall real estate market — have endured a significant shift in 2022. This shift from a red hot real estate market to a rapidly cooling market, in what many experts are describing as a national recession in real estate, is mostly being driven by the sharply higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve’s war on high inflation, compounded by the out-of-control spending policies in Washington, D.C. The near-term impact from Hurricane Ian has only created additional challenges and hardships throughout many of Southwest Florida’s real estate markets, as we inch our way through the recovery process.

As a result, the number of closed condo sales in October have decreased sharply from both a year ago, as well as from earlier this year, with most of our market shifting from being a seller’s market to a neutral market to a buyer’s market almost overnight. In a nutshell, our pending condo sales in the Cape are at the same level today as they were back on Jan. 4, while our active condo listings have increased by four times. In our overall condo market, we saw a shift from an abnormally low monthly supply of 2 to 3 months earlier this year, to a four-month supply correlated with the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes, to a sudden jump to a 7 month supply of condos in September and October. Saltwater and direct sailboat access canal condos are still at four months of supply for now, while our dry lot condo segment shot up to 10 months of supply in September before settling in at nine months of unsold supply in October. These supply numbers are tied to the plunge in sales relative to the inventory.

As of Monday, Nov. 28, there were 148 Cape Coral condos listed for sale in the Multiple Listing Service at prices ranging from $159,900 to $2.195 million with the median list price at $315,000. A total of 135 of the 148 active condo listings were priced at $499,000 and under, with 34 of these listed at $250,000 and below, including 10 units in the Cape priced at less than $200,000. At the other end of the spectrum there were 13 condos priced at $624,000 and above, with five of these luxury condo units on the market for more than $1 million. These five highest-priced condos were all located in the Tarpon Landings section of Tarpon Point Marina. There are currently 69 pending condo sales at prices ranging from $149,900 to $1.65 million, including 33 units under contract at $275,000 and under, with 10 of these pending for less than $200,000. Three condos were under contract at prices ranging from $525,000 to $580,000 and only one condo was pending for more than $1 million.

By comparison, back on Jan. 4 of this year there were only 37 condos listed for sale through a Realtor in the Cape at prices ranging $155,000 to $995,000 with the median list price coming in at $293,000. A total of 35 of these 37 listings were priced at $581,900 and under, with four of these 35 listings priced under $200,000. The other two active condo listings from back then were priced at $769,000 and $995,000. There were 70 condos under contract as pending sales on Jan. 4, ranging in price from $109,000 to $699,995.

In the overall Cape condo market, there were 33 closed sales in the month of October, which was 36.5 percent lower than the 52 closed condo sales in October of 2021, and 5.7 percent below the 35 sales in September of this year. Our peak was hit in April with 92 closed sales. In the first 10 months of this year, there were a total of 590 condos sold overall in the Cape, which was down 28.5 percent from the 825 condo units sold in the first ten months of 2021.

The October median sales price was $260,000 for the overall Cape condo market, which was the lowest monthly amount this year. This was 31.1 percent above the $198,250 posted in October of 2021, but 7.1 percent below the $280,000 in September of this year. In the first ten months of 2022, the median sales price averaged $274,025 per month in our overall condo market, or 31 percent above the average of $209,115 per month in the first ten months of 2021.

Gulf access canal condos

In the Cape Coral gulf access canal condo segment, which includes all “saltwater” canal condos, there were 15 closed sales in October, which was 11.8 percent lower than the 17 condos sold in October of 2021, and 16.7 percent below the 18 sales in September of this year. The peak was 42 sales in April. In the first 10 months of 2022, a total of 271 saltwater condos were sold, or 28.3 percent less than the 378 sales in the first ten months of 2021.

The October median sales price came in at $300,000 for the Cape’s saltwater canal condo segment, which was 15.4 percent above the $260,000 posted in October of 2021, but 5.9 percent lower than the $318,750 in September of this year. The peak was $390,000 in July. In the first ten months of 2022, the median sales price averaged $327,625 per month, or 31.4 percent higher than the average of $249,410 per month in the first ten months of 2021.

Direct sailboat access canal condos

In the Cape Coral direct sailboat access canal condo segment, which is a subgroup of gulf access condos where boaters have no bridges to go under in the canal system, there were 8 closed sales in October. This was up 14.3 percent from the seven condos sold in October of 2021, and even with the eight units sold in September of this year. The 2022 peak was 28 sales in both April and May. In the first ten months of 2022, a total of 166 sailboat canal condos were sold in the Cape, or 17.8 percent below the 202 sales in the first ten months of 2021.

The October median sales price came in at $326,500 in this segment, which was 14.1 percent below the $380,000 posted in October of 2021, and down 2.5 percent from $335,000 in September of this year. The peak was $436,250 in July. In the first ten months of 2022, the median sales price in this segment averaged $363,420 per month, or 14.4 percent higher than the average of $317,720 per month in the first ten months of 2021.

Dry lot condos

In the Cape Coral dry lot (non-canal) condo segment, there were 15 closed sales in October, which was 51.6 percent lower than the 31 condos sold in October of 2021, but 7.1 percent above the 14 sales in September of this year. The peak was 48 sales in April. In the first ten months of 2022, there were a total of 267 dry lot condos sold in the Cape, which was 24.4 percent below the 353 dry lot condo units sold in the first 10 months of 2021.

The October median sales price was $230,000 for the Cape’s dry lot condo segment, which was 39.5 percent higher than the $164,900 posted in October of 2021, but 8.9 percent lower than the $252,500 in September of this year (which was the peak). In the first ten months of 2022, the median sales price for dry lot condos in the Cape averaged $231,028 per month, or 38.5 percent more than the average of $166,784 per month in the first 10 months of 2021.

(The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors® Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, FL, as of November 27, 2022, 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 Quinn’s 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 43-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.)