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Cape’s condo sales decline in 2022, prices up but softening

By BOB and GERI QUINN - HOMING IN | Feb 3, 2023

Bob and Geri Quinn

The main takeaways from the year-end condo market data in Cape Coral is that the number of closed sales declined in 2022, while there was a large increase in the number of active condo listings and a decline in pending sales. We are in what could be considered a return to pre-COVID sales levels in a market normalization that feels a bit more like a sales recession following the post-COVID shutdown market boom. For their part, median sales prices have shown signs of softening, while remaining above their 2021 levels.

As of Tuesday, Jan. 31, there were 194 condominiums listed for sale through a Realtor in the Multiple Listing Service in Cape Coral at prices ranging from $175,000 to $1.9 million. This is an increase of 13.5 percent from 171 listings on Jan. 5 of this year, while the median list price for condos remained the same, at $320,000. Looking back one year ago, on Feb. 1, 2022, there were only 33 condos listed for sale in the Cape through the MLS with list prices ranging from $160,000 to $995,000 and the median list price was $309,900. There has also been a big market shift with the number of pending condo sales, as one year ago there were 90 condos in the Cape under contract with buyers at prices ranging from $109,000 to $1.085 million versus only 68 currently pending condo sales ranging in price from $159,900 to $2.195 million.

On a positive note, current pending sales are up by 25.9 percent from 54 on Jan. 5 of this year. Two years ago on Jan. 31, 2021, there were 149 condos listed for sale in the Cape, with 125 pending sales in the pipeline.

Moving into the year-end 2022 numbers, in the overall Cape condo market, there were 44 closed sales in the month of December, which was 22.8 percent lower than the 57 condos sold in December 2021, and down from 72 sales in December 2020. However, the December closed sales were up 22.2 percent from the 36 sales in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, there were 113 closed condo sales, which was down 31.9 percent compared to the 166 sales in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 21 percent below the 143 sales in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, there were a total of 670 condos sold overall in the Cape during 2022, or 28.6 percent less than the 939 units sold for the year in all of 2021.

The December median sales price was $272,450 in the overall Cape Coral condo market, which was 18.5 percent above the $229,900 posted in December 2021, but it was 11.7 percent lower than the $308,400 in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the median sales price averaged $280,283 per month in the Cape’s overall condo market, up 27.3 percent from the average of $220,217 per month in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 1.9 percent above the average of $275,000 in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, the median sales price averaged $276,758 per month in our overall condo market during 2022, or 30.1 percent above the average of $212,796 per month for the year in all of 2021.

Gulf access canal condos

In the Cape Coral gulf access canal condo segment, which includes all saltwater canal condos, there were 11 closed sales in the month of December. This was 47.6 percent lower than the 21 condos sold in December 2021, and down from 45 sales in December 2020. However, the December closed sales were up 37.5 percent from the 8 sales in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, there were a total of 34 closed condo sales in this segment, down 48.5 percent compared to the 66 sales in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 45.2 percent below the 62 sales in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, there were a total of 290 gulf access condos sold in the Cape during 2022, which was 32.1 percent less than the 427 units sold for the year in all of 2021.

The December median sales price came in at $470,000 for the Cape’s gulf access condo segment, which was 70.9 percent above the $275,000 posted in December 2021, and 33.4 percent higher than the $352,450 in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the median sales price averaged $374,150 per month in this segment, which was 41.3 percent higher than the average of $264,833 per month in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 7.5 percent above the average of $347,917 per month in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, the median sales price for gulf access condos averaged $341,558 per month in 2022, which was up 35.3 percent versus the average of $252,383 per month for the year in all 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 with no bridges in the canal system, there were 6 closed sales in the month of December. This was 40 percent lower than the 10 condos sold in December 2021, and down from 32 sales in December 2020. However, the December closed sales were up 100 percent from the 3 sales in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, there were 17 closed condos sales in this segment, down 46.9 percent versus the 32 sales in both the fourth quarter of 2021, and in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, there were a total of 175 direct sailboat access canal condos sold in the Cape during 2022, which was down 22.9 percent from the 227 condos sold for the year in all of 2021.

The December median sales price came in at $542,450 for the Cape’s direct sailboat access condo segment, which was 8 percent above the $502,500 posted in December 2021, and up 38.7 percent from $391,000 in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the median sales price averaged $419,983 per month in this segment, which was 2.9 percent lower than the average of $432,500 per month in the fourth quarter of 2021, but 8.8 percent above the average of $386,083 per month in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, the median sales price in this segment averaged $380,638 per month in 2022, which was 11.6 percent higher than the average of $341,225 per month for the year in all of 2021.

Dry lot condos

In the Cape Coral dry lot (non-canal) condo segment, there were 24 closed sales in the month of December, which was 17.2 percent lower than the 29 sales in December 2021, and up from 20 sales in December 2020. The December closed sales were also up 9.1 percent from the 22 sales in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, there were 61 closed condo sales in this segment, which was 29.1 percent below the 86 sales in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 7.6 percent lower than the 66 sales in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, there were a total of 313 dry lot condos sold in the Cape during 2022, which was down 23.3 percent versus the 408 sold for the year in all of 2021.

The December median sales price came in at $205,000 for the Cape’s dry lot condo segment, which was 10.8 percent above the $185,000 posted in December 2021, but 28.7 percent less than the $287,500 in November 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the median sales price averaged $240,833 per month in this segment, which was 33.3 percent higher than the average of $180,658 per month in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 3.9 percent above the average of $231,733 per month in the third quarter of 2022. For the year, the median sales price for dry lot condos in the Cape averaged $233,565 per month in 2022, which was 37.1 percent above the average of $170,410 per month for the year in all of 2021.

The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla., as of Jan. 30, 2023, 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 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.