Condo sales strong, homes sales remain flat in Lee

The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, Inc, doing business as CORE, reports that existing single family home sales for February 2008 are even with last year, with 445 units sold in both February 2008 and February 2007. This is in comparison to statewide figures which show a declining trend of sales of existing homes down 25 percent for single-family homes. Existing condominium sales for the Fort Myers-Cape Coral area are up 19 percent compared to a year ago, with 181 units sold in February 2008 versus 152 units sold a year ago.

The median sales price for existing single-family homes was $211,900 in Fort Myers-Cape Coral, which was above the statewide average of 198,900, but off from the prior year by 17 percent. Existing condominium prices fell short of last year by 19 percent, with a median price of $199,200 for the Fort Myers- Cape Coral market.

"These figures reflect what our members have been seeing in the past few weeks - we've had more buyers interested in viewing properties, more prospects attend open houses, and more home buyers presenting sellers with tangible offers", said Association President Ron Carpenter. "There are some beautiful properties available in this market at a very good value, and with the low mortgage rates, buyers are realizing that now is the time to buy".

The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, Inc. is a member-based organization of more than 4,400 members founded 84 years ago. As a Community of Realtor Excellence (CORE), we are dedicated to serving current and future property owners as we believe that home ownership is the essence of a great community.