Lee County home sales on record pace

Affordability, low interest rates and first-time homebuyer tax credits combined to boost July sales in the Greater Fort Myers area 94 percent more than the same time last year. A total of 1,446 single-family homes were sold in July.

"The good news is that finally people in our area can afford to buy a home," said Suzanne Sherer, president of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach Inc. "That's a good sign for our economy."

The average price of a single-family home in Lee County was just $82,139 in July, down from $145,000 a year ago, due to the continued influence of bank owned and short sale properties on the market. Speculators from around the country have been attracted to the area because of the foreclosure crisis; in fact, the area has become so attractive to speculators that current inventory supplies in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres — some of the hardest-hit areas in the U.S. — have dropped to below three months.

Active listings for single-family homes in the MLS dropped 41 percent since last July, with only 6,692 properties currently active. Of these active properties, only 9 percent are foreclosures. Since the end of November, federal agencies have had a moratorium on foreclosures and many banks have voluntarily complied with this policy in conjunction with the Home for Homeowners Program and the Helping Families Save Their Home Act that helps some borrowers with subprime or underwater mortgages refinance their loans. However, not everyone will receive help under the plan and it is expected that another wave of foreclosures will hit the Lee County market once banks holding these properties release them.

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