“Not only have we broken the $300,000 mark, we’ve broken the $400,000 mark,” Grimes said. “The market is still moving forward (and) the market is still going up. We watch this every month. And when the market starts to turn, that median will start to trail off.” INVENTORY IS MOVING FAST Grimes said, “It’s kind of torture being a buyer in this market. Buyers are going through multiple offers, and the national stats show that the average time on the market for a home is 19 days. Normally it’s around 80 to 90 days. Buyers have to have their track shoes on. I know an agent that had 155 offers on one of their properties.” Grimes said what’s causing this is the lack of inventory. In Lee County, the number of single-family homes available decreased by 13% over the last year. “When inventory drops, prices go up,” Grimes said. In February 2009, when the bubble had just burst, there were 4,220 single-family homes in Lee County under $100,000. In June 2021, there were three. Now, there are none. In Lehigh Acres, the median sales for homes and lots have skyrocketed more than 138%. In Cape Coral off-water lots, sales have increased by double-digit per- centiles, and costs have ballooned 173%, as the median sales price is now $41,000 compared to $15,000 in January 2021. When it comes to waterfront property in Cape Coral, Grimes said the median asking price eclipses $1 million and, on a canal, more than $2.5 million. “Asking prices are still going up. There is no slowdown in the future,” Grimes said. When it comes to luxury homes ($1 million to $5 million), Lee County
the numbers reverse and more listings are coming in than going off,” Grimes said, adding that the 2021 market is very unlikely to be repeated and that Florida’s migration numbers may slow as states relax mandates. “Now when is that going to happen? I don’t know. But we watch the numbers every week.” •
is outpacing Collier County (percent- age wise) with an increase of 109% from 2020 to 2021. Lee County saw 1,169 homes sell in that range in 2021, up from 558 in 2020. Regarding homes over $5 million, Lee saw a 208% increase from 2020 to 2021, with 37 sold in 2021 com- pared to 12 in 2020. Grimes agreed that to have a bubble, excess inventory is needed, which is simply not the case in the current climate. He shared statistics from over the last seven days, where 353 were sold, 560 sales were pending, and 358 new listings went on the market. “When is the market going to shift? It’s going to shift when
Robert Knight has 15 years of experience in the real estate industry as an investor, contractor, and Florida realtor and is a local market expert in Southwest Florida currently focused on new
construction opportunities in the Cape Coral/Port Charlotte area. White Stone is a leading investor-focused builder helping Build 2 Rent investors find off-market land and build single-family and multifamily homes specifically designed for long-term rentals and Airbnb investments.
76 | think realty magazine :: may – june 2022
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