Naples Realtors: Florida Housing Market Not So Dismal
Local Realtors say the monthly report from the National Association of Realtors is deceiving.
They’re not contesting that yearly home sales comparisons in Lee County are once again down. But they say the big Florida real estate market picture isn’t so dismal.
The number that’s getting local Florida mortgage brokers excited is the median home price.
In March, the median price of a single-family home sold with the help of a Realtor in Lee County was $268,000, up $12,000 from February. Granted, it’s still 5 percent below the 2006 March median of $281,300, but it’s encouraging to a market that hit rock bottom.
“That’s significant,” said Bob Oxnard, a Fort Myers Century 21 agent. “The median price has gone up because the lowest part of the inventory has sold and it’s moving upward again.”
The number of sales also made a significant jump from February to March. The 636 homes sold in Lee County last month pales in comparison to the 995 of a year ago. But an increase of nearly 50 percent in the month (213 more homes sold in March compared to February) has Realtors believing the end is near.
“I did more business last month, but we are working the belly of the market,” said Wes Brodersen with Exit Gulder Real Estate in Bonita Springs. “We didn’t have much of a season. But we are starting to see the investors come back. These are different than the speculators. They are looking to buy at reasonable prices and aren’t looking to turn a quick buck.”
The same excitement can be found about condominium sales. In Lee County, sales continued to plummet also, down 19 percent in one year. There were 221 condos sold in March of 2007 compared to 272 a year ago. The median price of condo in Lee County dropped drastically from $318,900 in March 2006 to $250,000 last month.
“The developers are killing the [Florida condo market],” Brodersen said.
He said that with the condo inventory high, developers are offering up to 10 percent finders fees to agents to bring them Florida mortgage borrowers/buyers. Brodersen said that in the past it was hard to even get three percent from builders.
“The developers are making deals on top of deals just to sell condos,” Brodersen said.
Naples real estate agents don’t report numbers to the National Association of Realtors. In Marco Island, homes sales were down 47 percent and condo sales dipped only 16 percent.
SOURCE: Naples News
