Home resales grew again in March in Lee County.

There were 1,603 home sales in Fort Myers-Cape Coral, up from 1,464 in the same month a year ago, according to a report by Florida Realtors. The median price was up 7 percent at $95,100.

The median is the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less.

There were 559 condo resales in Fort Myers-Cape Coral, up 56 percent from 358 in March 2009. The median was up 5 percent at $133,100.

Monthly sales information for Collier County is not broken out in the report. However, the data is part of statewide statistics.

Bonita Springs/Estero Market Report

The number of single family homes coming on the market continues to decline, from 248 in January 2010 to 190 in March.  The number of single family closed sales climbed from 64 in January to 91 in March.  Both these trends indicate solid market activity as sales are on a trend to exceed the number of properties coming on the market.

The number of condominiums that came on the market in January was 302.  By March, the number was down to 238.  Inversely, condo unit sales continue to grow, from 90 in January to 109 in February and 123 in March.

There were 46 condominiums sold in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range in February and 43 in March.  Luxury condo ($1 million+) sales for 2010 year-to-date total eight sales with three of those in March.

Luxury single family homes ($1 million+) totaled six sales in January, seven in February and four in March.  Sales of single family homes between $4100,000 to $200,000 remain stable at an average of 15 a month while sales in the most active price range of $200,000 to $400,000 are double that number.  (March had 31 sales).  The March “Top Ten” sales totaled $14,686,000.

Source: The Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors.

Naples May Market Report

May 2010 – There are no signs of a seasonal slow down in the Naples area, as home sales surged in the first quarter of 2010 according to a report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS (Nabor), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).

In the $1 million to $2 million price segment, the number of pending sales doubled with 146 contracts in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 73 contracts in the same quarter a year ago.  The average days a property was on the market decreased 10% in this price segment in the first quarter of 2010.

Condominiums are leading the market improvement as overall pending sales increased 75% in the first quarter of 2010 to 1,679 contracts compared to 957 contracts in the first quarter of 2009.

Condo closed sales in the $500,000 to $1 million price range increased to 96 closed sales in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 48 closed sales in the first quarter of 2009.

Overall pending sales saw a 55% increase, with 3,346 contracts in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 2.160 contracts in the first quarter of 2009.

Overall closed homes sales under $300,000 increased 40% with 1,393 sales in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 992 closed sales in the first quarter of 2009.

Single family pending sales increased 30% with 1,667 contracts in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 1,203 contracts in the first quarter of 2009.

The available inventory decreased 15% to 9,557 properties in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 11,211 properties in the same quarter a year ago.

According to Mike Hughes, Vice PResident of Downing Frye Realty, “Our transactions for April 2010 were up 70% over last April.  We’ve already closed over 1,000 transactions this year.  Buyers have recognized the values and are jumping on board.  If there was ever a time to secure a great location at a great price, this is it, and apparently the word is out.”

Source: Naples Area Board of REALTORS

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The number of existing single-family homes sold in Lee County in March increased 9 percent from a year earlier to 1,603 while the median price was up 7 percent to $95,100, according to statistics released today by the Florida Association of Realtors.

Sales and prices were also up from February, when 1,261 homes were sold with a median price of $$88,000.

The report includes homes sold with the assistance of a Realtor.

In a separate report today, the National Association of Realtors issued a report stating that sales of existing homes increased more than expected in March after three straight months of declines as the housing market benefited from government incentives that drew in buyers.

Purchases jumped 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million last month, the highest level since December. The median sales price was $170,700, nearly unchanged from a year earlier.

Some economists expect healthy sales to continue, but caution that a clearer picture of the housing market will emerge after federal tax credits expire at the end of this month.

“The spring selling season will be a success and probably the most active we’re seen in years,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

Courtesy of The News Press

Prices for existing homes in Lee County were higher in March than they were a year earlier – the first time that’s happened in almost four years.

The median price of an existing home sold with the help of a Realtor reached its all-time high of $322,300 in December 2005, according to Florida Association of Realtors statistics.

After that, prices fell steadily as investors and down-on-their-luck homeowners let houses go into foreclosure and demand dried up.

But in March, the median price was up 7 percent to $95,100 from $88,500 a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the number of sales rose 9 percent from 1,464 to 1,603 in the same period.

Why?

Brett Ellis, a real estate agent with Re/Max Realty Group in Fort Myers, said part of the reason may be that there’s been a fall-off in the percentage of distressed sales – typically low-end properties sold at rock-bottom prices.

In Fort Myers, for example, the percentage of distressed sales fell from 72 percent in July to 48 percent in March. Distressed sales are houses taken back by lenders and resold, or short sales in which the bank agrees to forgive a part of the mortgage so the house can sell at a reasonable price.

Also, Ellis said, “We’re seeing second-home buyers come down and buying up properties in season. We are seeing a few more foreclosures, but we’re seeing a lot more other sales.”

Steve Koffman, a real estate broker with Century 21 Sunbelt in Cape Coral, said another factor is that homes in the extremely low price range have largely been bought already – pushing up the median as only more expensive homes are available.

“The houses that were selling at $70,000 are gone, so you get ones going for $75,000 or $80,000,” Koffman said.

Now, he said, “we appear to have bottomed out. In the early ’90s, we went sideways for several years. That appears to be what’s happening now.”  Even with prices trending up, there are still bargains to be had, said Marc Moore, a single father of four who was able to get a four-bedroom, two-bath house with a swimming pool in southwest Cape Coral for $100,000 last month.

Even though he’s the broker of real estate company K Burton and Associates, Moore said he was shocked to get the house for that little.

Still, Moore said, would-be homebuyers need to understand that there are a lot of buyers in the market now and persistence pays off. Before succeeding, he tried to get numerous houses, but “anytime something came up, it was snagged.”

Nationally, the housing market was strong as well in March.

Sales of previously occupied homes rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million last month, the highest level since December, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. February’s sales figures were revised downward slightly to 5.01 million.

The average interest rate this week was 5.07 percent for a traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Sales are now up 18 percent from their low in early 2009, but are still down 26 percent from their peak in fall 2005. March’s results had been expected to rise about 5 percent to 5.28 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The results show the housing market is stabilizing after a devastating bust. But the true test will be whether the market can stand on its own after federal tax credits expire at the end of this month.

The median sales price nationally was $170,700, up almost 4 percent from $164,600 a month earlier and almost unchanged from $170,000 in March 2009.

The inventory of unsold homes on the market was up 1.5 percent at 3.6 million. That’s an eight-month supply at the current sales pace.

Courtesy of the News Press

Home sales rose more than expected in March, reversing three months of declines, as government incentives drew in buyers and kicked off what’s expected to be a strong spring selling season.

Sales of previously occupied homes rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million last month, the highest level since December, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. February’s sales figures were revised downward slightly to 5.01 million.

“The spring selling season will be a success and probably the most active we’re seen in years,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

Sales had been expected to rise 5.2 percent to 5.28 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The results show the housing market is stabilizing after a devastating bust. But the true test will be whether the market can stand on its own after federal tax credits expire at the end of this month.

Sales rose in every region, surging more than 7 percent in the Midwest and South, 6.6 percent in the West and 6 percent in the Northeast.

“It’s a very broad-based recovery,” said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist.

The median sales price was $170,700, up almost 4 percent from $164,600 a month earlier and nearly unchanged from $170,000 in March 2009.

The inventory of unsold homes on the market was up 1.5 percent at 3.6 million. That’s an eight month supply at the current sales pace.

Sales nationally had declined over the winter, eroding gains made last fall and summer. The downward direction troubled economists because the government has taken unprecedented steps to support the housing sector.

For several months, home shoppers didn’t feel rushed after lawmakers extended the deadline to qualify for tax incentives. The government is offering a $8,000 credit for first-time buyers and $6,500 for current homeowners willing to buy and move into another property.

But now time is running out. Buyers must sign contract offers by April 30 to qualify, and real estate agents say that’s spurring sales.

“Many people who otherwise wouldn’t be on the market for a home want to take advantage of these tax credits,” said Kathi McLeod, sales manager for Windermere Real Estate in Boise, Idaho. “You have buyers who have been looking and looking at properties and realizing that it’s almost too late, so they’re really scrambling and jumping into deals.”

The Realtors group is not pushing for an another extension of the tax credit. Yun said he believes there will be enough demand in the second half of the year without a government subsidy.

Still, some housing market experts predict the market will take a dramatic “double-dip” once the government’s supports are gone. But others argue that there is enough pent-up demand to keep the market chugging. And prices have fallen dramatically since the boom years — as much as 50 percent in some places. So buyers can pick up bargain-priced foreclosures.

Courtesy of News Press

More than a dozen members who resigned from the Club at Mediterra have unexpectedly received refund checks.

Most of those members were chosen through a random drawing, according to a memo they received from Bonita Bay Group.

Some who received refunds are involved in lawsuits with the developer and are skeptical about how they were chosen to get their money back.

“It was completely random and the names were drawn from a hat, with two witnesses certifying and attesting to the results,” said Brian Lucas, a vice chairman for Bonita Bay Group.

It’s good news for members, he said.

“We’re doing our level-best in a very difficult environment to do the right thing and to be forthright and transparent in our process,” Lucas said. “I’m hopeful that people will see this for what it is and find this to be a positive development.”

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See March market trends for the Naples, Bonita Springs & Estero Area.

NAPLES — Stephen Campolo watched as his former neighbors tore apart their houses, carting away cabinets, tiles and toilets in U-haul trucks.

He wondered who would buy a toilet ripped out of someone else’s bathroom. Worse, he worried that no one would buy the three foreclosed houses across the street.

Weeks passed and the grass grew knee-high in front of the homes in the gated, Golden Gate Estates neighborhood of Valencia Lakes. But recently, things started looking up: An investment company bought one of the houses and contractors started arriving to throw out trash and fix up the house.

Flippers are buying beat-up, damaged properties, remodeling them and then reselling them for profits of 10 percent to 12 percent of the final sale price. It’s happening in gated and non-gated communities in Naples, Golden Gate, Golden Gate Estates and Naples Park.

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MARCO ISLAND — A rat-infested Marco Island home with screens flapping in the wind and a sinking seawall is what Charlie Vollmer sees as he looks next door at a foreclosure property.

Vollmer, acting as an unpaid property manager for a neighbor, removes debris and works to protect his own yard from sinking further into the canal because of the failing seawall. He’s adding privacy shrubs between his home and the one next door that was abandoned two years ago.

Other caretakers for the property include Marco Island Code Enforcement officers and Realtor Andrew Delgado, working on behalf of the Bank of New York. Delgado arranged lawn mowing while city workers temporarily secured that seawall to protect Vollmer’s seawall from falling into the drink.

Such conditions aren’t isolated to Seminole Court on Marco Island.

Pools that have turned green and stinky from algae, mounting trash and debris, broken windows, and lawns with tall weeds are reported in many communities throughout Southwest Florida. Cape Coral was dubbed the foreclosure capital of the nation throughout 2008 and still is grappling with blight caused by foreclosure on properties, though it recently fell to No. 6 in the nation for its foreclosure rate.

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