Last week the Association of Greater Fort Myers and The Beach released its totals for 2009. This report gives Real Estate Professionals and Mortgage Professionals a break down of homes sold and median prices for the housing market in Lee County, Florida. As you remember Cape Coral, FL was perhaps ground zero for the housing market crash 3.5 years ago when housing prices fell to half of the median price then set at $325,000. Fast forward to take a 
look-see at what’s happened. 16,789 homes were sold in 2009… that number is actually up 91.4% from the totals in 2008. That’s good news for all of us that are looking for this thing to bottom out. The total homes sold in 2008 were 8,768.
Out of the 16,789 homes sold in 2009, 48.3% were bank owned. 18.2% in this equation were sold as short sales and 33.4% traditional home sales. The median price of homes in our area dipped to $89,929… 8% lower than 1 year ago.
I guess the take-away from these numbers are this. The median price of homes is skewed a bit due to the foreclosures and short sales happening in the area. The good news is that housing inventory is being whittled away. However, my fear is that by the second quarter of this year – billions of dollars in mortgages are set to recast. This will bring the foreclosure numbers up again and put more distressed properties on the market. With that being said, the Obama tax credit is being extended and the FHA is loosening some restrictions for home buyers this year. These two things should help home buyers get off the fence in 2010. Once housing inventory goes down, home values will go up again. The other thing is, now is THE time to buy while homes remain very affordable compared to housing prices 3.5 years ago. Also, Mortgage Rates still remain at historic all time lows.