Cape Coral home prices on the rise
By Patricia Mertz Esswein, Kiplinger.com
January 12, 2012
All of the metropolitan areas that were ranked have a population of at least
200,000. Change in home prices reflects the one-year period through
September 30, 2011, when the national average was -2.6% and the median
home price was $171,250. We also report the change since the national
peak in home prices, in the second quarter of 2006. Sales and inventory
numbers were drawn from the most current market reports (October or
November 2011). Unemployment rate is as of October 2011, when the
national average was 8.5%. Foreclosure rate is as of September 30, 2011,
when the national average rate was 1 of every 213 housing units, or
0.47%.
The cities on this list that did go bust, such as Cape Coral, Fla.,
are beginning to recover, although home prices may still be bouncing
around the bottom as buyers (particularly investors) dash in to nab
bargains. The likelihood of continued double-digit price increases is
slim, especially as more foreclosures come to market.
1. Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, Fla.
One-year change in home prices: 12.1%
Median home price: $100,000
Change in price since peak: -63.4%
Unemployment rate: 10.7%
Foreclosure rate: 1 of every 92 housing units (1.09%)
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Sales vary greatly in the Cape Coral region.
Photo: Euku at en.wikipedia |
Cape Coral epitomized the housing boom and bust, so it's a shocker to
see it rank first among cities where prices have risen most. That's
especially true given that the rates of unemployment and foreclosure
remain high and distressed properties still constitute half of all sales
in the metro area, which ordinarily would exert downward pressure on
demand and prices.
Sales in this appealing area, with its 400 miles of waterways and
access to the Gulf of Mexico beaches, islands and fishing grounds, are
steady (and traditionally rise with the arrival of winter snowbirds).
The region has just four months' supply of homes for sale, but that
figure varies greatly by locale and property type (for example, from
less than a month's supply of single-family homes in Lehigh Acres to a year's supply of condos in Ft. Myers Beach).
Here are the four other cities on the list:
5. Rochester, N.Y.
4. Utica-Rome, N.Y.
3. Ann Arbor, Mich.
2. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.