View of Cape Coral Canal

Cape Coral real estate can be a great investment for Foreign Nationals. Cape Coral is ranked #2 for global investors worldwide. Why do we think so many people are choosing to invest in Cape Coral real estate? For starters, the prices are still quite low compared with what you can find elsewhere. For instance, you can purchase a move in ready 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom concrete block home in Cape Coral for under $100,000. Not only that but for less than $150,000 you can even find a similar home in Cape Coral with an inground swimming pool! And if your budget is stretched even higher you can find a gulf access pool home in Cape Coral for under $300,000. Keep in mind that estate homes in Cape Coral are going to start in the low $500K range and go up from there but as an investment you really cannot go wrong purchasing a well appointed property in Cape Coral under $200,000.

Ok so enough with the prices, what can you do in Cape Coral? You can golf, fish, boat, sunbathe, swim, and enjoy the many parks throughout the city. Cape Coral used to be known as a sleepy little bedroom community but now Cape Coral residents can find work & play both right in the city of Cape Coral. Many new restaurants, shopping and entertainment establishments have popped up over the last few years.

You’ll enjoy Cape Coral if you like a slower paced relaxing environment vs a fast paced NY or Miami. If you are looking for the hottest parties and craziest night life Cape Coral probably isn’t for you. While we do have several places to grab a drink and listen to music or dance with your friends we are certainly not a big party city. Residents in Cape Coral tend to spend more time hanging out at local parks, taking a drive down to the beaches or enjoying a tour out on their boats.

Our weather is just fantastic. If you’ve never been down this far south in the state of Florida you may be surprised to learn that our very lows through the winter very rarely reach below 30-40 degrees. And typically we have 60-70 degree highs even in the winter. Our summer months can become pretty hot but if you are from most places you have to deal with hot summers there too. Our typical summer day averages low mid 70s and high low/mid 90s. But don’t forget, during the summer months we get a cooling afternoon shower, or even storm, nearly every day.

If you have any questions about moving or investing in Cape Coral real estate we’d love to hear from you. Our agents are available nearly around the clock to help make your decision to own real estate in Cape Coral a breeze.

To get started you can start your online search now for Cape Coral property or fill out our contact form to have an agent contact you right away about Cape Coral real estate!

We look forward to working with you!

We also work with sellers of real estate in Cape Coral. If you own a Cape Coral waterfront or off water property and would like to see it featured here; please let me know. We are looking for realistic sellers who want to get the most out of their property within a reasonable timeframe. We also handle short sales in Cape Coral.

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner, REALTOR Broker/Owner ~ e-PRO, GRI, SFR, CDPE, and (TRC) TransNational Referral Certification

Florida Future Realty, Inc

Search Cape Coral real estate

(239) 542-8521

I’m always looking to hire more motivated and professional licensed Florida real estate agents. If you are interested in learning more about Florida Future Realty, Inc. feel free to contact our office at 2816 Del Prado Blvd. S., Unit 1, Cape Coral, FL 33904, via phone at 239-542-8521, online at Cape Coral Real Estate Career or via email at FloridaFuture@gmail.com. Susan Milner, the broker in charge & owner of Florida Future Realty, Inc. can also be reached on her personal cell phone at (239) 218-2229. All contact will remain strictly confidential.

Unless otherwise noted all content Copyright 2012 Susan Milner.

Have you been considering a move or purchase in Cape Coral, Florida?

Why wouldn’t you? Here are just a few reasons why Cape Coral is so great:

The prices are great * The area is truly like being on vacation every day!  * Our weather is awesome!  * We rarely have a day where we do not get to see our friend the Sun  * We have over 400 miles of canals ~ many of which lead you directly into the Gulf of Mexico. * We are about 30 minutes from awesome beaches like Sanibel, Captiva & Fort Myers Beach * We are within a 2-3 hour drive of Tampa and Miami for those day or weekend getaways! & SO many more reasons.

So then you want to know how much you will pay for one of these houses? Since January of this year there have been 4,052 single family homes sold in Cape Coral. This doesn’t count condos, investments or vacant land. Out of those 1,268 (or 32%) were foreclosures (or bank owned, corporate owned, REOs) and 878 (or 22%) were short sales (where the owner sells the house for less than what is owed and negotiates the balance with the bank). This means that about 46% of the sales were traditional sales. This could mean that an investor purchased a short sale or foreclosure and then resold it but it could also mean a regular home seller as well.

What percentage of their list price did these Cape Coral homes actually sell for?

This depends upon if you were looking at the short sales, foreclosures or traditional sales.

As you can see from the chart above when first on the market Cape Coral foreclosures actually go for MORE than asking price. This is because foreclosures are typically priced very aggressively by the banks. Once a Cape Coral property has been on the market for some time though the % goes down quite a bit; actually foreclosures then have the lowest list price to sales price %.

What does this mean to you? It shows you that if you see a brand new Cape Coral foreclosure listing on the market you better be prepared to come in with an above price offer to have the chance at buying that house. If it has been on the market for quite some time you may be able to buy it at 80-90% of its list price.  Conversely if you see a brand new Cape Coral short sale listing hit the market you may be able to offer 90-95% of the list price. Remember that this varies considerably on short sales because the bank has NOT set this price. The price has been set by a real estate agent and/or the seller and they typically do not yet know what price the bank is going to be willing to accept.

I hope this chart gives you an idea of what our market is currently looking like for buyers in Cape Coral. We are still in what is known as a buyer’s market but you must be educated in the market or work with an educated Cape Coral real estate professional in order to secure the property you are seeking.

Prices for single family homes in Cape Coral start below $100,000 for a standard 3/2 off water. They go up depending upon if you want a pool – closer to $200,000 and if you want to be on the water you can find awesome estate style homes above $1,000,000. (These are current prices as of 2011).

Whether you are seeking a cash flow investment or the home of your dreams in Cape Coral we are here to assist you.

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner, REALTOR Broker/Owner ~ e-PRO, GRI, SFR, CDPE, and (TRC) TransNational Referral Certification

Florida Future Realty, Inc

Search Cape Coral real estate

(239) 542-8521

I’m always looking to hire more motivated and professional licensed Florida real estate agents. If you are interested in learning more about Florida Future Realty, Inc. feel free to contact our office at 2816 Del Prado Blvd. S., Unit 2, Cape Coral, FL 33904, via phone at 239-542-8521, online at Cape Coral Real Estate Career or via email at FloridaFuture@gmail.com. Susan Milner, the broker in charge & owner of Florida Future Realty, Inc. can also be reached on her personal cell phone at (239) 218-2229. All contact will remain strictly confidential.

Unless otherwise noted all content Copyright 2010-2011 Susan Milner.

Did you read about the Cape Coral market and Fort Myers real estate market on Inman News?

http://www.inman.com/news/2011/05/23/10-markets-with-fastest-rising-real-estate-prices
“Two Florida markets saw the highest jumps: median list price in Fort Myers-Cape Coral rose 25.7 percent to $225,000, and the median in Miami rose 8.6 percent to $239,000.
Shreveport-Bossier City, La., followed with an 8.1 percent increase, to $173,000. Fort Myers-Cape Coral and Miami also saw the biggest year-over-year drops in inventory: -25.3 percent and -29.9 percent, respectively.”

What about CNNMoney’s take on the rise in prices in Cape Coral ?

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/real_estate/1104/gallery.10_turnaround_towns/6.html

Even Realtor.org had a blurb about the Cape Coral real estate market:
http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2011050503?OpenDocument

The Gulf Coast Business Review reminded us that our Fort Myers local board of REALTORS announced that Foreclosures are fading in comparison to traditional sales here in the Fort Myers and Cape Coral areas:

http://www.review.net/section/detail/5-18-2011-foreclosures-fade-in-fort-myers/

They also let us know that we may be turning point central:
http://www.review.net/section/detail/5-20-2011-fort-myers-recovery-central/

Want to read other great news coming out of Cape Coral? We are ranked the second safest city in all of Florida:

http://www.news-press.com/article/20110520/CRIME/110519055/Cape-Coral-second-safest-city-Florida

Summer is historically our ‘slowest’ time of the year for Cape Coral real estate sales so if you are looking to make a home purchase in SW Florida come on down this summer and see what we have to offer. I have a strong suspicion that come fall (our typical busy season) we will see more price and inventory adjustments here in the Cape Coral real estate market.

There are so many different unique opportunities right now for buyers of Cape Coral real estate.

Some experts warn that this ‘new’ news may leave Cape Coral home sellers confused about pricing. I’m sure it will confuse some of the sellers in Cape Coral. That is why it is the best idea for Cape Coral sellers to consult with a reliable and honest real estate professional who specializes in Cape Coral real estate. Considering selling your home or property in Cape Coral? Contact us at Florida Future Realty, Inc. to find out if now is the best time for you to sell your Cape Coral real estate. We market our listings internationally & have a solid reputation for selling houses in and around Cape Coral, Florida.

Canadians have been making a big splash in our market as have the Europeans, Chinese & Australians! See what Canada has to say about the SW Florida real estate market:

http://www.canada.com/Gulf+Coast+real+estate+market+down+buyers+shop+homes+resales/4848120/story.html

I recently created a video update showing the 2011 first quarter’s statistics for the Cape Coral real estate market that I’m sure you’ll find interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZueAR3m9Aiw (Yes, I’ll admit sort of boring ~ #s and all but I know that many of you enjoy crunching numbers so enjoy!)

As always, should you have ANY real estate questions do not hesitate to call or email us for more information. We look forward to working with you.

To get started you can start your online search now for Cape Coral property or fill out our contact form to have an agent contact you right away about Cape Coral real estate!

We look forward to working with you!

If you own a Cape Coral waterfront or off water property and would like to see it featured here; please let me know. We are looking for realistic sellers who want to get the most out of their property within a reasonable timeframe. We also handle short sales in Cape Coral.

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner, REALTOR Broker/Owner ~ e-PRO, GRI, SFR, CDPE, and (TRC) TransNational Referral Certification

Florida Future Realty, Inc

Search Cape Coral real estate

(239) 542-8521

I’m always looking to hire more motivated and professional licensed Florida real estate agents. If you are interested in learning more about Florida Future Realty, Inc. feel free to contact our office at 2816 Del Prado Blvd. S., Unit 2, Cape Coral, FL 33904, via phone at 239-542-8521, online at Cape Coral Real Estate Career or via email at FloridaFuture@gmail.com. Susan Milner, the broker in charge & owner of Florida Future Realty, Inc. can also be reached on her personal cell phone at (239) 218-2229. All contact will remain strictly confidential.

Unless otherwise noted all content Copyright 2010-2011 Susan Milner.

International buyers

Whether these international buyers end up in a luxury waterfront home or a more modest off water house or condo there is something for everyone.

Our values are still at rock bottom prices. The inventory has been moving quickly but there is a constant flow of new properties being put on the market every day in Cape Coral, Florida!

If you are an international buyer we’d love to assist you with your Cape Coral real estate investment. Our real estate buyers agents have experience with international buyers and can make your purchase go very smoothly.

Whether you’ve invested here already or are just looking to get started on your research we are here to help.

Choose to invest in a Cape Coral property to use solely as a Holiday home or purchase a Cape Coral property to generate income.

Single family homes in move-in condition can now be purchased for less than $100,000 and fabulous Gulf Access homes can now be purchased starting well under $500,000.

Our Cape Coral office can also assist you with your property management and leasing needs and get you in touch with service providers you may need as well.

To get started you can start your online search now for Cape Coral property or fill out our contact form to have an agent contact you right away about Cape Coral real estate!

We look forward to working with you!

If you own a Cape Coral waterfront property and would like to see it featured here; please let me know. We are looking for realistic sellers who want to get the most out of their property within a reasonable timeframe. We also handle short sales.

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner, REALTOR Broker/Owner ~ e-PRO, GRI, SFR, CDPE, and (TRC) TransNational Referral Certification

Florida Future Realty, Inc

Search Cape Coral real estate

(239) 542-8521

I’m always looking to hire more motivated and professional licensed Florida real estate agents. If you are interested in learning more about Florida Future Realty, Inc. feel free to contact our office at 2816 Del Prado Blvd. S., Unit 2, Cape Coral, FL 33904, via phone at 239-542-8521, online at Cape Coral Real Estate Career or via email at FloridaFuture@gmail.com. Susan Milner, the broker in charge & owner of Florida Future Realty, Inc. can also be reached on her personal cell phone at (239) 218-2229.  All contact will remain strictly confidential.

Unless otherwise noted all content Copyright 2010-2011 Susan Milner.

We are all looking for the truth right? Well I’m sure some are not. Some people thrive in drama filled environments that may consist of lies and deceit. But here at Florida Future Realty, Inc. we don’t believe in that. We have no gimmicky pitches to sell you on our services. What we do offer is authenticity, you know being real & honest? Of course we are also professional, experienced and ethical but that goes without saying. In this market sometimes the truth isn’t always fun to hear but it is necessary to make informed decisions.

I wrote the article below to assist others in hopefully turning on that ‘light bulb’ of the ‘ah-ha’ moment when you realize that being honest will gain you more friends and business associates in the long run. Feel free to comment below.

Do You Create a Pitch or Would You Rather Be Real?

Are you looking to have a successful business for the long term or are you looking to develop a pitch to generate some short term income and then fail?

I hope you picked long term because that is what this article is about.

Every day I see or hear about a company or individual using ploys or gimmicks to generate buzz and business. I’m sure this works for the short term but what about the long term? Well, those businesses fail, or at least those specific marketing campaigns do.

If you are looking to develop a long running, successful and profitable business then you have to be real. Consumers are savvy. They are researching more than ever. They ask around. They check facts. Making up stories will not win you business. People want to work with people who are real, authentic and honest.

Honesty is key. In today’s economy are the facts always fun to hear? No, sometimes they are not. For instance when I walk into a Cape Coral sellers house and have to tell them that their Cape Coral house has decreased 30% in the past two years. They aren’t happy to hear that. Who would be? But they appreciate my honesty. Especially when we sell their Cape Coral house by being honest and pricing it fairly. The converse would be an agent showing up and telling them their Cape Coral house is still worth the same as they paid 2 years ago, listing it too high and wasting everyone’s time and money for nothing. Sure at the beginning the Cape Coral seller was probably stoked to believe that they weren’t going to lose money on the deal. But 3-6 months down the road they are going to dislike their Cape Coral real estate agent very much for that misinformation. Now that real estate agent looks like a real jerk. Good luck relisting or getting any referrals from those Cape Coral customers.

The same goes for Cape Coral buyers in this market. Sure, there are a lot of great deals here in Cape Coral but we also know that there are pitfalls out there to be aware of. We discuss those in other articles especially when trying to buy a Cape Coral short sale or foreclosure. If you are not honest with the customer they get frustrated and end up finding another Cape Coral real estate agent to do business with. But if you are honest with them and explain how the process works and what to look out for then when challenges come up they are prepared for them. Sure, it might still be upsetting but it will be more toward the actual situation and less toward the real estate agent because the agent was honest and doing their best.

Whatever business you work in; whether you are an owner or an employee, keep in mind that people want to do business with people they like and who are honest. Get the information out to the customer and watch your business grow.

We look forward to working with you!

Yours in Success,

Susan Milner, REALTOR Broker/Owner ~ e-PRO, GRI, SFR, CDPE

Florida Future Realty, Inc

Search Cape Coral real estate

(239) 542-8521

I’m always looking to hire more motivated and professional real estate agents. If you are interested in learning more about Florida Future Realty, Inc. feel free to contact our office at 2816 Del Prado Blvd. S., Unit 2, Cape Coral, FL 33904, via phone at 239-542-8521, online at Cape Coral Real Estate Career or via email at FloridaFuture@gmail.com. Susan Milner, the broker in charge & owner of Florida Future Realty, Inc. can also be reached on her personal cell phone at (239) 218-2229. All contact will remain strictly confidential.

Unless otherwise noted all content Copyright 2010 Susan Milner.

What is good happening in Cape Coral? Well, it seems that anytime you search for “good news” and “Cape Coral” you find negative news. That is because pretty much all news stations focus on the negative. Whether it be crime, accidents, budget cuts or weather they sell more news when it is negative.

Don’t more people want to focus on the positive? I know I do. I rarely read any news. Why? Because it is depressing. I’d rather create my own happy news.

Cape Coral is a beautiful place to call home. With awesome weather year round, friendly residents, boating, fun & so much more!

How about the real estate market in Cape Coral for instance? Have you heard it is gloom and doom? Well, sort of. The values have been decreasing since the bust in 2006. Let me see if I can place a positive spin on this though. This allowed more homeowners to actually be able to afford to live in Cape Coral. In 2005 the least expensive house in Cape Coral was still about $250,000. Figure out the payments on that and not many ‘average’ people could afford to comfortably live here. Take that to our now $90,000 average house and it is a totally different story! Investors can also purchase homes that will actually cash flow now. Before that was completely unheard of. Sure, we still have more work to do. For instance, there are still too many vacant houses in Cape Coral. But we are selling those along with the regular occupied homes as well. To the tune of an average of about 500 residential homes per month in Cape Coral alone! That is a lot of inventory moving.

What about for sellers? You can see that there are great opportunities for buyers but are the sellers losing out? Nope! If they are upside down in their home and need to sell we can help them with a short sale. And if they have equity in their house there are plenty of buyers out there right now too! If they don’t need to sell, then they shouldn’t be trying to sell. That is easy

In closing, we all need to try to focus on the Happy Positive of ANY situation. Quit focusing on the negative and watch your life change. I hope you enjoyed this little ray of sunshine today!
Learn more about our team of short sale professionals or feel free to call us directly at (239) 542-8521.

Ready to search for available homes now? Visit our Cape Coral real estate source!

We look forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions at all give us a call!

(239) 542-8521

Susan@SusanMilner.com

We look forward to working with you.

Cape Coral residential property update

Cape Coral is a city located in SW Florida. You may already be familiar with the city, even live here but if you are not from the area you may have heard of the city but were not quite for sure what is actually going on there an what it is like.

Cape Coral is often times called a ‘waterfront wonderland’ due to the miles and miles of navigable canals. The city of Cape Coral contains nearly as many canals as it has roadways! Many homeowners keep their boats at their own private docks right in their own backyard!

View Larger Map

In the early 2000s property values really started to increase in Cape Coral. There was great growth and new development in the area. Values were literally increasing 20-40% year over year in 2003-2005.

Today the values are back down considerably. There are areas that are distressed. We have quite a few short sales and foreclosures here in Cape Coral. This makes for a great opportunity for home buyers and investors alike.

Are properties selling? YES! Most of the houses listed below $100,000 that are priced right are going under contract (pending sale) within 30 days. If it is a bank owned or regular sale it usually closes within 30-45 days. If it is a short sale it could be anywhere from 60-180 days – sometimes even longer! Some houses are listed at market value, some are listed too high and some are even listed too low. When houses here are listed too low they end up selling for more than the list price with a multiple offer / bidding situation. The ones that are listed too high can sit on the market unnoticed for many months.

Buyers are looking for great deals right now and don’t usually look much higher than their budgets. At times a great home can be purchased for lower than market value if you can find something that others aren’t seeing. Maybe it has high days on market, maybe it was over priced, maybe it needs work, etc.  Having an experienced real estate agent to help you through this process is critical. In most cases it does not cost the buyer anything to have a real estate working with them.

I created the following video recently to go over the different price points for houses in Cape Coral to give you an idea of what the current Cape Coral real estate market value truly has to offer!

Are you a buyer looking for a house or an investor wondering what real property makes sense for your portfolio? You can always reach us directly at (239) 542-8521 or email me at Susan@SusanMilner.com. But if you want to look at properties right now from your own computer you can visit our free online search.

Cape Coral real estate search

View Larger Map

Homes in Cape Coral with a price ranging from $0 to $150,000 have
turned over 4.5 times in the past 12 months and currently, we have 2.6
months of inventory available in that specific price range.

Homes in the price range of $150,000 to $200,000 have turned over 2.3
times in the last year and the current inventory is 8.5 months.

Gulf access homes in Cape Coral at no specific price point, in the
last year have turned over 1.4 times with an inventory of 8.5 months.

What do months of inventory indicate? Typically 1-4 months of
inventory indicate a seller’s market, 5-6 months is generally a balanced
market and 7 months or more points toward a buyer’s market.

How does this information specifically relate to buyers and sellers
of Cape Coral real estate?

Sellers

The absorption rate is very important to know. Since it tells
something about how long it might take to sell the home.  A higher
number of inventory typically means more competition from other
sellers.  A lower number may indicate that we are in a seller’s
market, so the need to make sure your marketing strategies are “spot on”
is detrimental to a quick sale.  Good marketing will insure your
home will be displaying a sold sign before you neighbors.

Buyers

Buyers also need to be aware of the absorption rate.  If the
market is shifting into a time of low inventory, it isn’t the time to be
throwing out “low ball” offers hoping to get a good deal.

When inventory is low and buyers have increased, chances are
the buyers will be introduced to a situation where the home has
multiple offers.  When inventory is high your chances of getting a
“steal” have increased significantly.

Buyers and sellers who pay attention to the changes in the market
will be more informed and can make decisions accordingly.  Most
important whether buying or selling real estate in Cape Coral it is
important to work with an experienced agent to help you calculate the
absorption rates for the homes that you are interested in.

*This blog was written 6-22-10 all calculations are subject to
change, for accurate information please call a speak with our
knowledgeable team members.

With the average Lee County home sitting on the market for upwards of
120 days, buyers have the upper hand in negotiating final pricing that
is around 90% of the already low asking price. Lee County, with its
world-class beaches, including Sanibel and Captiva Island, Bonita and
Ft. Myers Beach, its international airport with direct flights to and
from Europe, as well as its exceptional university located just south of
Ft. Myers makes purchasing a home even more enticing.

We are getting a lot of potential home owners inquiring about the
bank owned properties in our area. Accordingly, the bank-owned
properties continue to impact our sales and closings.  Since June
of last year, 66% of all single family homes sold listed in the MLS were
bank-owned; of these 64% were cash deals, according to the REALTOR®
Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, Inc.

Home sales continue to rise in our area and in June there were 1,586
homes sold, which is a 121% increase from June 2008. Again, this is an
indication that the Lee County housing market is on a positive trend and
possibly on a more upward spiral. In addition to the always warm
climate and pristine beaches, Lee County offers a relaxing lifestyle
which has consistently attracted second homeowners and vacationers, a
government which is business friendly, accessible beachfront or canal
front properties and median home prices 50% below the national average.
For example, the REALTOR® Association of Greater Fort Myers and the
Beach, Inc. states that in June the median price for all homes was
around $83,000. To date, the median price for “traditional” sales is
$175,000. For the available bank-owned homes the median price is $69,000
and $105,000 for short sales.

According to the Lee County Economic Development, Ft. Myers, Cape
Coral and surrounding areas have acquired the reputation as being some
of the best places to live, vacation or own a second home. With that in
mind, the potential buyers we are seeing are “market watching” which
means they are seeing the growth in our area and are getting more
excited about purchasing a home at an affordable price in an area that
is economically stabilizing at a steady pace. Additionally, our office
is seeing more and more banks working closely with us to process short
sales which coincide with the stabilizing market.

With the steady and consistent economic growth, the affordable and
abundant homes available to buyers, the consideration of the banks and
lenders; it is only likely that Lee County will stay on the positive
trend, steady pace and rising swing we are experiencing now. For more
information on bank owned properties, short-sales, foreclosures and
traditional home buying please contact one of our team members at
239-542-8521 or search for href="http://www.capecoralrealestateandproperty.com/3/W0000018024/P0000330685.htm">
Cape Coral real estate online now!

Copyright 2009 Florida Future Realty, Inc.