Punta Gorda Florida Market Update

The most common question that I hear from prospective buyers these days is, "Has the real estate market hit bottom yet?". That is a difficult question to answer because you can never tell when you're at the bottom. In fact, you won't know for sure until the market data shows that you have already started to rebound. At that point, for those trying to time the market, they have missed the bottom.

What I can tell you is that our office has definitely noticed an increase in activity. I looked at our MLS data that shows year to date (1-1-08 thru 5-15-08) there have been 61 homes sold in Punta Gorda Isles. This compares to 45 sold in the same period last year. That's a 35.5% increase. Plus there are another 33 homes in PGI in pending (under contract, but not yet closed).

The Charlotte Sun reported on Wednesday, May 14th that the Punta Gorda area was leading the state with a sales increase of 6% for the first quarter of 2008 compared to 2007 and a 23% increase over the fourth quarter of last year. Remember, when they cite Punta Gorda as a metropolitan statistical area, we are so small that it includes all of Charlotte County, not just the city of Punta Gorda.

Is this the bottom of the market? No one really knows. Only time will tell.

Visit our website for more information on recent Punta Gorda home sales or to search available Punta Gorda homes for sale.

~ Kevin

Kevin Hughes
Buyer's Specialist for
The Andreae Group
RE/MAX Harbor Realty
www.ilovepuntagorda.com