Dave Martin

SOURCE: REALTOR ASSOCIATION OF GREATER FORT MYERS & THE BEACH, INC.

The robust pace of existing singlefamily home sales continued in February with 936 homes sold, an increase of more than 100 percent compared to February 2008 and more than 12 percent higher than the previous month, according to a report by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and The Beach. Pending sales continue to outpace last year by 67 percent, with 1,740 pending sales in February compared to 1,039 in February 2008.

The number of single-family homes listed on the MLS is decreasing (at the end of February, there were 10,501 active listings of existing single-family residential properties compared to 12,281 a year ago, a decline of 14 percent).

The market continues to work through its inventory of bank-owned and shortsale properties, which is affecting the median price. So far, in 2009, about 66 percent of the homes sold were bankowned properties, with a median price of $73,000; 14 percent were short sales with a median price of $130,000; and 19 percent were traditional properties with a median price of $196,000.

"With listing inventory down and pending sales continuing to climb, we are seeing some positive signs that our market wants to recover," said Association President Suzanne Sherer. "However, another vital part of our recovery is for banks to recognize that they need to work with the Realtor community, and their borrowers, to facilitate a short sale as these numbers clearly indicate that when a property goes into foreclosure, everyone loses."

The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach Inc. is a member-based organization founded 84 years ago.

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The Naples Area Board of Realtors reported the highest number of pending sales since 2005.

Overall pending sales, a key indicator of buyer activity, increased 85 percent yearto date in January in Collier County.

"I've seen that the number of showings in January have exceeded the number of showings for every month since 2004. The activity is encouraging," said Brenda Fioretti, managing broker of Prudential Florida Realty.

Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 13 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors. A total of 30,163 existing homes sold statewide in the fourth quarter; during the same period the year before, 26,635 existing homes sold statewide. It marks the second consecutive quarter that Florida has reported higher existing home sales.

There were 10,801 single-family homes for sale in the Greater Fort Myers area during the January and sales activity remains steady with 2,562 properties pending, an increase of 400 percent as compared to the same period last year

"Last year we predicted that sales of existing single family homes for the year would surpass 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007 levels. We are extremely pleased that in fact, the sales pace was much greater than anticipated and we look for 2009 to surpass the record sales set in 2005," said Association President Suzanne Sherer. "We believe that sales volume will continue to grow as lenders have priced properties aggressively to move them and now that inventory levels are under five months, we are seeing properties receive multiple offers."

Overall pending home sales in the greater Naples Area, which includes Naples Beach, North Naples, Central Naples, South Naples, East Naples, Immokalee and Ave Maria, increased 85 percent, with 706 pending in January 2009 compared to 382 in January 2008.

Overall pending home sales for properties less than $300,000 saw a 208 percent increase, with 508 pending in January 2009 compared to 165 in January 2008.

Homebuyers on a shopping spree
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REALTOR® ASSOCIATION OF GREATER FORT MYERS & THE BEACH, INC

The Naples Area Board of Realtors reported that sales continue to increase as December marked 11 consecutive months of market improvement. The NABOR report tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).

In the Greater Fort Myers area, the report said there were 10,326 singlefamily homes for sale during the month of December, with an estimated 8.8- month supply of inventory - this is in sharp contrast to a year ago when the inventory supply was nearly 23 months. Sales activity remains steady with 1,178 properties pending, an increase of 137 percent versus the prior year.

"Earlier in the year, we predicted that sales of existing single-family homes for the year would surpass 2003 and 2007 levels. We are extremely pleased that, in fact, the sales pace was much greater than anticipated as we surpassed 2004 sales by 6.5 percent and 2006 sales by 7.1 percent," said Association President Suzanne Sherer. "We believe that sales volumes will continue to grow as lenders have priced properties aggressively to move them and now that inventory levels are under nine months, we expect that many properties will receive multiple offers."

In Collier, the available inventory decreased to 10,851 in December 2008 compared to 11,456 in December 2007.

"Over the last 12 months, 5.3 percent of the available inventory has depleted, indicating that the properties that are priced right are being picked off. Inventory is not building up exponentially," said 2009 NABOR President-elect JP Antonmattei with Amerivest Realty.

The average days a property was on the market decreased 23 percent to 156 days in December 2008 compared to 203 days on the market in December 2007.

"For the 12 months ending December 2008, overall sales have increased 33 percent. This increase leaves fewer properties to choose from, which is why we are seeing a drop in the average days on the market," said John Steinwand, president of Naples Realty Services.

The report provides annual comparisons of single-family home and condo sales (via the Sunshine MLS), price ranges, geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary.

Overall pending home sales in the Greater Naples Area, which includes Naples Beach, North Naples, Central Naples, South Naples, East Naples, Immokalee and Ave Maria, increased 100 percent, with 519 pending in December 2008, compared to 259 in December 2007.

"Season arrived early for single family homes under $300,000 as pending sales increased 513 percent. This shows that choice properties that are priced right are quickly disappearing," said Mike Hughes, vice president of Downing-Frye Realty.

Overall condo pending sales increased 46 percent, with 196 in December 2008 versus 134 in December 2007; and pending condo sales under $300,000 increased 165 percent, with 151 in December 2008, compared to 57 in December 2007.

I trust you are having a wonderful week so far. A little cold for a few days but we are on the rebound back to paradise weather.

I wanted to make sure everyone knew that we have plenty of USDA Funds available! Regardless of what you may have heard, some lenders are out of funds until March 2009, however, we do not have this problem as we are a DIRECT LENDER with CHASE! We fund our own loans, so if you have anyone that needs 100% financing, let's get them closed utilizing this program.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday reduced the target rate to between 0 and .25 percent down from 1 percent. With this reduction they also pledged to use "all available tools" to fight the current downturn in the economy. Today's rate cut could have little to no effect on fixed mortgage rates. However, if the Fed were to expand the recently announced program to buy up debt and mortgage backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac you could see mortgage rates go down.