Chris Canzano Cape Coral Real Estate Specialist

There is an old saying that all news is good news, even the bad news. "Cape Coral ranks number one in the nation for foreclosures for July", was the recent news headline last week. Depending on your perspective, or position in the market place this could be viewed as very bad or very good news.

Obviously if you are a seller NEEDING to sell, right now could be a very difficult time. On the other hand if you are a buyer, you should be running, no wait, flying down to Cape Coral and making your purchase immediately. The volume of Cape Coral foreclosures are making for the buying opportunity of a life time.

The day this story broke by, 10 am our office was inundated with inquiries about foreclosures and how to buy them. Inquiries from all over the U.S. looking to take advantage of the ultimate buyers market. For all those buyers who were left out in the cold during the sellers market run up in pricing are now rejoicing.

As I mentioned in my previous posting, "The Cape Coral Real Estate Price Pendulum" has swung too far. The word is out and buyers are recognizing that BRC properties are plentiful in Cape Coral, but not for long!

Buyer's thinking of waiting? Consider the following points:

1. Foreclosure infomercials and websites selling their, latest "How To Stuff" are making a fortune. Once one of their students has the education, where do you think they are going to want to buy foreclosures? In their back yard where there may not be many? Possibly. My sense is they will be targeting the top foreclosure markets in the U.S. Who is at the top of the list? Cape Coral! The buyers are coming!

2. Cape Coral is in Florida, the third most populous state in the nation, and soon to become the second. Florida is still growing in population and will continue to do so. Real estate is about supply and demand. Currently the supply is plenty, but the DEMAND is growing daily. It will only be a matter of time until the demand equals and then surpasses the supply side.

Demand Exceeds Supply

Prices Increase

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What exactly does the future hold for those looking to buy or sell real estate in Cape Coral?

1. Time Heals All. Right now, many who have the ability to buy a home and should are afraid to because of the horror stories they hear. The further they get away from those feelings the more likely they will feel better about buying a home.
2. The market will turn when the money supply loosens. Right now it is more challenging than in the past, (noticed I did not say impossible) to obtain money to buy a home. Once the guidelines and qualifications loosen and more people can obtain money properly, we will see an increased demand for homes and the prices will follow.
3. Foreign Money will continue to flow in. With a weak dollar, the word is out. Foreigners have always loved S.W. Florida. With the strong exchange rate and the lower property values foreigners recognize this is one of the best buying opportunities in years. (P.S. If it is good enough for them, isn't it good enough for you?)
4. It will snow again this winter up North. Hardly a week goes by that I don't run in to someone from the north who tells me how they don't miss the snow. Cold weather and snow is one of the best sales tools we have. It happens every year like clockwork. The buyers come in droves and can't wait to move here.
5. Baby boomers are coming too! We can't stop them now. There are too many of them and they have more wealth than any generation before them. They are going to have a major impact on the demand side for real estate in SW Florida. Count on it!!!
6. More Businesses will Come to Florida. Thanks to the current affordability of housing and labor coupled, with the great weather and lifestyle that Florida affords, businesses will again start looking to Florida for growth and expansion. More jobs mean more housing needs, which again in turn drives demand and prices upward.
7. Housing Shortage causes possible price spike! Right now, there is an excess of inventory in the market place, which needs to be absorbed. The good news is that it is not being replaced with new housing starts at the same pace. The situation that I predict will occur is once demand equals supply it might be too late. Building your typical home in SW Florida takes between 6-12 months. By the time builders recognize that demand is strong enough they will not be able to deliver inventory for at least six months. This will cause a further strain on supply causing a possible spike in prices due to supply and demand issues
8. Timing the market is impossible. Only six months after the bottom was hit will anyone realize it. Once it is obvious, watch out because everyone will be rushing back in to buy. It is the herd mentality, when the media tells us we are past the bottom, everyone will be in a buying frenzy.
9. BRC Properties will be short lived. BRC -Below Replacement Cost Properties are those homes where you can buy the existing home for substantially less than it would cost to buy a home site and contract with a builder to build a new home. This is a situation that rarely comes along but is quite prevalent in the Cape Coral market. DO NOT expect it to last long. Once the supply tightens these will be the first properties to go and very quickly. How bad could you get hurt buying one of these homes today if the cost of recreating it is more than you paid for it?

Cape Coral's real estate market is full of foreclosure and short sale opportunities. Knowing how to capitalize and successfully buy one of these properties can be challenging. To help you better understand the market and the opportunities download our FREE REPORT: How to Successfully Buy Foreclosures & Short Sales" & "The Ten Biggest Mistakes Buyers Make."

Cape Coral Real Estate - Tops In Foreclosures

We all know real estate goes in cycles. When markets heat up, they need a cooling off period. As prices get out of balance, they should come back to earth and find that middle ground. It is amazing to me that what is occurring in many markets is not only have prices retreated, but they have gone so far that in many cases you can now buy a home for less money than the cost of building a new home, even if the dirt were FREE. There is probably no better place in the country to take advantage of this opportunity than with Cape Coral real estate. Cape Coral foreclosures and Cape Coral short sale properties are abundant with single family homes starting in the $70's.

What is more surprising is that many buyers still do not recognize this. Wall Street corporate raiders made fortunes buy buying companies below their replacement cost. It was only a few short years ago that buyers lined up early in the morning, got into bidding wars to buy property, and now when shown a home that can be bought for 10%, 20% and as much as 30% below the cost of building it new (with the home site thrown in for free) they are unsure if they are getting a good deal.

The Cape Coral real estate market that is experiencing this anomaly. Because of the large number of institutional sellers (banks), whether it be a foreclosure or short sale have chosen to reduce the selling price so substantially to get these properties off their books that anyone looking to build a new home in the sub $400,000 price range would find it next to impossible not to take advantage of one of these amazing values.

As you move up the price scale this becomes much less common with Cape Coral homes for two reasons. First, there are less bank-controlled properties in the $1 million price range and secondly the land values are holding steady.

BRC (Below Replacement Cost) Properties won't last forever. When they are gone, they are gone and then everyone will want one. Isn't that always the case? We all want what we can't have. A couple of years ago everyone wanted one. Today you can have it! Take advantage of it. When this market cycles back around you will be very glad you did.

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