Preliminary statistics for the month of April for the Estero real estate market shows the local market is continuing is slowly recovering. The market is showing a decline in the months of inventory available for sale, pending sales increasing, and closed sales increasing. The median sold price for Estero homes decreased slightly from last April, while Estero condos were sold at a higher median sold price than last year. The buyers’ market is remains; however, it continues to erode.

ESTERO HOMES:

Homes available for sale, as of April 30 – totaled 288. Of this total 68 were potential short sales, and 6 were foreclosures. This translates to 9.3 months of inventory (normal market is between 5 and 7 months) versus last year 20.1 months and last month’s 9.9 months. This statistic most clearly reflects the higher level of sales activity of homes in the Estero area. A 12 month moving average is used to calculate the closed sales, which is divided into the currently available homes for sale.

A total of 34 homes closed in April. Last April a total of 17 homes were closed.

Pending sales for the month of April was 57 homes versus last April’s figure of 48 homes.

The median sold price for a single family home in the Estero in April was $232500 in a year over year comparison April 2009 saw the median sold price at $235800.

An indicator of future closed sales in addition to the current month’s pending sales is the total number of pending sales. The total number of pending sales includes not only the current month (57), but also an accumulation of those homes which have not yet closed from previous months. The total pending sales as of the end of April was 135 homes. Of the 135 homes, 81 were potential short sales and 15 were foreclosed homes (bank/lender owned).

ESTERO CONDOS:

Condos available for sale as of April 30 – totaled 229. Of this total 37 are potential short sale condos and 6 are foreclosures. This translates to 10.1 months of inventory versus last year’s 18.8 months and last month’s 10.4 months of inventory.

A total of 33 condos closed in April versus last April where 22 condos were sold.

Pending sales for the month of April was 38 versus last April’s figure of 31.

The median sold price for a condo in the Estero area was $150000 compared to last year’s median of $140250.

An indicator of future closed sales in addition to the current month’s pending sales is the total pending sales. In April a total of 94 condos were pending sale. Of this number, 58 were potential short sales and 8 foreclosures.

The statistics used for this post were taken from the Sunshine MLS on April 1st using data obtained for the month of April. The April data is preliminary at this time, the final statistics are generally available on the fifth business after the end of the previous month.

Other southwest Florida real estate markets have been updated for the Naples real estate market and Bonita Springs real estate market.

The Estero real estate market for the month of March is showing improvement, but still not showing the strength as exhibited by the Naples real estate market. The buyer’s market continues and it is weaker than last year.

HOMES:

Homes available for sale, as of March 31 – totaled 303. Of this total 61 were potential short sales, and 9 were foreclosures. This translates to 10.1 months of inventory (normal market is between 5 and 7 months) versus last year 22.5 months. This statistic most clearly reflects the higher level of sales activity of homes in the Estero area.

A total of 32 homes closed in March, over last year’s closings of 25 homes.

Pending sales for the month of March was 60 homes versus last March’s figure of 46 homes.

The median sold price for a single family home in the Estero in March was $254950 in a year over year comparison March 2009 saw the median sold price at $242000.

An indicator of future closed sales in addition to the current month’s pending sales, is the total number of pending sales. The total number of pending sales includes not only the current month (60), but also an accumulation of those homes which have not yet closed from previous months. The total pending sales as of the end of March was 135 homes. Of the 135 homes, 82 were potential short sales and 14 were foreclosed homes (bank/lender owned).

CONDOS:

Condos available for sale as of March 31 – totaled 226. Of this total 32 are potential short sale condos and 5 foreclosures. This translates to 10.8 months of inventory versus last year’s 19.2 months.

A total of 21 condos closed in March versus last March where 16 condos were sold.

Pending sales for the month of March was 41 versus last March’s figure of 34.

The median sold price for a condo in the Estero area was $125000 compared to last year’s median of $133950.

The indicator of future closed sales in addition to the current month’s pending sales is the total pending sales. In March a total of 109 condos were pending sale. Of this number, 69 were potential short sales and 7 foreclosures.

The statistics used for this post were taken from the Sunshine MLS on April 1st using data obtained for the month of March.  The March data is primarily at this time, the final statistics are generally available on the fifth business after the end of the previous month.

The statistics presented and discussed below are global in nature for the Estero area and do not represent the more important micro-market views which can vary greatly. The Estero real estate market for homes is starting to show signs of stabilizing in many aspects and prospective buyers should be aware of the positive changes.

Listings:

During the month of May a total of 48 homes were listed for sale. In May 2008, the number of homes listed for sale in the Estero area was 54. In addition the 48 homes listed for sale was significantly less than the 101 homes in May 2007. The downward trend, even though slight, of new listings is continuing over the past 3 years.

The listed homes in May 2009 was the lowest number of homes listed since August 2005. The noteworthy item about this fact, is that in October 2005, was the start of the real estate erosion even though the median sold price of homes peaked in January 2007 with May 2006 as the next highest median sold price month.

Pending Sales:

During the month of May 2009, a total of 63 homes had offers accepted by sellers (pending). The figure for pending home sales in May represents an increase from both May 2008 and May 2007 where the pending sales were 31 and 25, respectively. The increase over May 2008 equates to about 100 percent improvement and 152 percent improvement over May 2007.

The pending sales in May 2009 represents the highest number of pending sales over the immediate past four years.

Over the past three months the number of pending sales in the Estero area have been higher than in previous years, dating back to the three months in 2005 from June to August, even though the real estate market erosion could be earmarked back to October 2005.

Closed Sales:

There were a total of 26 closed (sold) in May 2009. In a year over year analysis, the 26 sales is lower than May 2008 where 37 homes closed but an improvement over May 2007’s 22 sales.

This is the continuation of an upward trend starting in June 2008.

The increase is largely due to the lower median sold price of homes in the Estero area.

Median Sold Price:

The median sold price (the sold price at which half the homes sold and half below) for May 2009 was $239500. This figure may not be good news for existing homeowners or sellers, but it is good news for prospective buyers. However, prospective buyers need to be aware that since November 2008, the median sold price for a home in Estero has been ranging from $277500 to $215400. Over the past 3 months the median sold price has been showing a consistent median sold price of $239500 to $$242000 – a very narrow range. Maybe a signal that prices are starting to stabilize.

The median sold price in May represents a 20 percent decline from May 2008 when the median sold price was $300000 and a 56 percent decline from May 2007 when the sold price was $541500.

The available condominiums for sale in the Estero area saw a drop in the number of condominiums for sale as of the close of business on April 30. The current number of condominiums for sale was 298. This represents a drop in the inventory of 16 condominiums. The decline represents of about 5 percent. In the year over year analysis the current inventory represents a decline of 87 condominiums or about 23 percent. In addition, the number of condos available for sale is at the lowest level beyond January 2008, when stats were first being recorded. In January 2008 there were a total of 646.Below is a graphical presentation of the historical data for active listings by month from January 2008 to April 30, 2009.

Trendline of Estero Condos for Sale - January 2008 to April 2008

The composition of the type of listings available for sale is rather interesting and could represent a major difference between prospective buyers’ perceptions, as well as, what is being reported by others as to how dire the Estero real estate market is. The vast majority of listings fall within the traditional listing category (traditional listings are listings being offered as a normal sale), followed by foreclosures, and potential short sales. The raw numbers for the various categories are 216 for traditional listings, 78 potential short sales and 4 foreclosures.

Composition of Estero Condos for Sale Listings - April

A question arises – will the closed sales for April reflect the same classification of the listings? The answer to this question will appear on this blog sometime within the next few days.

In previous posts you can compare the composition of both the Naples condos for sale and Bonita Springs condos for sale to Estero condos for sale.

Your thoughts and comments are always welcomed.

The available homes for sale in the Estero area saw a drop in the number of homes for sale as of the close of business on April 30. The current number of homes for sale was 471. This represents a drop in the inventory of 57 homes. The decline represents of about 11 percent. In the year over year analysis the current inventory represents a decline of 37 homes or about 7 percent. In addition, the number of home available for sale is at the lowest level since August 2008. In August 2008 there were a total of 456. Below is a graphical presentation of the historical data for active listings by month from January 2008 to April 30, 2009.

Trendline for Estero Homes for Sale - January 2008 to April 2009

The composition of the type of listings available for sale is rather interesting and could represent a major difference between prospective buyers’ perceptions, as well as, what is being reported by others as to how dire the Estero real estate market is. The vast majority of listings fall within the traditional listing category (traditional listings are listings being offered as a normal sale), followed by foreclosures, and potential short sales. The raw numbers for the various categories are 360 for traditional listings, 101 potential short sales and 10 foreclosures.

Composition of Estero Homes for Sale as of April 30, 2009

A question arises – will the closed sales for April reflect the same classification of the listings? The answer to this question will appear on this blog sometime within the next few days.

In previous posts you can compare the composition of both the Naples homes for sale and Bonita Springs homes for sale to Estero homes for sale.

Your thoughts and comments are always welcomed.

Listings:

The new listings for the month of March 2009 were 64 condos in the Estero area. The number of condos listed in March 2008 was 55. The increase of new listings of condos was 16 percent. In March 2007, the new listings were 71, representing a drop of 7 condos or decline of 10 percent.

In February 2009 the new listings were 52.

Of the 64 condos listed approximately 42 percent were potential short sales, 8 percent were foreclosed (bank owned), and the remaining 50 percent were traditional listings.

Median list price for potential short sales was $134000,foreclosed properties were $72500, and traditional listings were $269900.

Closed Sales:

In the month of March 2009 the sale of condos were 15. In March 2008 a total of 27 condos were sold. The year over year was 56 percent decrease. In March 2007 a total of 12 condos were sold. The increase over 2007was 3 condos or about a 25 percent.

Of the 15 condos sold, approximately 6 percent were approved short sales, 25 percent were foreclosures, and the traditional sales were 69percent.

The breakdowns of the median sold prices are discussed in the median sold price section below.

Pending Sales:

During March 2009 a total of 41 condos had an offer accepted by the seller. In March 2008, 18 condos were pended. The increase from March2009 represents an increase of 23 condos or about 56 percent.

In March 2007 a total of 21 condos were pending sale. The increase between March 2009 and March 2007 was 20 condos or about 95 percent.

Median Sold Price:

During the month of March 2009, the median sold price of a condo in Estero was $132900. The median price is the sold price represents the middlevalue of the all sold prices within a stated range. The median sold price can vary from area to area within a local real estate market.

In March 2008, the median sold price was $290000. In the year over year comparison median sold price declined $157100 or roughly 54percent.

In March 2007 the median sold price was $228000. In comparing March 2007 to March 2008 the price declined $95100 or about 42percent.

Median sold price for approved short sales was $66500,foreclosed properties were $66050, and traditional listings were $170000.

The difference between the list price and sold price forapproved sales was about 78 percent, foreclosed properties 97 percent, andtraditional listings 90 percent.

August Activity for Homes in Estero:

Listings:

During the month of August 73 Estero homes were listed for sale. For the same month in 2007, 59 homes were listed for sale; this represents an increase of 23.7 percent. The increase from 2006 was 17.7 percent from the 62 new listings. In July 2008 there were a total of 66 homes listed for sale and in June 66 homes.

The number of homes available for sale in Estero has dropped from 575 homes in February 2008 to 456 at the end of August. This represents a reduction of about 20.7 percent. In terms of the number of months of homes to sell it is presently at 20 months versus 32 months in February.

Potential short sale homes listed in August was 14 or 19.2 percent and 4 homes or 5.5 percent are listed as a foreclosure, REO or bank owned.

The developments representing 46.6 percent of the new listings were:
Bella Terra – 11 homes with a median price of $300000, 7 potential short sales.
Cascades at Estero – 8 homes with a median price of $289950.
Rookery Pointe – 8 homes with a median price of $397500, 1 potential short sale and 1 foreclosure.
Grandezza – 7 homes with a median price of $979000, with 1 home a potential short sale.

Closed Sales:

A total of 19 homes were sold during August 2008. Comparing the same month in 2007 when a total of 17 homes sold, represents an increase of 10.5 percent. In August 2006 a total of 8 homes were sold or an increase of 137.5 percent (or 11 more homes). In July 2008 a total of 18 homes closed or 1 more home than in August.

Pending Sales:

In August 2008 24 homes were placed under contract or pending for closing, pending sales are where a home is no longer on the market for sale. The 24 homes is an increase over both the 19 homes in 2007 and 11 homes in 2006. August 2008 pending sales were 2 fewer homes than in July 2008 and 3 fewer homes than in June 2008.

Median Price Paid:

During the month of August the median price paid for a home was $318000. In the previous year, 2007, the median price paid was $304000 or an increase of 4.6 percent. In 2006 the median price was $347500 a decrease of 8.5 percent compared to August 2008.