Even with the interest rates starting to come down, home buyers shopping in the Fort Myers real estate market are still a little hesitant to close. In the fourth installment of this series, Creditnews Research ranked the fastest- and slowest-selling housing markets in September and compared how housing hot spots have evolved over the past year.
The slowing of the Fort Myers real estate market is obvious in my neighborhood. 2 years ago it felt like there was a waiting list to buy a house. Now, there are 3 houses that are empty. Two of them were empty for much of the summer. But it's not just Southwest Florida that is slowing, In fact, no metro is selling faster than it did a year ago. it's just more pronounced here.
Interest Rates Playing a Role
When the Fed cut the interest rates by a half point back in September, they also hinted that they'll likely be cutting rates more, possibly in their next meeting November 6-7th. Current 30 year mortgage rates are sitting just above 7%, a move by the Fed in November could push them down to around 6.5%.
An educated home buyer knows how big of a deal a half percentage point makes in your mortgage payment. Also, in the Fort Myers real estate market, there's a lot of homes for sale, which has been suppressing the prices. Two big reasons to hold off on buying.
The Fort Myers Real Estate Market Is The Slowest
Six of the top 10 slowest-selling metros were located in Florida, with three in Texas and one in Louisiana. Here's the top 10 slowest-selling metros (September 2024)
- Cape Coral–Fort Myers, FL (median days on the market: 63)
- McAllen–Edinburg–Mission, TX (59 days)
- Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos, TX (58 days)
- North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, FL (55 days)
- Jacksonville, FL (49 days)
- Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL (46 days)
- New Orleans–Metairie, LA (44 days)
- San Antonio–New Braunfels, TX (44 days)
- Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach, FL (44 days)
- Lakeland–Winter Haven, FL (41 days)
This is far from a crash. I think the Fort Myers real estate market simply got ahead a bit, and we're seeing a reversion to the mean.
Let's see the other side of the coin. Who is making the sales? Six of the top 10 fastest-selling metros in September 2024 were in the Midwest, with the remaining four on the East Coast. Here's the top 10 fastest-selling metros (September 2024)
- St. Louis, MO-IL (median days on the market: 7)
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN (7 days)
- Columbus, OH (7 days)
- Hartford–West Hartford–East Hartford, CT (7 days)
- Akron, OH (7 days)
- Syracuse, NY (7 days)
- Toledo, OH (7 days)
- Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA (7 days)
- Cleveland, OH (8 days)
- Rochester, NY (8 days)
Hurricanes Could Be An Issue
Let's face it, it's not just the Fort Myers real estate market being hit here. Cape Coral, North Port, Sarasota, Lakeland - these are all areas that have dealt with extreme weather lately. Seeing all those images on tv may be scaring people a bit. Even I've considered moving, and I love it here.
I believe the Fort Myers real estate market will pick up steam again soon. If I was in the market, I'd wait for that next Fed meeting in November and if we get another interest rate cut, that might be the time to make a move.
