07/03/2025
Good time to negotiate a good deal in Cape Coral
🔗: https://on.wsj.com/4lwrMkP
Thousands found an inexpensive slice of paradise in Cape Coral, a city with more canals than anywhere else in the world. Househunters were so taken with this boating community on Florida’s west coast that many purchased homes sight unseen during the early years of the pandemic.
The median home price soared nearly 75% to $419,000 in three years, transforming the character of this middle-income community that for decades has catered to retirees and small investors.
Now, three years later, “For Sale” signs line every other block. Open houses are deserted for hours. Foreclosures are ticking up. Home builders are listing half-built shells at discounts as they abandon projects to cut losses. Locals say the lack of traffic has led to an increase in vehicles speeding through empty residential streets.
Housing markets throughout the U.S. are grappling with one or more of the factors that can hurt home sales and prices, including high mortgage rates. But Cape Coral is suffering from nearly every affliction that can cause a housing market to slump.