Home sales, traffic point to Lee County market upswing

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — New Year’s fireworks might not be the only things booming in 2017.

The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area enters the year at No. 2 on a nationwide list of hot real estate markets to watch from Trulia.com, a prominent real estate website.

Signs of an upswing are already in place. The volume of traffic on the roads is up 8 to 10 percent over the past two years, according to the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization. And people flocking to the area from colder climates are keeping the phones ringing at Raso Realty in Cape Coral, realtor Pat Eberle said.

“Cities like Cape Coral, we’re up 12 percent in sales since last year,” Eberle said.

Cape Coral resident Robert Snyder has had daily showings at the house he’s selling, and he said he’s begun to notice even more interest in the past few weeks.

“Since about 2012 we’re seeing a pretty steady increase again,” Eberle said. “Obviously we were low then, but our inventory’s being absorbed and sales are up, prices are up, and we just, everyday like I said, the phone’s ringing and people are very interested in our area.”

Trulia factored in the weather and also looked at affordability, job growth, low vacancy rates and the number of times an area was searched on its website as it compiled its rankings. It also gave points for areas with heavy Republican populations, given the results of the November election that saw the GOP win the presidency and both houses of Congress.

That’s a boon for Lee County, a traditional Republican stronghold that sided with Trump by a wide margin.

Competition of a different nature went into the rankings, too. Trulia pointed to the presence of the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins, both of whom make Lee County their spring training headquarters.

“Once we get to that in a couple months, that’s a big draw for people as well,” Eberle said.

More people means more drivers, but some solutions for heavy traffic are in the works. State Road 82 and Burnt Store Road are being widened, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization is studying busy intersections around the county.