Vacation home sales boom in Cape Coral, other parts of Lee County

Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
House up for vacation rental in Cape Coral. Credit: WINK News.

A top vacation spot is right in our backyard in Southwest Florida. People are picking Lee County to call their home away from home, taking Fort Myers and Cape Coral to the number one spot in the country for vacation home sales. So we looked at how this boom in sales is shaping Cape Coral.

There are fewer for sale signs, and those who want to sell don’t wait long.

A real estate agent here in Cape Coral told us inventory is moving faster than ever, creating hot competition in the housing market.

We all know what makes Southwest Florida a great place to live because we live here. People worldwide appreciate what the region has to offer.

Real estate broker Brad Peska told us that’s why so many people are moving here.

“This area has a little bit of something for everybody, so it’s really the lifestyle that drives people here,” Peska said.

People who want to live in the region are buying homes at a record pace. Homes that used to sell in weeks are gone in days. People are buying permanent homes and vacation homes too.

“We’re seeing a great year for vacation sales, and we’re really seeing it in two categories,” Peska explained. “One is where people want to have a second home that they could come to and enjoy in Florida, and the other reason is because people want to have investment properties.”

According to National Association of Realtors (NAR), vacation home sales rose 16.4% in 2020.

Lee County tops the list of top vacation home sales in the nation, and it’s due to the pandemic.

“People are working from home,” said Gay Cororaton, the NAR director of housing and commercial research. “They get to enjoy working and vacationing in Florida, of course the place for retirees, so I think that’s what’s also driving the boom and vacation homes.”

What’s also happening is people with cash are pushing people who need to get a mortgage out of the housing market.

Realtors say price is a driving factor in Florida.

“$247,000 is the medium price there. That’s reasonable,” Cororaton said. “If you’re in Massachusetts and buy a vacation home in Nantucket, you’re looking at $500,000 to about 1 million or a million and a half, so Florida, especially Lee County, is very affordable.”

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