Will homes in Cape Coral see a price drop? This new study from Redfin says so.

A new study predicts homes in Cape Coral will see a price drop, but what nobody seems to agree on is how much they’ll fall.

These days, Cape Coral neighborhoods feature lots of construction and lots of for-sale signs. Would-be homebuyers from across the nation snatched up every available property during the pandemic. Sales are still strong, but real estate company Redfin predicts a plunge is coming.

However, Amir Neto, director of the Regional Economics Research Institute at FGCU’s College of Business, doesn’t buy it.

“Houses in the region are holding their value,” Neto said.

That means the homes are not selling for overinflated prices.

Chad Newell and Lisa King work for Rossman Realty. They agree prices will likely dip, but not drastically, certainly not as they did in the recession of 2008.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s going to be a severe crash. I think a lot of people are renting. That’s why the rental demand is still there. They’re waiting for those interest rates to come back down,” Newell said.

That’s not going to happen anytime soon.

“So, I think you’re gonna notice some people taking their property off the market now, and saying, ‘Let’s just wait it out for another couple years and see what happens again,'” King said.

And while waiting may seem like the smart choice, Neto said out-of-staters are still moving to Southwest Florida.

“With international people now coming back to the region, and with assessment values holding and closing the gap with market values, we should continue to have a strong market in the near future,” Neto said.

Interest rates on mortgages clearly are a factor in how many people are looking for homes. The FED raised them last month because of inflation and will meet again next month to determine whether to raise them again.