Fort Myers single-family sales rise 24%

FORT MYERS — Fewer foreclosures helped push the median price of an existing single-family home in the Fort Myers area up 24% in December to $177,000 compared with the same month in 2012.

“More traditional sales should come on the market as we anticipate that sellers will seek to capitalize on the still-strong buyer demand,” says Karen Swanbeck, president of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, in a statement. “Currently, our inventory levels are flat with a year ago but new listings were up 4.5% last month.”

Because of the tight inventory, Realtors in December helped sell fewer existing single-family homes than in December 2012. The 992 single-family home sales were down 1%.

Meanwhile, the number of existing-condo sales rose 9.8% to 450 sales in December as the median price edged up 2.5% to $145,000, the association reported.

In addition, many buyers aren't resorting to financing to purchase homes. The association says 54% of the existing-home sales in 2013 were in cash.