Inventory squeeze pressures home prices

BONITA SPRINGS — The prices for existing single-family homes and condos in south Lee County continued to rise in June while inventories decreased.

The average price of a single-family home rose 10.2% to $519,600 and the average price of a condo rose 28.1% to $369,816 in June compared with the same month one year ago, according to the Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors.

The area of South Lee County is growing rapidly as Hertz nears completion of its global headquarters in Estero and Lee Memorial Health System plans to build a new campus on U.S. 41.

“It's clear that buyers have remained in our market since the winter selling season ended, but inventory challenges are still present,” says Judi Gietzen, president of the association and owner and broker of Elite Realty of Southwest Florida, in a statement

According to the association, there's only 3.6 months of supply of existing single-family homes and 2.6 months of supply of condos in the Bonita Springs-Estero area. New listings of single-family homes fell 13.3% and new listings of condos fell 26.8% in June compared with June 2014.