Bonita-Estero home prices defy gravity

Call it the Hertz effect.

While prices of existing homes are leveling off in Naples and Fort Myers, the Bonita Springs and Estero areas continue to see rapid home price appreciation.

Bonita Springs and Estero are in south Lee County, halfway between Fort Myers and Naples. Once dotted with cow pastures, the area has exploded with new malls, high-end residential developments and corporate relocations like the $85 million Hertz headquarters under construction.

According to the latest data from the Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing home in that area rose 23% in February over February 2014, to $380,000.

Homes are selling fast, too. An existing home spent a median of 45 days on the market before selling, a 33% drop from the same month a year ago. About two-thirds of buyers pay cash for a home in the area.

There were 209 homes on the market in the area in February, a decline of nearly 9% from a year ago. There's less than six months of supply based on the current sales pace, indicating a seller's market.