Home sales favor sellers

FORT MYERS — The supply of existing single-family homes for sale in the Fort Myers area shrank to four months in October, pushing prices higher and quickening sales.

There were 4,628 existing single-family homes for sale in the region in October, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach. Based on the current pace of sales, that's just four months of supply and a 22% drop from October 2014. Real estate experts consider six to eight months of supply to be supply-demand equilibrium.

As a result of the shrinking inventory, existing single-family homes spent a median of 28 days on the market in October, down 22% from the 36 days in October 2014, the association reports.

In addition, the median sale price of an existing single-family home rose 14% to $210,000 in October compared with the same month one year ago. The median sale price of an existing condo also rose 6.4% to $173,450 in the same period.

Despite the shrinking inventory of homes for sale, the association reports Realtors helped sell 1,055 existing single-family homes in October, a 1.6% increase from October 2014. Realtors also helped sell 518 existing condos, a 10% increase from the same month one year ago.