Hello Fort Hunters! We hope you are enjoying every minute of the waning summer season. Below you will find some highlights from our sold sales statistics in our zip code for July 2012.

The chart below illustrates an increase in total sales volume and an increase in closed sales both month over month and year over year. Our median sales price is steady and our average sales price shows an increase month over month and a decrease year over year. Nothing to be concerned about, as we are all aware that our price points vary greatly in this zip code, from the low 400,000s to multi-million dollars homes.

You will also notice that the average days on market decreased almost 50 percent from July 2011 but increased about 33 percent from last month. At present, there is not a ton of inventory on the market, so this increase in the days on market, on a monthly basis, is likely due to listings that are not priced correctly in the eyes of prospective buyers. Average sold price compared to original list price is around 97 percent, meaning that final sold price is 97 percent of original list price, which would include any prior price reductions, as well.

The July snapshot attached to this article illustrates the market over the last five years for the month of July only. We look to be having a very strong month comparatively for closed sales, and a decent month for contracts as well. Looking at July 2012, you will notice slightly less activity than July 2009, and July 2011, but increased activity than July 2008, and July 2010.

The sold summary below breaks out sales data specifics for year-over-year comparisons for the month of July. You can see that our average list price is down year over year, as is our average sold price, but this is not terribly concerning (please reference varying price points discussion above).

The final chart below shows a snapshot of inventory comparing the month of July year over year. You can see that our inventory is down (traditionally good news for sellers). The number of new listings (properties coming on the market) is fairly steady year over year. The number of listings that went under contract in 2012 (all pendings) show that there are 12 fewer contracts than July of last year. However, our active listings are 18 fewer year over year.

In summary, we continue to have a strong and steady real estate market in our corner of the world.

Real estate wisdom to keep in mind:

• Sellers can best prepare their homes for sale by de-cluttering and making them shine (new paint, clean carpets, clean landscaping etc.)
• Ultimately, buyers (the market) have the final say on what a home is worth.
• The real estate marketplace, like any commodity marketplace, is fluid and can be fickle.

From a national perspective, we should be jumping up and down for joy at our home values and the strength of our local market.

We hope you all had a great summer and let us hear from you!

Lyssa Seward: Lseward@cbmove.com and Jane Cole: jcole@cbmove.com