Cape Coral’s real estate collapse attracts bargain hunters [Tampa Bay Area]
As the minibus swings into the driveway, Janet Kenyon takes one look at the new three-bedroom, two-bath house and lets out a shriek. “Oh, my God. I hate yellow!” The house is indeed very yellow, but the hour is getting late and Kenyon and husband Blu have yet to see any place they really, really like. So they head inside to a pleasant surprise. “Aw, this is nice,” she coos, stroking the faux granite countertops. “Sweet, isn’t it?” he agrees, exploring a custom walk-in closet. Best of all, the price: $103,000.
Three years ago, a house like this might have gone for $250,000 as investors swooped into Cape Coral and transformed the sleepy waterfront city into one of the country’s hottest real estate markets. Then demand dried up, and by February, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area had a new distinction: No. 1 in the nation in foreclosures.
The area is still Florida’s foreclosure capital, though it has dropped to fourth nationally. Sales are up as cut-rate prices attract buyers like the Kenyons, who are moving from Connecticut to be close to Janet Kenyon’s parents in nearby Estero.
Cape Coral is once again affordable, but with such a plunge in taxable value that the city of 170,000 is laying off dozens of employees and cutting park programs and other services.