I hear it everyday from the paper or the television.  "Home values have fallen X% since this time last year." or "The real estate market is crashing down."  This type of reporting is not helping anyone and to be honest I can make anything sound worse than it really is.  I bet I could even make winning the lottery sound like a frightening proposition if I had to talk about it 24hrs a day.

While reading an article about the woes of our current market I began to wonder how bad it really is.  I started assembling data to show the contrast between what the median home has done in the last few years versus what it would have done if we maintained the average yearly growth of 8% a year.   The end result was not surprising to me but, if you are hypnotized by the media, it may make you rethink a thing or two.

Take A Look.  (Chart based on median home price for Ft. Myers, Cape Coral and surrounding areas.)

Now, this chart tapers quickly at the end, and this is almost certainly due to the fact that certain areas in our county have some of the highest number of foreclosure sales in the country. 

Let's take that and pull it back a little as those sales have not hit our island that drastically in the past year.   What you will end up with is not too far off of where we should have been historically.  Certainly not the devastation we have been hearing about day in and day out is it? 

Another thing this chart should tell property owners is something they may not want to hear unfortunately.  The truth is that a properties value was grossly inflated and not really worth those prices to begin with.  The numbers we give today's sellers are not too far off of what they would have been if values increased at historic rates, yet they all seem insulted that we would even utter such small numbers.

The simple truth is that property owners are not loosing money hand over foot.  If you bought before the 2004-2006 surge you probably have equity in your home or can afford to sell without loosing everything you own. 

The market may seem dismal compared to 2005, but the 2005 outlook was not a real picture of the Real Estate Market. Remember, the next time you hear all the doom and gloom coming from the media, take a step back and ask yourself if it is really that bad or if it can just be made to look that way.

I am a Full Time Pine Island Realtor and Resident.  I specialize in waterfront homes and property, and am anxious to help you in any way that I can. Give me a call today at (239) 313-3632 or shoot me an email to let me know how I can help you.