Article: Cape Coral's Real Estate Collapse Attracts Bargain Hunters

The St Petersburg Times today published an article about crazily low property prices in southwest Florida - in the area of Cape Coral, to be precise.

Cape Coral is a relatively new city, even by American standards. Established in only 1957, the city now has a population of around 150,000 in an area of 115 square miles and is situated very close to Fort Myers. Much of the city of Cape Coral is undeveloped, even today, and this in part prompted a building and investment boom in the early part of this decade.

Now, of course, it's all a very different story. The St Petersburg Times article states that the Cape Coral - Fort Myers area hits the top spot in Florida's foreclosure chart. The area was even the number one foreclosure area for the whole of America back in February, although it has since fallen to fourth place.

Such foreclosures mean very bad news for some...and affordability for others. The average sale price of a property in Cape Coral reached $309,000 in 2006. It is now much lower. Indeed, the article highlights a couple on a property tour who view one house that is currently on the market for $103,000; a few years back the price might have been closer to $250,000. Another house, that they actually choose to buy, sets them back only $99,000, when two years ago the asking price was a whopping (by comparison) £314,500.

The article also mentions interest from European buyers - and, as we all know, the weak Dollar makes US property prices even more enticing to us lot. Such is the interest amongst Europeans that apparently a German film crew were recently in Cape Coral making a documentary!

Article: Cape Coral's real estate collapse attracts bargain hunters (St Petersburg Times, 4th August 2008)