Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index (HPI) is a weighted, repeat-sales index that measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties. The index covers single-family homes in the nine-county metropolitan statistical area of Cape Coral-Fort Myers, which includes Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Monroe counties.

As of December 2020, the HPI for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area was 225.6—up 7.2% from December 2019 and up 47.8% from its pre-recession peak in April 2006. Home prices in the metro area have been on the rise since bottoming out in February 2011 and have now fully recovered from their recessionary lows.

The strong rebound in home prices over the past few years has been driven by a number of factors: population growth (the metro area’s population has increased by nearly 10% since 2010), low interest rates (which make it cheaper to finance a home purchase), limited supply of available homes for sale (the number of homes listed for sale in the metro area is down nearly 30% from its peak in 2007), and investor demand (flippers and buy-to-rent investors have been active in the market).

All of these factors have contributed to rising home prices and a tight housing market in Cape Coral-Fort Myers. Competition among buyers is fierce—homes are selling quickly (often within days or weeks of being listed) and often for above asking price. As a result, many would-be buyers are being priced out of the market or are having to settle for less than their ideal home.