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The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area continues to be the foreclosure capital of Florida and the runner-up nationally, according to foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac.
One of 92 homes in Lee County was in some stage of foreclosure in February, ranking second highest in the country after Las Vegas. That's even as the number of foreclosures in February dropped 29% from the same month a year ago.
But Realtors say the headlines have attracted investors from afar who are buying foreclosed homes. In fact, 66% of the homes sold in Lee County in February were either bank owned or short sales, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach. In February, existing home sales in the Fort Myers area jumped 22% over the same month last year to 1,141.
But despite the increase in sales, the inventory of homes for sale has remained constant near 11,000. The big question now: How much more inventory are the banks holding back because they're waiting for conditions to improve?
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