Questions about Cape Coral / Ft Myers (Lee: mortgage, real estate, foreclosures)

[tim100954]

Hello !

I live in Driggs Idaho ( near Jackson Wyoming ).

It seems a large sq. ft. / new home can be bought in Cape Coral for
$ 125K - $ 150K. What makes these homes so inexpensive compared to other depressed real estate markets ?

What are the major drawbacks to Cape Coral ?

What does a construction contractor charge per hour for their services ?
What does a journeyman carpenter make if they can find work ?

If you can help thanks.

Tim

[firemed]

Originally Posted by tim100954

Hello !

I live in Driggs Idaho ( near Jackson Wyoming ).

It seems a large sq. ft. / new home can be bought in Cape Coral for
$ 125K - $ 150K. What makes these homes so inexpensive compared to other depressed real estate markets ?

What are the major drawbacks to Cape Coral ?

What does a construction contractor charge per hour for their services ?
What does a journeyman carpenter make if they can find work ?

If you can help thanks.

Tim

Right now work is hard to find in construction. Cape Coral is a large area. I think of it as a bedroom community to nowhere. It lacks jobs outside of mercantile and service. The homes you see for sale are from failed investers and people that lost jobs. Cape Coral was a nice little retirement area but now the people that live there are much younger and need jobs.

[jmfkmb49]

<<What makes these homes so inexpensive compared to other depressed real estate markets ?>>
Supply & demand. Cape Coral was one of the fastest growing city in the entire country for several years. It was due to investors purchasing handfuls of houses and flipping them. Now the market is so bad, investors are trying to unload the homes. Lee County also led the country in January in foreclosures. Many of the ppl that bought homes during the boom were in construction...now that the housing market is dead, there are no construction jobs, which is leading to many people leaving the area and/or foreclosing on their homes. Many people are also just walking away from their homes because they are so upside-down with their mortgages (for example, I owe $100K more than my home is worth). All of these factors have driven down prices to bargain levels.

<<What are the major drawbacks to Cape Coral ?>>
No nightlife. Not a lot of shopping, but that is improving every month as many large retailers and chains are moving in. It's a quiet residential city. Older population. Tight city regulation. Commute is a pain if you work in Ft. Myers & take the bridges over there during rush hour. However, there are MANY good points! You just asked for the drawbacks though...

<<What does a journeyman carpenter make if they can find work ?>>
No clue. But the key phrase is "if they can find work."