Cape Coral’s Foreclosure Paradox and How the Market is Outpacing Naples

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

27 Oct 2025

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Although Cape Coral has been labeled by media as having “the worst market in the nation right now for foreclosures,” a surprising trend is challenging assumptions about distressed markets, according to Felicia Saraceno, Market Director at Keller Williams Realty – Marco Island.

Despite Cape Coral’s elevated foreclosure numbers, the city is outperforming more prestigious markets in a key metric: days on market. “Cape Coral is at 122 days, and Marco Island is at 156 days,” Saraceno said. “The interesting thing is, Cape Coral has the highest number of foreclosures that are happening right now, but their days on market in Southwest Florida is 122, which is less than Naples, Bonita, and Marco.”

This contrast highlights how pricing strategy can outweigh negative market perception in today’s real estate environment.

Saraceno’s analysis indicates that the foreclosure situation in Cape Coral has led to a more realistic pricing environment. “If you price it right, things will sell. The investors will come out, there’s a lot more families that are moving down,” she said.

Data from across Southwest Florida supports this idea. Bonita Springs averages 153 days on market, central Naples is over 150 days, and Marco Island leads at 156 days, all noticeably higher than Cape Coral’s 122 days.

This suggests that markets with more distressed inventory are adopting aggressive pricing strategies, resulting in faster sales.

Saraceno uses a classification system to explain why some properties move quickly while others linger, regardless of market conditions. “With sellers, you either have a diva, which is move-in ready, it’s perfect, it’s gorgeous, it’s breathtaking. You don’t have to do one thing to it. Or you have a diamond in the rough.”

This distinction is important in the current market. “If you have a diamond in the rough that needs paint, maybe yellow and green paint inside, it’s outdated furniture, it’s going to take longer to sell, and you have to be priced below market in order for that to move right now.”

On the other hand, “on the diva side, you could get top dollar for your properties and sell very quickly in a short period of time, if it’s priced properly.”

While today’s market conditions are challenging, they are not as dramatic as they might seem when viewed in context. “In 2019, which was considered to be a pretty normal market, our days on market were about 104 days on market. So we’re higher than that, but it was still like a three or four month wait to sell your home.”

The real anomaly came during the COVID era. “We have short-term memory loss when it comes to those 16 days, two hours, that a house sold with multiple offers during COVID, with two and 3% interest rates. That was stuff we’ll never see again.”

Despite the current environment, Saraceno points out that sellers have more options than they may realize. “All of the sellers have the tools right in the palm of their hand. They can either offer seller financing for a couple of years at a decent interest rate, so that gives the buyer an opportunity to refinance when rates come down, or give them $5,000-$10,000 towards closing costs to drop those points down.”

New construction builders are also showing flexibility. “I’ve seen new construction anywhere from three to 6% interest rate in the past week right now, so they’re buying down the rate.”

The foreclosure situation in Cape Coral may be acting as a correction mechanism, leading to more realistic pricing expectations. This could be why properties are selling faster there, even with higher distressed inventory.

“When you see free pools, it means there’s something going on in that market where they need to tweak something to offer more incentives,” Saraceno said, referring to new construction trends. This suggests market adaptation is occurring across various segments.

Cape Coral’s experience shows that media narratives and market perception do not always match transaction data. While foreclosures pose challenges, they may also be enforcing pricing discipline that keeps inventory moving, a strategy other Southwest Florida markets might consider.