Buyers and Sellers Are Closer Together on Price in Estero

Estero Ask-Bid Gap Reached 4.4%, the Tightest in Southwest Florida

The Estero ask-bid gap is the narrowest in the region, so asking prices are close to what homes are actually selling for. That gives sellers little room to push above recent sales and buyers fewer obvious discounts to find.

Buyers are still active despite that tighter pricing, with closings up for a ninth straight month. Sellers who price close to recent sales from the start are in the best position, and well-priced homes tend to move quickly.

Data reflects MLS records as of June 1, 2026. MLS figures may update as late transactions are recorded.

Key Takeaways

• Estero moved ahead of Fort Myers on pricing alignment in May, with active asking prices running just 4.4% above recent sold prices.
• Three-month rolling closings rose 28.0% year over year, the strongest closing-growth pace in the region. May closings rose 9.1% to 156, the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year growth.
• The relist rate is 21.7%, the lowest in Southwest Florida. That means fewer active Estero listings are coming back after a previous listing attempt.
• Estero has 4.7 MLS months of supply, but only about six weeks (1.4 months) of competitive supply, the tightest in the region. Competitive supply sets aside stale listings, older active listings, and returning listings without a meaningful price reduction, leaving the homes most likely to compete for buyers right now.
• Active inventory fell 27.7% year over year, with months of supply dropping from 8.2 to 4.7. Three-month rolling pending sales are up 21.5%.

Regional Snapshot at a Glance

Here is how Estero compares with the other Southwest Florida cities Worthington tracks.

City	Median Sold Price	Median YoY	Price/SF	Price/SF YoY	Active Listings	Active YoY	Months of Supply	Months Supply YoY	Sold-to-List	Closed Sales	Closed YoY
Fort Myers	$335,000	-8.3%	$201	-9.0%	2,986	-25.0%	6.4	-34.7%	96%	503	+0.8%
Cape Coral	$370,000	+2.8%	$217	-0.5%	2,759	-28.4%	5.5	-36.0%	98%	505	-13.4%
Estero	$499,450	-3.0%	$258	-3.0%	586	-27.7%	4.7	-42.7%	96%	156	+9.1%
Bonita Springs	$550,000	0.0%	$313	-0.9%	958	-28.7%	6.1	-43.5%	95%	199	+20.6%
Naples	$620,000	+1.1%	$341	+0.9%	5,164	-21.2%	7.0	-34.6%	95%	821	+9.3%
Southwest Florida	$405,000	+1.2%	$240	-0.8%	18,198	-22.0%	6.7	-32.3%	96%	3,004	-0.3%

Source: FGCMLS via Stellar MLS. Single-month data unless otherwise noted. Southwest Florida reflects the entire Florida Gulf Coast MLS and is broader than the five featured cities combined. Estero three-month rolling median sale price is $505,000 and three-month rolling PPSF is $256.

Demand Continues at a Strong Pace on the Three-Month Trailing Read

In Estero, one month can move sharply because the closing pool is smaller, so the three-month pending and closing counts matter more than the single-month swing.

Estero recorded 156 closed sales in May, up 9.1% from May 2025, the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year growth. The trailing three-month closed-sales total is 535, up 28.0% from the same period a year ago, the strongest three-month closing growth in the region.

Estero’s single-month pending count dipped 0.9% from May 2025 after April 2026’s 165 new contracts. The three-month number tells the cleaner story here. The trailing three-month pending total of 457 is up 21.5% year over year, well above last year’s pace. The snapshot Pending-to-Active Ratio of 30.1% (all currently pending homes against active listings, not just May’s new contracts) ties Cape Coral at the top of the five-city group and runs above the five-city snapshot average of 25.5%.

New listings totaled 129 in May, essentially flat against 130 a year ago. Estero is the only city in the region where new listings did not drop meaningfully year over year. Combined with the demand surge, the result is the tightest Competitive Months of Supply in the region.

Inventory Fell 27.7% Year Over Year

May ended with an active inventory of 586 homes, down 27.7% from 810 a year ago. Roughly 500 to 600 Estero listings expired, were terminated, or were withdrawn from the market over the past 12 months without returning to the market. We refer to this as Shadow Inventory. Shadow Inventory does not mean these homes are guaranteed to come back. It simply shows how many sellers recently tried to sell, stopped, and have not yet returned. Estero’s count is the smallest in the region in absolute terms, indicating thinner potential supply pressure than other cities. Lee County lis pendens filings add a separate public-records read on owner pressure. They sit above the pre-COVID baseline through 2025 and into 2026, though they remain far below 2008-era levels.

Showings per listing reached 3.6 in May, up 44.0% from 2.5 a year ago. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.53% as of May 28, 2026, per Freddie Mac. That is up from 6.30% a month earlier and down from 6.89% a year ago. At May’s $499,450 median sale price and 6.53%, a 20%-down conventional loan produces about $2,533 in monthly principal and interest. Property taxes, insurance, and HOA dues are additional.

Three-Month Rolling Reads Track Underlying Price Trends Better Than Single-Month Numbers

Price per square foot (PPSF) normalizes for home size and is a cleaner read on home value than the median price. For Estero specifically, the three-month rolling figures provide the most stable read on underlying price trends. Monthly closing counts run small enough for mix changes to swing the median.

Estero’s three-month rolling median sale price is $505,000, down 1.9% from $515,000 a year ago and up 2.5% from $492,500 in April 2026. The single-month May figure of $499,450 came in 3.0% below May 2025 and down 6.2% from April’s $532,500. We use the three-month number for Estero because one high-end closing can make a smaller market look stronger or weaker for a single month. The rolling figure is the more reliable read on where values are.

Estero’s three-month rolling PPSF is $256, down 6.6% from $274 a year ago. The single-month May PPSF was $258, slightly above the rolling figure. PPSF has been drifting down across the past 12 months but stabilized over the most recent quarter, with monthly readings in the $249 to $261 range.

Dollar Volume, Sold-to-List Ratio, and Price Reductions

Dollar volume reached $86 million, down 5.5% year over year. The drop reflects May 2025’s relatively strong base. On a three-month rolling basis, dollar volume is consistent with the closing-volume growth pattern.

The May sold-to-list ratio reached 96%, essentially unchanged from a year ago. Sellers received about 96% of their most recent asking price at the closing table, so the final price landed roughly 4% below list.

Price reductions have been recorded on roughly 35% to 40% of currently listed Estero homes, similar to last month. When those reductions still don’t generate offers, listings often expire and return later as relists.

The Relist Cost Analysis Shows $54,900 in Pricing Misalignment

The relist rate measures what share of currently listed homes have already failed to sell at least once in the past 12 months. It shows how much of today’s active inventory has already been through the market before.

Of the 575 Estero active listings in the address-matched analysis set, 125 (21.7%) have a prior listing in the trailing 12 months at the same address. Estero has the lowest relist rate in the region, meaning fewer sellers here have accumulated through previous listing attempts than in Fort Myers (26.6%) or Bonita Springs (25.2%). Of those 125 returning listings, 87 came back with a price reduction of 3% or more from their previous attempt. Those are eligible for Competitive Inventory if they are also under 90 days into the current attempt. The remaining 38 returned at the same price or with a reduction under 3%, so they do not count as competitive supply.

Relisted Homes Sold $54,900 Below Original Ask After 4.4× the Market Time

The relist dollar gap is the difference between what sellers originally asked and what they eventually accepted after a previous listing attempt. Across the past 4 months, relisted Estero homes that sold closed a median of 11.1% below their original asking price, a median shortfall of $54,900. Combined across all listing attempts, these homes spent a median of 268 days on the market before closing. First-attempt sales cleared in 61 days. The relist process takes about 4.4 times longer to find a buyer than starting at a price recent sales support.

The delay does not come from the final price alone. It comes from the time lost before the price reached the market, plus the reduced attention a listing gets after buyers have already seen it sit.

The 38 returning listings without a price reduction are a small count, reflecting how disciplined Estero sellers have been with their pricing this cycle. Buyers active in this city face fewer listings priced well above recent sales than in cities with larger returning-listings pools.

Competitive Inventory Shows Estero Supply at 1.4 Months

You will see more than one supply number in this report. The MLS months of supply uses a 12-month sales pace and shows the broad market. The competitive figures below use the most recent three-month pace, which tracks current demand more closely and shows what a well-priced seller is more likely to face. Competitive Inventory sets aside stale listings, older active listings, and returning listings that came back without a meaningful price reduction. The result reflects the supply that is actively competing for buyers right now.

Three-part breakdown for Estero:

• All active listings at the recent 3-month sales pace: 3.2 months (the MLS months of supply of 4.7 uses a slower 12-month pace)
• Stale-stripped months of supply: 2.6 (after removing 119 listings at 180-plus days on market without a meaningful reduction)
• Competitive Months of Supply: 1.4 (after additionally removing returning listings without a meaningful price reduction and listings 90 to 179 days old, for a resulting count of 264 listings under 90 days that are first-attempt or meaningful relists, the tightest in the region)

Higher-Priced Active Listings Are Priced Below Recent Sold Levels

Estero’s active asking PPSF runs 4.4% above the recent sold PPSF overall, now the tightest active-vs-sold PPSF spread in the region. This compares the median PPSF of homes currently for sale ($266) to the median PPSF of homes that have closed over the past 4 months ($255). Estero sellers are asking only modestly more per square foot than buyers have recently been willing to pay. This is a market-level comparison and does not appraise any specific home.

By price range, the picture turns unusual. Under $400K, the spread is 5.1%. The $400K to $750K range comes in at 2.5%. From $750K to $1.5M, the spread is negative at -6.9%. Active listings in that range are priced below where similar homes have been clearing. The $1.5M to $3M tier sits at +1.1%.

In Estero’s mid-to-upper price ranges, active asking PPSF sits at or below the recent sold range, an uncommon pattern. In most markets, active sellers ask above recent closed sales and negotiation closes the gap. Here, asks have been entering at or just below where comparable homes have been clearing, particularly above $750K.

Insurance context note: Florida’s homeowners insurance environment affects both sides of the deal. It can influence why some owners decide to sell, and it can change a buyer’s total cost enough to affect whether a contract still works. Estero’s master-planned communities developed largely in the past 20 years carry lower coverage cost exposure than older inventory elsewhere in the region, though sellers and buyers should still expect coverage cost variation during the contract period.

Worthington Realty Market Lens

The metrics below come from address-level analysis across all five cities. Estero’s row is highlighted.

City	Competitive Months of Supply	Relist Rate	Ask-Bid Gap (PPSF%)	Pending-to-Active Ratio	First-Attempt Median DOM	Relist Combined Median DOM
Fort Myers	2.2	26.6%	5.7%	23.8%	56	258
Cape Coral	2.3	22.8%	13.7%	30.1%	49	246
Estero	1.4	21.7%	4.4%	30.1%	61	268
Bonita Springs	1.7	25.2%	15.3%	22.0%	61	272
Naples	2.1	24.4%	12.0%	24.1%	57	260

Source: FGCMLS via Stellar MLS. Full definitions for each metric are in Worthington’s market methodology. Worthington’s address-level metrics come from a property-level MLS export, a separate dataset from the published monthly counts used for the headline figures, so the active total can differ slightly.

Closed Comparables Are Setting the Pace in Estero Featured Communities

The six Estero communities highlighted below span a wide range of home types, from Barletta’s $263,000 villas to The Place at Corkscrew’s $765,000 single-family closings. The 1.4-month citywide Competitive Inventory figure shows up clearly in the community-level data. All six communities recorded months of supply at or below 3.0 and pending-to-active ratios from 22.2% to 87.5%.

Arrows show month-over-month change versus the May 2026 cycle. Count and price metrics show percent change. Ratio and inventory metrics show point (pts) or month (mos) change.

Bella Terra

• Active Listings: 23 (↑ 9.5% MoM)
• Sold (Last 120 Days): 39 (↑ 2.6% MoM)
• Homes Pending: 18 (↑ 63.6% MoM)
• Pending-to-Active Ratio: 78.3% (↑ 25.9 pts MoM)
• Previously Listed Share of Active: 13.0% (↓ 10.8 pts MoM)
• Months of Inventory: 2.4 (↑ 0.2 mos MoM)
• Median Sold Price: $380,000 (→ MoM)
• Sellers Received: 97.5% of asking price (↑ 0.6 pts MoM)

Pending contracts rose 64% from May to 18 against 23 active, lifting the pending-to-active ratio 26 points to 78.3% on 2.4 months of inventory, with the relist share down to 13.0%. Home type separates the two price tiers. The main Bella Terra single-family homes and villas closed 30 at a $490,000 median in 64 days, while the Barletta condos closed 9 at $263,000 in 37 days. The active pool is almost entirely those main homes, with 22 listings asking a $489,000 median against that $490,000 closed median, nearly aligned. Active listings are turning at a 25-day median on market. Sellers received 97.5% of asking across the 39 closings. With pending demand running well ahead of available supply at these price points, sellers of correctly priced single-family homes are finding contracts quickly and can list to recent closings.

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Cascades at Estero

• Active Listings: 9 (↓ 18.2% MoM)
• Sold (Last 120 Days): 22 (↑ 10.0% MoM)
• Homes Pending: 2 (↓ 60.0% MoM)
• Pending-to-Active Ratio: 22.2% (↓ 23.3 pts MoM)
• Previously Listed Share of Active: 22.2% (↑ 13.1 pts MoM)
• Months of Inventory: 1.6 (↓ 0.6 mos MoM)
• Median Sold Price: $417,750 (→ MoM)
• Sellers Received: 95.6% of asking price (↓ 0.3 pts MoM)

Active inventory fell 18.2% from May to 9 against 22 closings, bringing months of supply to 1.6, though pending contracts eased to 2. Cascades is a no-golf 55-plus community of similar floor plans, so the median holds together better than in mixed communities. The 22 closings settled at a $417,750 median in 32 days, while the 9 active listings ask a $449,900 median, somewhat above recent sales. The relist share rose to 22.2% of active supply. With only 9 homes available, selection is limited right now, and a single transaction can move the median given the modest closing count. Sellers entering this season face limited competition and can price to recent closings within the community’s familiar floor plans. Buyers will find a narrow active pool, so acting on a well-priced listing promptly is the practical approach here.

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Grandezza

• Active Listings: 19 (↑ 5.6% MoM)
• Sold (Last 120 Days): 25 (↑ 13.6% MoM)
• Homes Pending: 9 (↓ 18.2% MoM)
• Pending-to-Active Ratio: 47.4% (↓ 13.7 pts MoM)
• Previously Listed Share of Active: 26.3% (↓ 7.0 pts MoM)
• Months of Inventory: 3.0 (↓ 0.3 mos MoM)
• Median Sold Price: $625,000 (↓ 3.1% MoM)
• Sellers Received: 95.2% of asking price (↑ 0.4 pts MoM)

Closings rose 13.6% from May to 25 with active inventory up 5.6% to 19 and months of supply at 3.0. The community spans condos through custom estates across its neighborhoods, so the $625,000 median covers a wide range. Savona closed 6 at a $731,000 median and Saraceno 3 at $604,000 in the mid tier, while Grande Estates closed 2 at $1,300,000 and Villa Grande 3 at $840,000 higher up, and Sabal Palm coach homes closed 6 at $291,000 on the lower end. The active pool leans toward that lower tier, with Sabal Palm asking $382,000 and Oakwood $430,000, which pulls the active median ask to $445,000, below the closed median. The relist share eased to 26.3%. Buyers should anchor to comps within their target neighborhood, since a Sabal Palm coach home and a Grande Estates home occupy entirely different price points.

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Stoneybrook

• Active Listings: 13 (→ MoM)
• Sold (Last 120 Days): 20 (→ MoM)
• Homes Pending: 4 (↓ 33.3% MoM)
• Pending-to-Active Ratio: 30.8% (↓ 15.4 pts MoM)
• Previously Listed Share of Active: 23.1% (↑ 7.7 pts MoM)
• Months of Inventory: 2.6 (→ MoM)
• Median Sold Price: $357,500 (→ MoM)
• Sellers Received: 97.1% of asking price (↑ 0.3 pts MoM)

Pending contracts fell to 4 from 6 and the pending-to-active ratio eased to 30.8%, with active inventory flat at 13 and months of supply at 2.6. Stoneybrook is a single community spanning condos, villas, and single-family homes, and the mix of home types drives the price story. The 20 closings over the past 120 days settled at a $357,500 median in 35 days, weighted toward condo and villa transactions. The 13 active listings ask a $599,000 median, well above the closed median, which indicates the available inventory leans toward the larger single-family homes. The relist share rose to 23.1%, with the few returning sellers coming back about 1.5% higher rather than reducing. Sellers received 97.1% of asking. Buyers should match comps to home type, since a Stoneybrook condo and a single-family home sit at very different points within that asking-to-closing spread.

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Verdana Village

• Active Listings: 33 (↑ 26.9% MoM)
• Sold (Last 120 Days): 52 (↑ 36.8% MoM)
• Homes Pending: 16 (↓ 27.3% MoM)
• Pending-to-Active Ratio: 48.5% (↓ 36.1 pts MoM)
• Previously Listed Share of Active: 15.2% (↑ 3.7 pts MoM)
• Months of Inventory: 2.5 (↓ 0.2 mos MoM)
• Median Sold Price: $582,500 (→ MoM)
• Sellers Received: 98.1% of asking price (↑ 0.4 pts MoM)

Closings rose 37% from May to 52 and active inventory climbed 27% to 33, with the pending-to-active ratio easing to 48.5% on 2.5 months of inventory as this Lennar and Pulte community keeps delivering new homes. Verdana Village reports as a single development, so the price story sits in the asking-to-closing spread. The 52 closings settled at a $582,500 median in 47 days, while the 33 active listings ask a $750,000 median, well above recent sales. That spread indicates the available inventory leans toward larger, newer floor plans than the homes that recently closed. Active listings are turning at a 27-day median on market. Sellers received 98.1% of asking across the closings. New construction inventory competes directly with resale here, so resale sellers should price against the builder’s current base pricing and recent closings rather than the higher active asking range.

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The Place at Corkscrew

• Active Listings: 16 (↑ 6.7% MoM)
• Sold (Last 120 Days): 47 (↑ 4.4% MoM)
• Homes Pending: 14 (↓ 30.0% MoM)
• Pending-to-Active Ratio: 87.5% (↓ 45.8 pts MoM)
• Previously Listed Share of Active: 25.0% (↓ 1.7 pts MoM)
• Months of Inventory: 1.4 (↑ 0.1 mos MoM)
• Median Sold Price: $765,000 (↑ 7.9% MoM)
• Sellers Received: 96.8% of asking price (→ MoM)

Pending contracts eased to 14 from last cycle’s higher count and the pending-to-active ratio settled at 87.5%, still tight, against 16 active listings and 1.4 months of inventory on 47 closings. The Place reports as a single development, and asking and recent sales sit close together. The 47 closings settled at a $765,000 median in 68 days, while the 16 active listings ask a $757,000 median, nearly aligned. The median rose 7.9% from May as the closing mix shifted toward larger homes. The relist share is 25.0%, with returning sellers trimming about 2.7%. Demand for this resort-amenity, single-family community continues to run ahead of available supply this season. With this little inventory against this much pending demand, sellers of move-in-ready homes are finding contracts quickly and can list to recent closings.

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The Bottom Line for Estero

Estero’s May data shows the closest pricing alignment in Southwest Florida. A Competitive Inventory of just 1.4 months and a negative active-vs-sold PPSF spread in the $750K to $1.5M range point the same way. Estero sellers have been entering the market at prices closely tied to recent sold comparables, and well-priced listings clear in 61 days.

What Buyers and Sellers Should Take From May

For buyers, negotiating room is concentrated in the smaller pool of 38 returning listings without a price reduction. First-attempt listings are selling close to asking price in 61 days. For sellers, pricing within 3 to 5% of recent comparable sales is delivering buyers within roughly two months at the current pace.

The Worthington team works with buyers and sellers across Estero communities every week. That includes Bella Terra, Verdana Village, The Place at Corkscrew, the Corkscrew Corridor, and the broader Estero area. The data shows how little room there is to misprice here. Getting a specific Estero home on the right side of that line is what we do alongside our clients.

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All data referenced in Worthington’s market reports draws from the Florida Gulf Coast MLS (FGCMLS via Stellar MLS) unless otherwise noted.

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May 2026 Southwest Florida Housing Market Report Series

• Southwest Florida Months of Supply Falls to 6.7 in May
• Fort Myers Has the Highest Relist Rate in Southwest Florida
• Cape Coral Pending Sales Rose 18.8% Year Over Year
• Bonita Springs Inventory Fell 28.7% Year Over Year
• Naples Closed Sales Grew for the 12th Month in a Row

Worthington MLS Search by City

Fort Myers | Cape Coral | Estero | Bonita Springs | Naples

For a full explanation of the indicators used in this report, see how Worthington Realty analyzes the Southwest Florida housing market.