How we get our numbers
Every market figure on this site comes from a named source and carries a date. This page explains where the numbers come from, when we update them, who checks them and what we leave off the page.
Where the numbers come from
We use the same sources every month, in every city and community, so this month’s figures can be compared with last month’s and last year’s.
Market statistics
Median sale price, price per square foot, homes for sale, pending and closed sales, months of supply, sale-to-list ratio and days on market come from the Florida Gulf Coast MLS (FGCMLS, via Stellar MLS). We use the MLS’s own published monthly figures for each city.
Worthington Market Lens
Competitive Inventory, the Re-list Rate, the Ask-Bid Gap and first-listing versus relisted results come from our own export of individual MLS listing records, matched by address. Because we count from listing records, these totals can differ slightly from the MLS’s published counts. We say so wherever both appear.
Community costs and rules
HOA and club fees, special assessments, membership rules and leasing rules come from each association’s budgets, governing documents and fee schedules. Community Development District charges come from county property records and tax bills.
Flood zones and closing costs
Flood zones come from FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer, looked up one address at a time. Closing cost estimates use Florida’s documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 of sale price, Florida’s state-set title insurance rates and local custom on who pays what.
When we update them
Sales are sometimes entered into the MLS days after they close, so each month gets two passes.
- The 1st
We pull the previous month’s data. The monthly reports and city pages are updated early in the month and marked preliminary.
- The 10th
We pull the same month again after late sales are entered, update every figure that moved and remove the preliminary label.
- Communities
Community pages use the most recent 120 days of sales. In one community, a single month is often too few sales to mean much.
- Two dates
Each community page shows when a person last reviewed it and stands behind it, and separately when its content last changed.
What we leave off the page
- Every fact on a community page is tagged with where it came from: an official document, an MLS record or unverified. Unverified facts are held back and don’t publish.
- Market figures come only from the monthly MLS data described above. We don’t mix in numbers from other companies’ reports, which cover different areas and property types.
- We don’t turn one sale into a trend. When a community has only a few sales, we say so and show the price range next to the median.
- Calculators show their assumptions, and their results are labeled as estimates.
What the numbers mean
Our methodology page defines every measure we report, including the ones we created, and explains what each one can and can’t tell you.
Who does the work
Michael Davis, a co-owner of Worthington Realty, leads the research and writes the monthly market reports. Worthington Realty, Inc. is a Florida real estate brokerage at 8880 Gladiolus Dr #102, Fort Myers, FL 33908, licensed since 1989 under corporate license CQ261984. The current owners bought the company in 2023.