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It is time once again for our quarterly tip of the hat to Robin Leach, the late host of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," as we offer up a toast of champagne wishes and caviar dreams by taking a look back at the Cape Coral luxury home market in both the third quarter and for the first nine months of 2021. For our purposes, this high-end single family luxury home market segment in the Cape consists of homes that have sold for $1 million and up.
First, to set the table, there have been a total of 5,314 single-family homes sold in Cape Coral in the first nine months of 2021, and 159 of these sales, or 2.99 percent, have been in our $1 million-plus luxury home segment. Of note, two of these 159 luxury home sales have been for over $3 million with the highest-priced home sale through the end of September coming in at $3.5 million back on July 8, while another 20 homes have been sold for $2 million and above. This compares to the first nine months of 2020, when a total of 4,290 single-family homes had been sold in Cape Coral, with 45 of these sales, or 1 percent of the total sales, taking place in our luxury home segment.
In addition, during the first nine months of 2020, there were only three homes sold for more than $2 million in the Cape, with the highest-priced sale at $2.225 million.
So by comparison to recent years, there has definitely been a post-COVID shutdown boom in the Cape's luxury home segment. This has been reflected in the dramatic increase in closed sales, along with the upward shift in the number of homes sold for more than $2 million, as noted above. Also, during the first nine months of this year, the median sales price for the 159 luxury home sales came in at $1.310 million or 9.6 percent higher than the median sales price of $1.195 million for the 45 closed luxury home sales over the first nine months of 2020. This luxury boom is also evident in the number of active listings, with 70 luxury $1 million-plus homes listed for sale in the Cape, equalling 12.6 percent of the 557 overall active single-family home listings, which includes two homes with asking prices in excess of $5 million. In addition, there are currently 39 luxury homes under contract with buyers in the pipeline as pending sales, with the highest-priced of these pending sales likely to close within the next 30 to 60 days at a sales price of around $4 million.
Looking back, a year ago on Oct. 13, 2020, there were a total of 698 homes listed for sale through the Multiple Listing Service at prices ranging from a low of $162,900 (versus a low of $212,500 today) to a high of $3.995 million with only 44 homes, or 6.3 percent our market, listed for sale at prices above $1 million. At that time, there were another 1,229 homes under contract with buyers as pending sales in the Cape, with only 10 of these pending sales, or 0.8 percent, meeting our definition as a luxury home at prices ranging from $1.05 million to $2.95 million.
Looking specifically at the third quarter of this year, there were 48 closed luxury home sales in the Cape, up 182.4 percent compared to 17 sales in the third quarter of 2020, but down 28.4 percent from the 67 closed sales in the second quarter of this year. This compares to our overall single-family home market, where there were a total of 1,652 closed sales in the third quarter of this year, which was 6.7 percent lower than the 1,771 home sales in the third quarter of 2020, and 21 percent below the 2,090 sales from the second quarter of this year. These differences in the quarterly sales numbers for luxury homes versus the Cape's overall market helps to illustrate the massive boom in luxury home sales in the third quarter of this year compared to last year (up 182.4 percent), while home sales in our overall market actually slowed a bit during the third quarter versus last year (down 6.7 percent). At the same time, the slowdown in luxury home sales from the second quarter to the third quarter of this year declined by a larger amount (down 28.4 percent) compared to the drop-off in sales in our overall market (down 21 percent).
At this point, we are on track for another record setting year in home sales, which will easily surpass last year's record mark. So this little bit of a slowdown in home sales is more likely a much needed pause that has reduced the level of the bidding war craziness between buyers to somewhat more rational multiple offer situations in our still abnormally low inventory market. Right now, any seller wanting to remain in the area after closing on their sale is still facing extremely challenging conditions in finding another home to buy or rent, so our inventory of available homes listed for sale is likely to remain tight. We are still seeing very strong interest in our market from out-of-town buyers in the face of what are likely to be some growing economic headwinds as we move into 2022.
Here is a snapshot of the highest-priced single-family home sale in Cape Coral during the first nine months of 2021, which occurred during the third quarter. This home was located in the private, gated Harbour Preserve section of Cape Harbour and it was built in 2006 with five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms, with approximately 6,593 square feet of living area and about 10,055 square feet of total area. This two-story home features an elevator, wine cellar, a gourmet kitchen with custom cabinetry and high-end stainless steel appliances, plus wood and travertine flooring through the home. It also includes a formal dining room, home office and a variety of areas for hosting and entertaining large gatherings.
The outside areas of this home feature a screened-in resort-style pool, outdoor kitchen area, a fire pit and an observation deck overlooking the wide canal and undeveloped nature preserve. The boat dock includes a lift and a captain's walk, all on an oversized 17,598-square-foot cul-de-sac lot.
The seller of this luxury home bought it for $2.35 million in June 2019, from the previous owner, who took a loss on that sale after buying the home for $2.625 million back in February 2011. On this go-around, the home was listed for sale for $3.85 million on Feb. 23 of this year, and it went under contract with the buyer on May 14. The sale closed on July 8, at $3.5 million, or 9.1 percent below the asking price, but 48.9 percent above what the owner bought the home for back in 2019, before factoring in any of the associated costs to the seller. The records indicate the home was sold furnished and it looks like the buyer took advantage of the low mortgage interest rates by financing the purchase with a conventional loan.
The sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla., as of Oct. 11. It was compiled by Bob and Geri Quinn and it includes information specifically for Cape Coral single-family homes, and does not include condominiums, short sales or foreclosures. The data and statistics are believed to be reliable, however, they could be updated and revised periodically and are subject to change without notice. The Quinns are a husband and wife real estate team with the RE/MAX Realty Team office in Cape Coral. They have lived in Cape Coral for over 42 years. Geri has been a full-time Realtor since 2005, and Bob joined Geri as a full-time Realtor in 2014. Their real estate practice is mainly focused on Cape Coral residential property and vacant lots.