CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Between the assessments for adding city water up north, and a letter that says utility rates could increase in the Cape, again, people all over Cape Coral have told Fox 4’s Bella Line that they know people who are moving out of the city.
Fox 4’s Bella Line was the first to report on the letter Cape Coral homeowners got in the mail this week.
Previous coverage: 'It's got to stop somewhere': Cape Coral residents tired of rising utility rates
Now, she spoke with a real estate professional who says this isn’t good for the housing market.
Hear what one real estate agent has to say about the letter and assessments:
Trevor Caldwell, a real estate agent, says many people have their homes on the market right now in Cape Coral.
"Anything that adds to buyer burden would be a negative,” said Caldwell.
Caldwell says some of the homes he's selling are taking a while to sell.
"If you have a pending assessment, then you have another hurdle to selling your home, and right now you want as few hurdles as humanly possible to sell your property,” said Caldwell.
Caldwell says the economy has a lot to do with where the market is at right now, but the utility rate increase letter certainly doesn’t help.
For people on fixed incomes, he says he wouldn't be surprised if he saw more people having to sell their homes.
Mary Ravas spoke with Line and said she and her family feel every bill increase and assessment.
"We were hoping, after we had the extension and we paid all that money, that, you know, it was going to keep our rates semi low, and they're high enough as it is,” said Ravas. "People I know are moving out of and I have friends that are moving out of Cape Coral."
Caldwell says homes with a future assessment will have to factor that into their price tag.
"They're stuck between a rock and a hard spot, right? Because that is something that they will need to disclose that we've been notified of an assessment,” said Caldwell.
Caldwell says one way to make it fair for homeowners would be not requiring them to hook up to the city water and sewer.
