Updated October 2026 with AuctionScout data through September 2026.
Lee County's foreclosure auctions looked like they were cooling this summer. On a first read of three weeks in late July and early August 2026, the sale rate seemed to slide week after week. A closer look at the results says otherwise, and the difference comes down to how you count a "sale."
We track foreclosure auctions across the Florida counties AuctionScout covers, and Lee County's Fort Myers and Cape Coral market is one of the busier ones. Here's what the numbers actually show.
What Lee County's numbers actually show
Week-by-week from our data (sale rate is sold over lots with a reported result):
| Week of | Listed | Sold | Returned to lender | Other results | Sale rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2026 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 54.5% |
| Jul 27, 2026 | 36 | 22 | 4 | 8, plus 2 not yet reported | 64.7% (22 of 34) |
| Aug 3, 2026 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 6, plus 1 not yet reported | 52.9% (9 of 17) |
"Returned to lender" means the foreclosing plaintiff won the property back with its own bid. Count those lots as sales and you get 9, 26 and 11 "sold," and, over listed lots, a sale rate that seems to slide from 82% to 61%. Count only lots that went to a third-party buyer and there's no slide at all: the sale rate rose in the July 27 week and fell back in the August 3 week.
Each week is also small. With 6 to 22 sales per week, a single week is too thin for a reliable median price or discount, so we use monthly and 12-month figures below.
What happened next
| Period | Listed | Sold | Sale rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 118 | 64 | 55.2% (64 of 116) |
| August 2026 | 88 | 38 | 44.7% (38 of 85) |
| September 2026 | 100 | 57 | 57.6% (57 of 99) |
| 12 months to Sep 30, 2026 | 956 | 433 | 45.6% (433 of 950) |
August dipped, then September posted Lee's highest monthly sale rate of 2026 so far. Over the 12 months to September 30, 2026, the median sold price was $161,100 and the median sale was 42.4% below est. market value (289 sales with an eligible estimate). Figures are as of October 2026.
One thing worth knowing about Florida discounts: AuctionScout measures them against est. market value (the value of a comparable home in normal condition), not the county's assessed value. In Florida that matters. The Save Our Homes cap means assessed values often lag what a property would actually sell for, so a discount off assessed value can look much smaller or larger than the real gap. And because auction properties sell as-is, even a discount to est. market value is not a profit margin. If you're coming from Ohio, where the sheriff's appraisal is the usual reference point, this distinction matters.
Fort Myers and Cape Coral's foreclosure pipeline still reflects the area's recovery from Hurricane Ian. Properties moving through the Clerk of Court auction system tend to be older housing stock, condos, and pre-storm inventory that banks have been working through.
Why one week's sale rate moves around
A weekly sale rate in a county like Lee rests on a few dozen lots at most, and three things can swing it:
Returned-to-lender results. Lee has one of the highest shares among Florida counties: 129 of its 956 listed lots (13.5%) went back to the lender in the 12 months to September 2026. A week with a few more plaintiff buy-backs reads as a weaker week even if every third-party bidder found a property.
Inventory spikes. The July 27 week listed 36 properties, more than triple the prior week's 11. A bigger list changes the mix of properties, not just the count.
Small samples. Two or three results can move a 17-lot week by more than ten points.
That's why we'd read Lee by the month and the quarter, not the week.
How Lee County compares to other Florida markets
Here's how Lee's 12 months to September 30, 2026 compare with three other Florida counties:
| County | Listed | Sale rate | Median sold price | Median below est. market value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee | 956 | 45.6% | $161,100 | 42.4% (n=289) |
| Hillsborough (Tampa) | 1,452 | 41.6% | $181,200 | 40.8% (n=410) |
| Palm Beach | 1,433 | 31.1% | $110,600 | 49.8% (n=318) |
| Duval (Jacksonville) | 1,253 | 51.2% | $102,100 | 39.6% (n=407) |
Sale rate is sold over lots with a reported result. As of October 2026.
Lee clears more of its docket than Hillsborough or Palm Beach and less than Duval. Its median price sits between Tampa and the two lower-priced counties. Palm Beach has the lowest sale rate and the deepest median discount of the four. If you're watching Duval too, our Duval County guide walks through a similar three-week dip there that turned out to be cancellations.
What this means for Gulf Coast investors
For buy-and-hold investors, Fort Myers and Cape Coral rental demand stays strong year-round. Tourism and seasonal residents keep vacancy low. At a $161,100 median sold price over the last 12 months, Lee is a mid-priced entry point among the Florida counties above.
For flippers, the discount depth matters more than the weekly sale rate. Lee's median sale over the 12 months was 42.4% below est. market value, but that gap is not your margin: run your own comps and budget for as-is condition before you get excited about the percentage.
Worth noting: in the August 3 week, 8 of the 17 lots with a reported result didn't go to a third-party buyer. 2 went back to the lender, 2 drew no sale, 2 were postponed and 2 were cancelled. Postponed lots and some no-sale lots come back in future weeks, so if you're watching Lee County, you may get a second look at properties that didn't move.
The data, updated weekly
We update Lee County's foreclosure auction data every week: properties listed, sold prices, discount percentages, and trend charts going back months. Check our counties page to find Lee County and every other Florida market we cover.
The county data is free. If you want AI price predictions, the Deal Analysis tab, and investment analysis on top of the raw numbers, try AuctionScout Pro free for 14 days. No credit card, takes 30 seconds to set up.