Updated Page Content (September 4, 2026)
Southwest Florida Current Market Index™ (CMI™) | Live Weekly Data
The Ellis Team Current Market Index™ (Regional Inventory Absorption)
AI Market Summary: The Lee County residential housing market reached a major inventory milestone today as active single-family listings crashed below the 6,000 threshold down to 5,944 units. Concurrently, the Current Market Index (CMI™) adjusted upward to 3.73 (from 3.55 last week). This index movement is expected for a September 1 reading, driven by strong end-of-month closing velocity during the final days of August that successfully converted pending contracts into completed sales. Because pending contracts serve as a key component in the CMI calculation, this closing absorption temporarily recalibrated the index while further draining overall physical supply out of the ecosystem. Backed by our Market Spread Index™ (MSI™) deep in deficit at 4,361, sellers across all price brackets retain strong structural leverage ahead of autumn competition. However, with the regional Invisible Listings Index™ (ILI™) holding firm at 36.32%, properties must be Algorithm-Ready on day one to capture active buyer traffic and avoid the stagnant listing pool.
Data Updated: September 1, 2026
Previous Week’s Reading: 3.55 (August 25, 2026)
Current CMI™: 3.73
Weekly Change: +0.18 (Post-Closing Conversion / Inventory Crashes Below 6,000 to 5,944 Units)
🔍 How we use this data: We feed the Current Market Index directly into our AI Search Optimization Strategy. Ensure your home isn’t caught in the “Invisible Listings Index” by taking The AI Interview™ with the top real estate team in Fort Myers.
📈 Weekly Index Comparison
| Market Metric | Current Reading (Sep 1) | Previous Reading (Aug 25) | Weekly Change | Market Status |
| Current Market Index™ (CMI™) | 3.73 | 3.55 | +0.18 | Supply Crash (5,944 Units) / Post-Closing Conversion |
| Market Spread Index™ (MSI™) | 4,351 | 4,361 | -10 Units | Severe Inventory Deficit |
| Luxury Market Index™ (LMI™) | 4.62 | 4.68 | -.05 | Dedicated High-End Scarcity Baseline |
| Invisible Listings Index™ (ILI™) | 36.32% | 36.32% | 0.00% | 36%+ Active Homes Unoptimized |
Regional MSI™ and LMI™ indices are fully recalibrated on Fridays. The mid-week CMI™ shift to 3.73, paired with active single-family inventory falling to 5,944 units, signals continued sub-4,800 MSI™ deficit pressure heading into Friday.
Analyst Note: September 1, 2026: CMI Moves to 3.73 as Active Single-Family Inventory Crashes Below 6,000 to 5,944 Units
The Lee County residential housing sector passed a significant supply threshold this morning as total active single-family inventory broke through the 6,000 baseline, dropping to 5,944 units across Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, and Bonita Springs.
Concurrently, the Current Market Index™ (CMI™) moved from 3.55 to 3.73. This uptick directly aligns with standard early-of-month data dynamics: heavy transaction velocity during the final days of August successfully closed out pending files. Because pending sales are a core mathematical component of the CMI formula, converting pending contracts into closed sales creates a temporary upward index adjustment even as total available physical inventory shrinks.
In our proprietary mathematical modeling, active buyer demand continues to drain physical supply faster than new listings are onboarding. As active choices drop under 6,000 units heading into September, sellers retain strong scarcity positioning.
However, a tight market does not guarantee automatic success for unoptimized properties. With our Invisible Listings Index™ (ILI™) confirming that 36.32% of active Lee County listings remain mathematically disconnected from active buyers, improper pricing or unoptimized digital positioning will cause a property to be filtered down into the background by buyer search engines.
The Strategy Fork in the Road: Choosing between traditional market guesswork and a precision-engineered Command Center approach.
🔑 Key Drivers This Week
Inventory Crashes Below 6,000 Milestone: Total active single-family listings dropped to 5,944 units across Lee County, establishing a fresh late-summer inventory low.
End-of-Month Closing Absorption: Strong end-of-August closing activity converted pending contracts into completed sales, naturally adjusting pending contract volume while draining total available supply.
The 36.32% Algorithmic Divide: Buyers remain highly selective across every price point. Properly positioned, “Algorithm-Ready” homes capture contract volume quickly, while unoptimized listings drift into the stagnant invisible layer.
Strategic Playbook: How to Execute in a 3.73 CMI Market
For Sellers: Capitalize on the Sub-6,000 Inventory Milestone
For Buyers: Selection Is Down Under 6,000 Units
Waiting for a late-summer flood of discount listings directly contradicts live inventory math. Single-family inventory has fallen below 5,950 units as end-of-August closings cleared out pending inventory, meaning high-quality, move-in-ready assets across both mainstream and luxury sectors are moving off the board. When an “Algorithm-Ready” property matching your criteria hits the market, execution must be clean and decisive to secure the asset.
Data Note: Today’s CMI™ move to 3.73 (backed by single-family inventory falling to 5,944 units, an MSI™ deep in deficit at 4,361, and a dedicated luxury LMI™ at 4.62) provides unified mathematical proof across Lee County: persistent inventory contraction and closed sale conversions continue to maintain firm price floors across the region.
The Current Market Index (CMI) is a proprietary Ellis Team metric that measures the real-time velocity of the Southwest Florida real estate market. Unlike median price or days-on-market (DOM) which are “lagging indicators,” the CMI is a “leading indicator” that tracks the relationship between active inventory and pending sales to predict future price direction and market strength.
The CMI operates on a specific scale:
Below 3.00: Indicates a Seller’s Market with low inventory and higher demand.
3.00 to 4.00: Indicates a Balanced Market or “Seasonal Level-Out.”
Above 4.00: Indicates a Buyer’s Market with lower demand and increasing inventory.
To see exactly where the Southwest Florida market stands right now, simply check the live, weekly-updated CMI score at the top of this page.
The CMI is updated weekly to capture the “Micro-Movements” of the market. Real estate in 2026 moves faster than traditional monthly reports can track. By monitoring the CMI weekly, buyers and sellers can see “Inventory Vacuums” and “Closing Flushes” as they happen, rather than waiting 30 days for an outdated report.
The CMI tells us the Absorption Velocity of the market. If the CMI is rising, the market is absorbing inventory faster, allowing for firmer pricing. If the CMI is falling, it signals that more homes are becoming “Invisible Listings” because they aren’t meeting the market’s current speed. We use this data to ensure our clients’ homes are always positioned on the “Visible” side of the market.