CAPE CORAL - Southwest Florida's struggling housing market is showing few signs of turning around. Last month, the city of Cape Coral hit a new low in housing permits. Now, some Cape real estate agents are being forced to find alternatives to make ends meet.

"The fallback plan is in tact right now. We gotta do it, "said Anthony Scalzullo.

He and business partner Donald King started Royal Palm Realty in Cape Coral five years ago. It was successful at first, but the downturn in the housing market has left them with little to do, and it's been that way for awhile.

"Probably a year I would say," Donald King said. "Almost no closings, no mortgages. A few. Enough to keep going."

"Unfortunately, with the market the way it is right now, there's really not enough for two of us," Scalzullo added.
"You get tired of looking at each other all day and decide who's going to answer the next phone call."

The business partners also have interests in construction and mortgages, but with nobody buying houses, there's little profit right now in any of those fields.

"That's why we're opening this place, pizzeria, keep a cash flow coming at least," King said.

Their back-up business gets them away from real estate altogether: combining the capital they have left with Scalzullo's past restaurant experience and opening up a pizza place on Del Prado Boulevard. Despite the risk of starting something new, they're confident it can be a success.

"It's a big difference buying a six or seven dollar pizza than a couple hundred-thousand dollar house," King said.

"Hopefully it'll take off and we'll be back to making a good living and enjoying Cape Coral," said Scalzullo.

Their new restaurant, "DonAnthony's Pizza and More" opens next month. They will keep their realty business open as well, but they're also looking at real estate and construction opportunities in other states.