Following a historic boom kicked off in 2020, the Southwest Florida real estate market is slowing down.
According to data from the Redfin Corporation, Fort Myers home prices are down 6.9% compared to this time last year, selling for a median price of $356,000. On average, homes in Fort Myers sell after 76 days on the market compared to 57 days last year. There were 158 homes sold in May this year, down from 192 last year.
Local builder Richard Durling of Marvin Homes says that this shift puts more power in the hands of those looking to buy a home.
“The market has become more saturated with listings, products for sale, and there's still a fair amount of buyers out there, but they certainly have more to choose from, which means that they can negotiate better prices and better terms, so that, in effect, has turned this into a buyer's market.”
Experts credit several factors in the market’s slowdown - nationwide economic uncertainty, rising interest rates from historically low levels, ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ian, high home insurance rates, and stricter condominium regulations.
Fort Myers Realtor Caroline Boland says that trends in the market more closely resemble a correction rather than a potential crash.
"It was a red-hot seller's market in 2020, homes were being sold above asking price, coupled with lower interest rates," she said. "When in your lifetime, you can remember a three-and-a-half, a four, a four-and-a-half percent interest rate, six-and-a-half, seven sounds outrageous, but there's many people that can remember a double digit interest rate, even a 20% plus interest rate. A six-and-a-half, 7% interest rate is is actually pretty average."
Despite the slowdown, Southwest Florida still remains one of the top areas in the country for people to move to.
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