Hank Fishkind, a noted Florida economist predicts good things for SW Florida due to several factors. The regional airport, Florida Gulf Coast University, and others.
Hank does see a housing bubble though due to high inventory of homes and condos. Hank predicts a 2-3 year wait for prices to really rise again as we work through all the new inventory. Others believe the inventory will be absorbed much quicker than what Hank believes, including us.
We’re seeing sales picking up again, and that stats are proving it. We look for sales to gradually increase in the 2nd half of 2006, which will be a reverse from the 2nd half ofd 2005 where sales decreased in the second half. Sales in Fort Myers have been strobger than in Cape Coral.
Each market in SW Florida real estate has a sub market, and it’s important to know how each sub market is performing when bringing a home to market, or when purchasing.
Brett Ellis and his mother, Sande Ellis, lead Ellis Team – KW Florida Living in Fort Myers, Florida, with more than 38 years in Southwest Florida real estate. The team has closed more than 6,000 transactions since 1986 and ranked #2 in Fort Myers by transactions in 2025 (RealTrends Verified). Brett writes a weekly real estate column for The News-Press and publishes the team’s Lee County market indices, including the Current Market Index™ and Market Spread Index™. The team is a proud member of SWFL Inc. Learn more at TopAgent.com.