Southwest Florida Home Prices Rise $100,000 Since 2013It’s hard to believe we’ve watched local Southwest Florida home prices rise $100,000 since 2013.  Official numbers were just released for November which shows the median home price in SW Florida at $245,000.  The average home sale price in November was $317,109.  Compare that to 2013 when the median sales price in November was $170,000 and the average was $236,550.  That’s not quite $100,000 difference but you only need go back just a few more months and we’re there.

Southwest Florida Home Prices Rise

What’s caused home prices to increase so much, and will it continue?  The past is always easier to explain than the future is to predict, so we’ll start there.  Our market over-corrected to the downside so we had lots of room for upside pricing.  Our market statistically bottomed in 2009 but not for all price ranges.  The upper end took longer to correct.

The boom only did one thing.  It brought needed housing to SW Florida. Because the boom involved flipping, we didn’t have the end user to sustain the market.  It was a False high.  The error wasn’t the increased housing the boom brought.  It was the speed of which that occurred.

Southwest Florida needs more housing.  Rents are sky high and prices have been rising.  Florida is an expanding market.  Immigration leads to need for more housing.  And don’t forget Florida is a net migration state winner as well.

High tax states like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois are losing residents by the droves.  They are leaving high tax, foul weather states and moving to states like Florida, Texas, and Arizona.  Notice a trend here?

Low taxes, great weather.  If all we had was low taxes, we would gain residents.  If all we had great weather, we would gain residents.  Because we have both, it’s winner, winner chicken dinner for Florida.  Texas is seeing transplants from CA.  We’re seeing Midwestern and east coast migrations.

After Hurricanes Maria and Irma battered Puerto Rico we expect to see more migration from there as well.  Going forward this leads us to believe home prices have more to go on the upside.

We do not see a downside price risk like we did back in 2005.  The difference is end users.  We have them now, we didn’t back then.

Tax Reform Will Help Florida

The new tax reform also will help Florida.  Local, state, and property taxes deductions are capped at $10,000 under the new law.  Florida doesn’t have a state income tax, and many people’s property taxes are below $10,000, so most Floridians will benefit from the full deduction.  People in high tax states will not, and this will make Florida look even more attractive.

We could see some companies decide to relocate as well.  Because the new tax code is favorable to companies, we don’t believe they’ll need to relocate, but some smaller companies could.  Each time this occurs it hurts the northern states because they’re not competitive and it helps our state.  As more and more people leave those states, it brings an increased tax burden on fewer residents, which further exacerbates the situation.

Florida really is sitting in a good position.  Hopefully our planners are planning for more schools and better roads, because we’ll need them.  It will be interesting to see how fast the new tax code revs up the economy.  Some say it’s already started.  We think 2018 could be a good year and 2019 could be even better.  We’re keeping an eye on interest rates and a few other things, but overall, we see good things for Southwest Florida real estate.

If you’d like to search the MLS like a pro, visit www.LeeCountyOnline.com  You’ll see All the homes, and in real-time too.  No more missing out on great buys to other buyers.

Of course, you can always call us at 239-489-4042.  If you’d like to list your home, ask for Sande or Brett Ext 4.  We have buyer specialists ready to help you make your move as well.

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty for all your real estate needs!

That’s correct.  Your eyes aren’t deceiving you.  Southwest Florida home prices rose $100,000 since 2013.  We could end the story right there, and it would be a beautiful story.  As you know, there’s always more to the story.

We really like where this market is right now.  We would say it is fully valued.  By that we do not mean it’s headed down.  Our market is balanced.  It’s not all the way back for some homes and for others perhaps it is.  We do not see signs of distress we saw back in late 2005 that caused us concern.

Inventory across the US is down.  Inventory in Southwest Florida went down in May to 5,369 homes.  This was down from 5,719 in April.  The number of closed homes is slightly lagging 2015 and 2016.  This is partly because of limited inventory and partly because home prices have risen so much.  Inventory was down the last few years as well, so we can’t attribute it to that.

Southwest Florida Home Prices Rose Home Prices May 2017

Lower prices means more people can afford to purchase.  Let’s look back since 2013.  As you can see by the graph, the median price of a home in January 2013 was $140,000.  In May 2013, it was $176,333.  Fast forward to 2017, in January, our median price was $227,000. That is a difference of $87,000.  The May 2017 median price was $237,500.  That is a difference of $61,167. Going back 4 years and 4 months the difference is $97,500.  Pretty close to $100k in the headline.

Southwest Florida Home Prices Rose

When we look at average prices we see January 2013 came in at $215,873.  May 2017 official numbers came in at $346,559.  This is a difference of $130,686. Maybe this isn’t fair since it’s not the same months. May 2013 average prices were $288,547.  May 2017 numbers were $58,012 higher.

Southwest Florida Home Prices Rose Homes Closed

Either way you look at it, our market has done very well since 2013.  We’ve had a good run, and there’s no reason to believe we won’t have a good market a year from now.  We may not see $100,000 price gains going forward, and that’s OK.  Our market should move in lock-step with the general economy.  As incomes rise, so should housing.  If incomes were to fall or the economy falter, it could put pressure on the housing market.

So far 2017 has been off to a great start.  The stock market has done well and housing has done well.  Consumer confidence is higher and mortgage rates have remained low.  People have money and equity they didn’t have 4 years ago, or even one year ago.  More Southwest Florida homeowners have recently gained positive equity, such that they could now sell if they wanted to.  This wasn’t always the case.

As people’s lives change so does their housing needs.  When kids go off to college parents don’t always need that large home.  Growing families can’t stay in that tiny first home they bought, and so begins the housing cycle. Southwest Florida also has baby boomers buying 2nd homes for vacation enjoyment.  We also get people retiring from Northern states.  As America changes, so too can the Southwest Florida real estate market.  We are affected by local, national, and even world events.

You can search the Southwest Florida real estate market like a pro at www.LeeCountyOnline.com  Our database has all the homes for sale and is updated every 5 minutes.  You won’t be bothered seeing homes that sold 8 years ago or missing new listings that just came to market.  In a low inventory market, it pays to use the best search site and ours definitely is the Best!

You can always call us too at 239-489-4042.  We’ll be happy to walk you through what it would take to buy or sell a home in SW Florida. Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty!

This past week I had the chance to visit properties on Fort Myers Beach.  I’ve included a Fort Myers Beach Home Search for you here.  Here is a Fort Myers Beach Condo Search as well.

We previewed Grandview at Bay Beach.  We’ve created a special page for Grandview at Bay Beach for you here.

Ellis Team Weekend Open Houses

Gladiolus Preserve 4 Bedroom Home

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

9800 Gladiolus Preserve Cir

$ Bedrooms 2 Baths 2 Car Garage

Gated Community

South Pointe South Home

Open Saturday 1-3 PM

9950 Vanillaleaf St

2 Bedroom, 2 Bath, 2 Car Garage