One of the most frequent questions people seem to ask about Southwest Florida is, “Has the housing market picked up any yet?” Well, the answer is a big YES! All it takes is a drive around town to notice that the housing market is back on the rise.
The median price for resale single family homes has risen 22% since January of 2013 bringing the prices strikingly close to the cost of building a brand new home. Considering that most of the resale homes on the market were built anywhere between 2005-2008, to get a brand new home for close to the same price has been very enticing to home buyers in the Southwest Florida area. This has led to 79 single-family home permits being pulled for Lee County and 75 pulled in Cape Coral in January 2015 alone!
With the economy finally showing signs of life again and the increase in snowy weather for our friends up North, people are starting to flock to the Sunshine State again to thaw out in the winter months. While they are down here, many start to consider their options when it comes to owning a little piece of paradise right here in Southwest Florida. With new construction being so close in price to resale homes a substantial amount of people are deciding to pick out their favorite vacant lot and build their new dream home to soak up the sun in when they come down next season!
Don’t think the full timer Floridians aren’t hopping onto the the new construction craze as well. With lenders finally allowing FHA and VA loans for new construction again, buyers are able to get a new home built for as little as 3.5% (FHA) or even 0% (VA) down! This has been opening up opportunities for many people that may have not been able to buy a new construction home just a few years ago.
So, if you have any out of town friends asking how the market is doing in Southwest Florida, you can tell them the weather is fine, come on down.