The November 2009 Credit Suisse Monthly Survey of Realtors confirms what we are currently seeing in the Fort Myers market.
Pre-retirement baby-boomers are taking a serious look for a second home in Southwest Florida. Our highly discounted prices are very enticing and the continued strength of the stock market this year are two of the key drivers for this class of buyer. Most of the buyers in this category are paying cash. This opens the market up to deeply discounted condo projects that are currently not finance-able with conventional mortgages.
Here is an excerpt from the Credit Suisse report:
Here is a resource to view Fort Myers real estate including all the currently available active listings. There are interesting bargains to be had across all housing types and pricing levels.
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You’re increase in taxes and perception of milking the snow birds is going to bite your market in the butt. Restrictive access to beaches and user fees will stifle most people with assets less than a million. Government had better pare down and lose the fat because snow birds can fly away. The most recent tax increase spoke of a 68% increase in Cape Coral. Both tax assessment and collection are biased toward permanent residents. I bought with cash at the low end that doen’t mean I can’t sell if I am not pleased. I had lived in Florida in the 1970′s and really regret how developers and government have screwed this place up since then.
The issues you raise about milking snowbirds are real challenges for the State of Florida. This is certainly not a new phenomena, it has been going on since earliest days of Florida.
The Save our Homes Amendment, which allows for different property valuations for residents vs. second home owners is very unfair. Poetic justice for snowbirds has occurred over the past couple of years as homesteaders property valuation reductions are limited to 3% annually and 2nd homeowners values can drop with the market. With the dramatic drop in property values, snowbirds unfair tax valuation burden has been significantly reduced and in some cases eliminated entirely.
You know, I’ve been reading and listening to all the whining about all the bad things we do here in Florida to snowbirds and I have to agree with Mr. Washburn. Yes, you can fly away. When you do, where will you fly to? Will it be less expensive? Will it have more to offer? Will it be in the United States?
A big part of the reason why Florida’s tax burden is what it is is because of snowbirds and investors. “Save Our Homes” was designed for year-round residents because our assessed values were skyrocketing as a result of second homebuyers and investors. If you live and work here year round, you will know that the wages are not commisserate with the cost of living here. You would also understand that businesses think the “sunshine” pays our bills and therefore, they don’t have to pay the wages they would have to pay elsewhere.
You would not be here if there wasn’t something wonderful that Florida offered. Weather, a more laid-back lifestyle, golf, beaches, etc.–that’s why most of us are here. If you don’t think so, then why are you here?
This isn’t the 70s, 80s, 90s, or even the year 2000 anymore. We’re in a phase where everyone (private sector and business sector alike) is trying to get back to basics and also figure out how to balance its budget. Everybody wants in when things are good. If you had been able to sell your initial $50,000 purchase in 1970 for $350,000 in 2004, I bet you would not been complaining!