SW Florida real estate after Ian

[Aaron S.]

Realize this is more of an investment forum, but we have been looking for a home in the Fort Myers area for the past year.  We are looking for a higher end property with gulf access (canal) or at least fairly close to the gulf with a marina nearby.  Will likely spend several million.

Very curious to see what the housing/rebuild market does after Hurricane Ian.  Obviously, the rebuild will take years.  We love the area and still intend to build or buy here, but I’m a little nervous about making that investment right now.  We’re actually looking at the new Ritz Residences being built in Estero.  Look awesome and they’re just breaking ground, but nervous that the prices are going to plummet right after we purchase as this area rebuilds.  Also, hate to miss buying opportunities as I’m sure the storm will scare people out of the area and may create some buying opportunities.

Would appreciate any insight!

[Stetson Miller]

Hi @Aaron S.,

We're very likely to see some pretty strong decoupling between the areas that were hit very hard by the storm, and the areas that overall saw pretty minimal damage. There really wasn't too much in between these areas, so it's pretty easy to draw the line on both ends of the extreme

Estero was one of the markets that saw very little damage due to a much newer average construction age, so rebuilt efforts are already nearing completion here and the market is already on it's way to recovery from the slight dip of the past week. This is in stark contrast to what you're going to see in areas like Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach, etc, where they are very likely to encounter the scenario that you're describing with drastic price drops throughout the rebuilt effort

Luxury residences in Estero, I would say, are still a very safe purchase right now with high likelihood for appreciation over the next few years, even as these other local markets are still rebuilding