Are you wondering if now is the right time to buy in Southwest Florida? With economic uncertainty, rising interest rates, and plenty of doom-and-gloom predictions floating around, it’s easy to feel paralyzed by the decision. But here’s the truth: the Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Bonita Springs real estate market right now tells a very different story than what you’re hearing on the news.

In this video, I break down exactly what’s happening in our market—from where prices actually stand compared to the peak, to the real trade-offs between new construction and resale homes that most agents won’t tell you about. Watch the full breakdown below, then keep reading for the details and insider insights that could save you tens of thousands of dollars.

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home in Cape Coral or Fort Myers and keep going back and forth on whether now is actually a good time, you’re not alone. There’s a lot of noise out there right now—the economy feels shaky to a lot of people, gold is hitting record highs, and you’ve got people on YouTube and Twitter saying we’re heading into another 2008. Private credit markets are showing cracks that are making people nervous. I get it. These are legitimate concerns. If you’re about to make one of the biggest financial decisions of your life, you deserve a real answer, not just someone trying to get you into a house so they can collect a commission. In the video above, I address all of those concerns head-on and walk through what’s actually happening in our market right now—where prices are compared to the peak, the real trade-offs between new construction and resale that most agents won’t tell you, and some insider details that could genuinely save you tens of thousands of dollars. I’m Rick Harrison, I run the Southwest Florida Relocation Team at Realty One Group MVP, and I just closed on a brand new construction home here last month with my own money. So when I say it might be a good time to buy, I’m not just talking—I’m doing it.

What You’ll Learn in This Breakdown

How the broader economic concerns—gold prices, private credit, and US debt—actually affect Southwest Florida real estate
Why Florida’s boom-and-bust cycle means correction windows are often the best buying opportunities
The current market data in Cape Coral and Fort Myers: inventory levels, days on market, and price reductions
What insurance really costs in Lee County and how to avoid getting blindsided by flood insurance
The hidden costs of new construction that can add $50,000 to $150,000 to your purchase price
Why buying a resale home with a pool already installed could save you $30,000 to $70,000 right now

Let’s Address the Elephant in the Room: Economic Uncertainty

I’m not going to pretend the economic picture is rosy right now, because it’s not. Gold just had its best year since 1979, hitting $4,000 an ounce—up more than 50% in a single year. When gold runs like that, it’s usually telling you something important. It means a lot of investors have lost faith in the dollar. They’re nervous about US debt, which is now over $38 trillion and growing by about a trillion dollars every three months. They’re nervous about tariffs, geopolitical stuff. They’re basically saying, “I’d rather hold something real than trust the financial system right now.”

Then there’s the private credit market. This is a bit more inside baseball, but it’s worth knowing about. Private credit is basically a shadow lending market—companies borrowing money outside of the traditional banking system. Some of the biggest names on Wall Street, including Jeffrey Gundlach, Jamie Dimon, and Mohamed El-Erian, have started using phrases like “canary in the coal mine” and “cockroaches” when talking about it. In late 2025, two companies funded by private credit firms collapsed almost overnight, and some people are looking at that and asking, “Is this 2007 all over again?”

Look, I’m not going to sit here and tell you those concerns are crazy because they’re not. The economy genuinely feels fragile right now. But here’s what I want you to think about: even in 2008, even at the absolute bottom of the worst housing crash in modern American history, Florida’s real estate eventually came back. And it didn’t just come back—it came back bigger. Cape Coral was literally one of the hardest hit cities in the entire country during 2008. Values got cut in half. People walked away from homes. And then over the next decade, prices recovered. By 2022, they had blown past the old highs by a country mile.

So the question isn’t “is there any risk?”—there’s always risk. The question is: relative to your other options, relative to sitting in cash that’s losing purchasing power or staying in a market where you’re renting and not building equity, does buying in Southwest Florida right now make sense? For a lot of people watching this, I think the answer is yes. But not everyone. And here’s the other thing: if the economy does get worse, if rates drop, if the Fed has to cut to stimulate things, that’s usually a tailwind for real estate buyers. Lower rates mean lower mortgage payments, which means more buying power and more demand for homes. So the very scenario that’s scaring people could actually be what unlocks this market.

Understanding Florida’s Boom-and-Bust Cycle

Florida has always been a boom-and-bust market. That’s not a bug—it’s just kind of how it works here. If you go back through history, you see it every time: massive run-up, pullback, recovery, new high, repeat. COVID hit and what happened? People flooded out of New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California. They came here chasing lower taxes, warmer weather, and remote work. Between 2020 and the peak in July of 2022, a lot of Cape Coral and Fort Myers neighborhoods went up 80%, 90%, even 100% in two years.

Was that sustainable? Obviously not. And the market has been correcting ever since. We’re now sitting at prices that are down 20% or more in most areas from that July 2022 peak. Some pockets even more than that. The people who come in and buy during these correction windows—not at the absolute bottom, because nobody catches that, but during the window—those are typically the people who look back five or ten years later and feel really good about the decision they made.

The Current Market Data: What You’re Actually Walking Into

Let me give you the actual data so you understand what kind of market you’d be walking into right now. Homes in the Cape Coral and Fort Myers area are sitting on the market for a median of about 119 days. That’s 54% longer than the national average. Sellers are waiting. They’re anxious. And nearly 37% of active listings have already had at least one price cut. That’s almost four out of every ten homes for sale.

There are over 7,900 active single-family homes on the market in the Cape Coral area alone. That’s about 4.6 months of inventory supply, which is dramatically higher than the national average of under three months. You have options right now—real options. That’s the opposite of what we saw in 2021 and early 2022, where you had buyers waiving inspections, paying 20% over asking, and still losing to cash offers.

Here’s the thing, though: that inventory isn’t growing forever. The most recent weekly data actually shows more homes going under contract than new ones coming on. So the market is slowly tightening. The window you have right now is genuine, but it’s not going to be open indefinitely.

The Insurance Reality: What It Actually Costs in Lee County

I have to talk about insurance because this is the thing that catches most out-of-state buyers completely off guard, and I don’t want to gloss over it. Down here you’ve got two insurance costs that stack on top of each other. You have homeowners insurance, which covers wind, fire, and all the standard stuff, and then flood insurance, which is typically separate.

Homeowners insurance in Lee County right now averages around $3,600 a year, and that’s just the baseline. Then you add flood insurance on top of that. Depending on your flood zone, your elevation certificate, and the age of the home, we’re talking anywhere from $1,200 on the low end for a lower-risk zone all the way to $5,000 or $7,000 a year if you’re in a high flood risk zone with an older structure.

When you add it all together, your combined insurance costs—homeowners plus flood—could realistically be anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 a year. That’s an extra $400 to $700 a month on top of your mortgage. You need to know that before you fall in love with a house.

How to Protect Yourself

Here’s a golden nugget: always ask for the elevation certificate on any property you’re considering. Always get an insurance quote before you go under contract, not after. It’s your right as a buyer, and any good agent will help you do that. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it.

Also worth knowing: Citizens Insurance, which is Florida’s state-backed insurer, now requires flood coverage for any home they insure valued at $400,000 or more. By 2027, that requirement extends to all Citizens policies regardless of value. This stuff is only getting more important, not less.

New Construction vs. Resale: The Truth About Hidden Costs

This is where I really want to dig in because there’s more confusion around this topic than almost anything else. Full disclosure: I just bought new construction, so I’ve literally just walked through this decision with my own money, and I can tell you what it actually looks like from the inside.

New construction sounds appealing, right? Brand new home, never lived in, builder warranty, modern building codes. And here’s a big deal: lower insurance costs. Homes built to current 2025 codes can save you $300 to $500 a month on flood insurance alone compared to older homes. Over time, that adds up.

But here’s what you don’t see advertised anywhere, and this is where I want to be really specific because there’s a big difference between the two types of new construction builders out here. Mixing them up is a costly mistake.

Production Builders vs. Semi-Custom Builders

Your production builders—your LGI, your D.R. Hortons—are pretty much what you see is what you get. There’s very little customization. You pick a floor plan, you get the base package, and you come in after closing and add your own light fixtures, your own touches. The price is the price, and that simplicity can actually be appealing.

But then you’ve got your semi-custom and custom builders—your Taylor Morrisons, your Toll Brothers, your Pultes. This is where people get caught off guard. These builders are going to sit you down in a design center and walk you through every single option. And I mean every single option. Cabinet color? That’s an upgrade. Countertop? Upgrade. Extended lanai? Upgrade. Tile throughout instead of carpet? Upgrade.

Here’s the thing: when you walk through one of their model homes, you are not looking at what you’re buying at base price. You’re actually looking at something that’s between $150,000 to $400,000 worth of upgrades on top of the base price. The model is the dream version. The base is not that.

Lot Premiums and Design Center Costs

And there’s something else that doesn’t get mentioned until you’re already emotionally invested: the lot premium. Most of these communities have lot premiums that are not included in the base price you see advertised. Water view premium. Corner lot premium. Cul-de-sac premium. These can easily run $30,000 to $80,000 on top of the base price before you’ve added a single upgrade.

In my experience, buyers going into one of these semi-custom communities spend $50,000 to $60,000 on upgrades at an absolute minimum. Usually more. Things you would absolutely assume are included—like a laundry room sink or a tile shower in the master bath or gutters—are often not. It can feel a little like buying a car and then finding out that the seats are extra.

The Pool Comparison That Will Blow Your Mind

Now let’s talk about pools because this is where I think the numbers are the most eye-opening. If you want a pool added by a production builder, you’re looking at $80,000 to $120,000 added to your contract price. Let’s say you decide to hold off and have it built after you close—you’re still going to spend $60,000 to $80,000 in today’s market.

Now flip it around. If you buy a resale home in this market right now, a home that already has a pool, that pool is only adding about $35,000 to $50,000 of actual appraised value to the home. Think about that. You could pay $80,000 to have a pool built new, or you could buy a resale home where someone else already paid for it and you’re essentially getting it for half price—maybe less—because the market has corrected and sellers are motivated.

That’s a $30,000 to $70,000 swing just on the pool. And that doesn’t even factor in the landscaping, the pavers, the outdoor kitchen, the pergola—all the stuff that comes with a lot of these resale homes that would cost you another $20,000 to $40,000 if you’re building new.

Key Takeaways: Is Now the Right Time to Buy in Southwest Florida?

Economic uncertainty is real, but Florida real estate has historically recovered and exceeded previous peaks after every correction
Cape Coral and Fort Myers prices are down 20% or more from the July 2022 peak, and inventory is at 4.6 months—a buyer’s market
Insurance costs in Lee County run $4,000 to $8,000 per year combined (homeowners + flood); always get quotes before going under contract
New construction offers lower insurance costs ($300-$500/month savings) but can have $50,000+ in hidden upgrade and lot premium costs
Resale homes with pools and upgrades offer exceptional value right now—you’re getting features at 30-50% below replacement cost
The buying window is real but tightening as weekly contract activity increases

Ready to Make Your Move?

Look, I put my own money into this market last month because I genuinely believe this is one of those correction windows that people look back on years later and wish they’d acted during. But your situation is unique. Maybe you’re coming from out of state and trying to figure this place out from 800 miles away. Maybe you’re worried about insurance, or you’re not sure which neighborhoods make sense, or you want to understand the real numbers before you commit.

That’s exactly what my team and I specialize in. We’ve helped over 100 families relocate to Southwest Florida, and we know how to walk you through this process without the pressure or the sales pitch. Watch the full video above for all the details I couldn’t fit into this article, including specific neighborhood insights and current opportunities.

When you’re ready to talk strategy, give me a call or text directly at 239-376-3777, or visit swflrelocationteam.com to download our free relocation kit and get access to our VIP property hotlist. Let’s figure out together whether now is the right time for you.