The insurance crisis hitting the Sunshine State has caused a surge in excess inventory and sent home prices plummeting along Florida’s southwest coast.
Real estate agents said rising home insurance prices are deterring would-be snowbirds from buying property in the popular corridor between Sarasota and Naples.
Prospective buyers are spooked as insurance premiums have risen sharply since Hurricane Ian in 2022.
Insurance rates rose 42% last year since the storm, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Floridians paid an average of $6,000 for insurance last year, while U.S. homeowners paid an average of $1,700, according to the insurance watchdog group.
Marissa Gervasoni, president of the Royal Palm Coast Association of Realtors, told Bloomberg that in Fort Myers, “spending is up 50% to 100%.” [on insurance costs] It depends on the age of the house. ”
Gervasoni said local residents are eager to sell because they can’t afford homeowners insurance, but the number of potential buyers is decreasing for the same reason.
“Some people may want to weather the storm and just move on. I really don’t think affordability is here anymore because of insurance,” Gervasoni said.
“From what I’m seeing, I think they’re looking for areas that may be less costly.”
The number of active listings for single-family homes in the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-Northport area has more than doubled in the past year, increasing from 789 listings in December 2022 to 1,900 listings as of November of last year. According to data cited by Bloomberg News.
In the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area, the number of listings jumped from 3,900 in December 2022 to 6,200 a year later.
Naples had 2,000 active listings as of December, up from 1,600 the year before.
Active listings in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area increased from 3,400 in December 2022 to 4,800 in the same month last year, according to the report.
Excess inventory is leading to falling prices as homeowners struggle to sell their properties.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, home prices in Punta Gorda, 160 miles south of Tampa, fell 5.5% year over year.
Naples home prices fell nearly 6% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
Home prices in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area fell 3.5%.
