Listings of homes for sale in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., metropolitan area have recovered after plunging in the wake of Hurricane Ian last fall, and sales have begun to bounce back, according to a new report from Redfin.
In the two months after the devastating September 2022 storm, there were 900 fewer new listings in Cape Coral-Fort Myers than there would have been had the storm not hit, according to Redfin projections. But in the six months after that, there were 1,314 more new listings than projected, more than offsetting the shortfall. To put it another way, the metro had gained 415 more new listings than it had lost by early May.
New listings are likely outperforming expectations due to a backlog created by the storm, according to Redfin; homeowners who paused their selling plans or delisted their properties in the wake of Hurricane Ian are now putting their homes on the market. There are likely other homeowners who didn’t intend to sell before the storm but are now moving because their home was damaged and/or they want to live in a safer area.
“Intense storms are becoming more frequent in Florida due to climate change, but homebuyers are still moving to the Sunshine State in search of warm weather and relatively affordable home prices,” Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a release. “But as homebuyers have moved into Florida, insurers have moved out, leaving homeowners with fewer and more expensive coverage options. Ultimately, lower-income residents may be pushed out of the riskiest areas due to rising insurance and rebuilding costs. Those who can afford to remain will likely see their home values appreciate at a slower clip as the dangers of climate change become impossible to ignore.”
Insurers aren’t just leaving flood-prone areas; State Farm and Allstate recently announced they will stop issuing new homeowner’s insurance policies in California due to climate risk, citing increased exposure to catastrophes including wildfires.
Redfin added that scores of vacant plots have also hit the market in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area after the homes atop many of those lots were destroyed. There were 6,167 land listings as of June 16, comparable with the number of home listings (6,619). Some don’t mention the impact of the storm or the potential for future natural disasters. Other listings do mention Hurricane Ian and tout the opportunities for builders and homebuyers despite continued storm risk.
While some people who moved to Florida during the pandemic are leaving, new out-of-staters continue to move in, which is incentivizing homebuilders in the area to keep building, according to local Redfin real estate agent Isabel Arias-Squires.
In the three months after Hurricane Ian, there were 723 fewer home sales in Cape Coral-Fort Myers than there would have been had the storm not hit, according to Redfin projections. In the following five months, there were 538 more sales than projected. That meant that by early May, the sales shortfall had shrunk from 723 to 185.
Cape Coral is the seventh-most popular migration destination for homebuyers, according to Redfin’s latest ranking. Four other Florida metros — Miami, Tampa, Orlando and North Port — are also in the top 10 as the Sunshine State attracts house hunters from New York, Chicago and other major metros.