In Venice, Florida, the Housing Market Has Corrected, and Buyers Who Did Their Homework Are Moving In

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

22 May 2026

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The narrative around Florida real estate has grown increasingly polarized. Depending on who you ask, the market is either in freefall or quietly finding its footing. In the Venice and Englewood area of Southwest Florida, the reality sits somewhere more nuanced, a market that has corrected from pandemic-era peaks, stabilized around more realistic price points, and is now attracting a steady stream of buyers who have been planning their move for years.

Christine Appice, a realtor and co-leader of Team Appice at Century 21, has been working in real estate since 1998. After nearly 25 years in New Jersey, she relocated to Southwest Florida four years ago and now focuses primarily on the Venice and Englewood corridor.

A Market That Has Found Its Level

The COVID-era surge in Florida real estate is well-documented. Remote work flexibility, a desire for outdoor living, and an influx of out-of-state buyers pushed prices sharply higher across much of the state. When those conditions normalized, prices pulled back, and in some markets, they pulled back hard.

In Venice, the correction has been real but not catastrophic. Appice describes the market as healthy, with homes priced close to where they should be, not experiencing the severe distress reported in other parts of the state. “I think homes are priced where they should be priced, maybe a little bit higher, but definitely not the doom and gloom that you are hearing from other places within Florida,” she says.

That relative stability is partly geographic. The area’s proximity to the Gulf Coast, Beachwalk on Manasota Key, sits roughly two and a half miles from the beach, giving it a durability that more inland or overbuilt markets lack. Limited remaining developable land near the coast provides a natural floor for long-term values.

Insurance as the Central Friction Point

If there is one issue that consistently shapes buyer conversations in Southwest Florida right now, it is insurance costs. The combination of hurricane exposure, rising premiums, and flood zone classifications has become a material factor in purchase decisions across the region.

Appice is direct about the scale of the problem. Monthly insurance costs exceeding $1,000 are common, and she advises buyers to prioritize properties in X or 500-year flood zones, areas with lower flood risk, to keep premiums manageable. More importantly, she treats insurance education as a pre-contract responsibility rather than something buyers discover during due diligence.

“You have to be transparent with the buyer upfront before they enter into a contract,” she explains, noting that many contracts do not allow buyers to exit a deal simply because insurance costs come in higher than expected. This approach reflects how experienced agents are now operating in coastal Florida, less as transaction facilitators and more as risk educators.

Who Is Buying and What They Want

The buyer profile in Venice skews toward pre-retirees and recent retirees, many of whom have been planning a Florida move for several years. These are not impulsive buyers. Most have been working toward this decision for roughly five years, according to Appice, making them motivated but also deliberate.

That said, motivation does not always mean certainty. Many buyers carry emotional hesitation alongside their financial readiness, concerns about distance from family, uncertainty about leaving a longtime home, and the anxiety that comes with deploying a significant portion of accumulated savings. Appice describes her role in those moments as part agent, part sounding board, helping buyers identify whether hesitation reflects a timing issue or a deeper concern.

On the product side, buyers are showing clear preferences. Impact-resistant windows and hurricane-code construction are increasingly expected rather than optional. Newer homes are moving faster than older ones, and condos are facing headwinds due to pending special assessments tied to building code compliance requirements. Buyers are avoiding condominiums that haven’t completed required upgrades, Appice notes, because assessments of $25,000 or more can follow a purchase, an unwelcome surprise that is pushing demand toward single-family homes and updated properties.

Seller Expectations and the New Negotiation Reality

The psychology around price reductions has changed meaningfully on both sides of the transaction. Where a reduction once signaled something was wrong with a property, buyers now treat it as an invitation to negotiate further. “The buyers are waiting for the first price reduction to see how far the sellers are going to come down,” Appice explains.

Her current portfolio of roughly 20 pending deals illustrates the point: she has not sold a single property at the asking price so far in 2026. That is not a sign of a broken market; it is a sign of one where negotiation is the norm, and sellers who understand that dynamic fare better than those who resist it.

Presentation also matters more than it once did. Buyers in this market are highly visual, and properties that are cluttered, poorly maintained, or dated are losing ground to newer, move-in-ready alternatives. Appice advises sellers to either invest in making their home presentable or reduce their price to a level where buyers can look past cosmetic issues.

Days on market vary widely, from 15 days for well-priced, well-presented homes to 150 days or more for listings that needed a price reset before finding traction. That range makes accurate initial pricing and ongoing seller communication more important than ever.

Where Investors Should Be Looking

For investors considering the Venice market, non-HOA properties represent a potentially underappreciated opportunity. According to Appice, there is a substantial inventory of homes outside HOA communities where the margin for negotiation is wider than in newer, deed-restricted developments. “There’s a tremendous amount of homes that are not in an HOA,” she says. “That would be a great place to start, because there’s a lot of deals to be made.”

Proximity to water and to downtown Venice continues to command premium pricing and stronger demand. The island itself remains the most resilient submarket, while properties further from the coast or in buildings with deferred maintenance are facing more pressure.

Looking Ahead

The same macro variables shaping markets across the country, interest rates, equity markets, and broader economic sentiment, are influencing whether buyers who are financially ready will actually commit. Appice notes that these factors collectively determine whether planned relocations happen now or get pushed further into the future.

For a market that has absorbed significant disruption over the past several years, pandemic demand surges, post-COVID corrections, insurance volatility, and hurricane recovery, the Venice and Englewood corridor appears to be in a more stable position than its headlines sometimes suggest. The opportunity is real, but so are the complexities. Buyers and investors who do their homework on insurance, flood zones, and building conditions are finding a market that rewards patience and preparation over speed and speculation.

About the Expert: Christine Appice is a realtor and co-leader of Team Appice at Century 21, focused on the Venice and Englewood corridor of Southwest Florida, with a real estate career dating to 1998. She relocated from New Jersey to Southwest Florida four years ago.

This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.