Buyers Who Avoided Fort Myers After Hurricane Ian Are Starting to Come Back

Written by:

Alejandra Rodriguez

Date:

29 May 2026

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After several years of post-hurricane uncertainty, the Fort Myers residential market is showing signs of genuine stabilization. Inventory has tightened, sales volume picked up through the first quarter of 2026, and the insurance landscape, long a source of anxiety for buyers and sellers alike, has improved considerably. For those watching from the outside, the narrative of a market still struggling under the weight of Hurricane Ian may no longer reflect what’s actually happening on the ground.

A Market Quietly Recovering

The numbers tell a straightforward story. Fort Myers has entered seller’s market territory, with single-family home supply at around 3.4 months, down significantly from a year ago. Condos haven’t quite reached that threshold, but they’re trending in the same direction.

“Our market has now shifted into technically a seller’s market with 3.4 months of supply, and that’s down significantly from a year ago,” says Martin Hawley, Team Lead at The Hawley Team at Keller Williams Realty Fort Myers & The Islands. “Condos are not quite there yet, but single-family homes are.”

Hawley notes that the improvement mirrors what’s happening in Naples and Cape Coral. His team closed 139 transactions in 2025, a volume that reflects both incoming demand and the operational discipline required to manage it.

Who’s Buying and Where They’re Coming From

The buyer profile in Fort Myers has remained relatively consistent, though one segment has pulled back. Canadian buyers, historically a significant part of the Southwest Florida market, have been largely absent for the past 18 months. In their place, the market continues to draw heavily from the I-75 corridor, Michigan, Minnesota, and other Midwestern states, while the I-95 corridor from New York tends to feed the Miami side of the state more than the Gulf Coast.

Roughly 40% of the team’s buyers are relocating from out of state, many with retirement in mind. The remaining 60% are residents moving within the region. Cash transactions remain a notable part of the mix, alongside buyers using conventional financing.

The Insurance Question, Revisited

For the past few years, property insurance has been one of the most cited obstacles to buying in Southwest Florida. Premiums spiked sharply after Ian; new providers were slow to enter the market, and buyers grew cautious. That picture has improved considerably.

Hawley points to his own rental property as a practical example. After Hurricane Ian, his annual premium jumped from $2,300 to $4,300 within a few months of renewal. It has since dropped back to $2,700 as new providers entered the state and rates adjusted. “I think the insurance stuff is largely over,” he says.

That said, older construction remains a sticking point. Homes that haven’t been updated to current hurricane codes, specifically those lacking the required three nails per truss in their roof structure, can still carry elevated wind mitigation costs. For buyers, having an agent who builds insurance contingencies into purchase contracts remains a practical safeguard, even as the broader insurance environment improves.

Flood Zones Are Reshaping Buyer Preferences

While insurance costs have moderated, flood zone concerns continue to influence where buyers look. The barrier islands and AE flood zone areas along the coast remain harder sells, and buyer hesitation around those designations hasn’t fully dissipated despite lower flood insurance premiums.

“The first thing most buyers tell us is we want a three-bed, two-bath house not in a flood zone,” Hawley notes.

This preference is quietly redirecting demand toward inland neighborhoods. The 33908 zip code in South Fort Myers draws consistent attention, while Cape Coral continues to attract buyers, particularly for waterfront properties with direct or indirect Gulf access.

Pricing Discipline and the Cost of Waiting

On the sell side, the market is rewarding correctly priced listings and penalizing optimistic ones. Overpriced properties sit. That dynamic isn’t unusual, but what’s notable is how Hawley approaches the conversation with sellers who are reluctant to adjust.

He walks sellers through the full carrying cost picture, not just taxes and insurance, but the opportunity cost of capital tied up in an unsold property. In one recent example involving a cash-owned condo, a seller assumed carrying costs of around $400 per month. After factoring in the opportunity cost of the equity sitting idle, the real figure came out to $2,300 per month. “Changed the whole conversation,” Hawley says.

The Risk of Investing Without Local Knowledge

For outside investors considering Fort Myers, the market offers real opportunity, but it punishes assumptions made from a distance. Hawley recently took on an expired listing that illustrated the cost of buying without local guidance. An investor working with a Miami-based agent purchased a home in a community positioned as upscale, situated within San Carlos Park. The property sat in a working-class neighborhood directly under the flight path of Southwest Florida International Airport. Showings were disrupted by aircraft noise, the surrounding area didn’t support the price point, and the golf club membership required a $150,000 buy-in that didn’t match the neighborhood profile.

The seller ended up bringing money to closing because the home proved so difficult to sell at the original price. “My first recommendation is, get somebody local to help you invest your money to know the neighborhoods,” Hawley says.

The lesson isn’t that Fort Myers is a difficult market for investors; it’s that neighborhood-level knowledge matters enormously in a market with this much geographic variation.

What’s Ahead

Looking into the second half of 2026, the team is watching interest rates closely. With a new Federal Reserve chair in place and several indicators pointing toward rate reductions, Hawley believes the market may be at or near a price floor for single-family homes.

“As interest rates come down, we’re already technically in a seller’s market. I think the prices are going to start going up again,” he says.

For buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines, whether retirees from the Midwest, investors looking for value, or snowbirds reconsidering their options after a few cautious years, the window of relative affordability may be narrowing. The relocation market, which slowed in the immediate aftermath of Ian, has already started picking back up, with the first quarter of 2026 showing a noticeable increase in activity.

The Fort Myers market has never been a simple one to read from a distance. But for those willing to engage with its specifics, flood zone boundaries, building code distinctions, neighborhood-level dynamics, the fundamentals are pointing in a clearer direction than they have in years.

About the Expert: Martin Hawley is Team Lead at The Hawley Team at Keller Williams Realty Fort Myers & The Islands, serving the Fort Myers and Southwest Florida market. His team closed 139 transactions in 2025.

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.