Hundreds of new homes are being built and placed on the market in Charlotte County at a time when inventory levels were 26.8% higher in October over the same period in 2023.
There were 2,950 single-family homes for sale in October, up from September’s 2,806. Despite the inventory levels, Realtor Carla Nix, of The Nix Team at Coldwell Banker Sunstar Realty, said, “We might find ourselves in a situation where prices may go up in January.”
The National Association of Realtors predicted that prices could climb due to increased consumer optimism.
In Charlotte County, various homebuilders are developing communities that will bring thousands of residential units to the market, with many lying in the southern portion of the county and in Punta Gorda. Whether the additional inventory will affect demand and/or prices will be realized in the months ahead.
Most recently, Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board approved a preliminary plat plan for Lennar Homes LLC to build several hundred townhomes on 31.41 acres near Tuckers Grade in Punta Gorda. Called Willow Townhomes, the subdivision is a replat of Tuckers Pointe Phase 1.
If the Board of County Commissioners accepts the Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendation for approval at its Nov. 26 land-use meeting, Lennar Homes can move forward and apply for final site plan review and then obtain final plat approval, county Principal Planner Jie Shao said.
Lennar Homes also is building single-family homes in its Tuckers Cove community in Punta Gorda, located off Tuckers Grade. When completed, Tuckers Cove will consist of 2,265 residences, including townhomes and villas.
The Willow Townhomes development consists of 360 residential lots and 20 tracts located north of Tuckers Grade, east of Tamiami Trail, south of Cloverly Lane and west of Willowleaf Boulevard, within the South County area, in Commission District II.
Toll Brothers is building a development along Tuckers Grade, Toll Brothers of Willow, where 143 single-family homes are being sold.
Hundreds of acres in the area of Tuckers Grade are targeted for development. It is an area of rapid growth in the county, along with West County’s West Port neighborhood and numerous communities along the Burnt Store Corridor.
D.R. Horton is building 224 single-family homes in its Seagrass community and twin villas on 144 single-family residential lots. Both are near Jones Loop and Taylor roads in Punta Gorda.
As memories of hurricanes fade and a snowy winter is predicted up north, the exodus to Florida could increase.
After hurricanes Helene and Milton, the average number of residents moving to Florida fell to about 750 per day, down from 1,000 or more a day.
Shelton Weeks, professor of Real Estate and director of the Lucas Institute for Real Estate and Finance at Florida Gulf Coast University, said recently that unless inventory levels decrease, it will generally remain a buyers’ market.
But for those wanting to live in a particular area and perhaps invest in a second home for recreation, hurricane concerns might not be part of their decision to live in a warm, waterfront community, he said.
Nix said that sellers are now “ready to go on,” which would account for the number of new listings.
In October there were 625 new listings that came on the market, up from 512 in September, and inventory levels rose to a 7-month supply, up from 6.6 months in September.
Meanwhile, the median price of single-family homes in October of $355,000, surpassed September’s $335,250.
Sellers also got slightly more of their original listing price – 93.4% in October, up from 92.9% the previous month.
