During the COVID pandemic in 2021 into 2023, home prices in Punta Gorda skyrocketed to unprecedented highs, with increases in home values at an average of 37.3 percent, and as high as 70 percent in some popular neighborhoods! The world had discovered wonderful Southwest Florida! And it led to seriously OVER-valued properties, and record low inventory, the most radical change in the entire U.S.!
BUT … this crazy phenomenon has graphically reversed in 2024 and 2025. Punta Gorda is again creating records, with record-setting reductions in valuations. Year-over-year price drops of 9.2 percent according to Realtor.com, and 14.3 percent posted by Redfin.com, and even higher percentages again in popular neighborhoods.
Inventory of resale homes listed for sale has more than doubled since 2023, and this means lots of competition for people selling their homes. The two main factors that are stimulating this mass exodus from Punta Gorda seem to be, 1) three major hurricanes in two years, and 2) challenges in obtaining homeowner and flood insurance at escalating prices.
Add to this the fact that the big builders like DR Horton, Maronda, and Lennar are listing about 150 new builds per month locally and giving unheard of incentives to buyers right now. Serious competition for resale sellers!
Will this lunacy eventually correct itself? History shows that it always does. We must have confidence that people from all over the world see that Southwest Florida offers all the best aspects of life!
