Henderson Franklin was proud to sponsor the real estate event Market Trends, which took place on Thursday, September 9, 2021, at the Caloosa Convention Center, downtown Fort Myers. The speakers included Randy Thibaut, CEO of LSI Companies, Denny Grimes, President of Denny Grimes & Team at Keller Williams, and Justin Thibaut, President of LSI. The presentation focused on the real estate market in Southwest Florida in 2021; and, more specifically, on three major areas of the market: new residential construction, the residential resale market, and commercial real estate. The following provides a brief recap of the presentations.
Continuing the trend from the second half of 2020, both the residential and commercial markets in Southwest Florida sustained their momentum. New homebuyers continue to flock to the region and developers are trying to keep up with demand.
New residential construction market
The total number of new building permits for single-family and multi-family in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties has continued to increase. 2020 saw a total of 18,418 residential permits issued. The year-to-date total for residential permits issued in 2021 currently sits at 14,272, with the projected total by year’s end estimated to be 23,400 permits issued. The past 12 months have seen a double-digit percentage increase in new permits in all three counties. Lee County saw an 11% increase, Collier a 22% increase, and Charlotte with an astounding 50% increase.
As was the case in 2020, individual communities continued to see astounding growth. The top three communities were Ave Maria, Babcock Ranch and Isles of Collier Preserve. To showcase that the residential market continues to grow, look no further than Babcock Ranch, which in 2020 saw 533 new building permits issued to various builders. It currently stands at 691 residential permits issued to various builders in 2021.
While the big builders like Lennar, DR Horton, and Pulte continue to dominate the market, we have seen a comeback for the small builders, with over 6,000 permits issued to these builders. An interesting new trend taking place in Southwest Florida is the build-for-rent model. This model appears to be aimed at a younger generation looking for homes, but wanting more financial flexibility. It will be interesting to see how this trend continues over the coming years.
While at some stage the market will likely level off, demand in the residential market looks set to continue in 2021 and the foreseeable future in Southwest Florida. As homebuyers continue to move into the region, developers look to continue buying up land and building single-family and multi-family units.
Residential resale market
Continue Reading Experts address the current state of the Southwest Florida real estate market
Henderson Franklin was honored to sponsor 2021 
In terms of the new construction market, 2020 saw an initial dip in the early part of the year, but, overall, the total number of new building permits amongst Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties increased an average of 16% across the board. Charlotte County saw the most growth with a 28% increase in new building permits.