Northeasterners Are Digging South West Florida as Single Family Home Sales Across the Country Soar

South West Florida is known for its pristine beaches, but the Estero community is proving itself to be far more than just white sand and crashing waves as more people look for single family homes. The community appeals to a wide demographic. It features two enormous outdoor shopping centers, Coconut Point and Miramar Outlets; Germain Arena, home of the local ECHL hockey team, The Florida Everblades; and Florida Gulf Coast University, an up-and-coming four-year public university that was selected as one of 10 schools around the country to receive the third annual Climate Leadership Award in 2012 because of its focus on environmental conservation.

It’s No Surprise That More and More People are Moving to the Paradise Coast

According to the Fort Myers News Press, real estate broker Randy Thibaut said that in recent years the more affluent Northeast has supplanted Midwesterners as the main source of new residents looking for single family homes in Lee and Collier counties (Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Estero, Marco Island and Naples).

Also according to the Fort Myers News Press, Wayne Daltry, former executive director of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council thinks it could have something to do with higher pensions and those below 0 temperatures we all love so much.

“It’s likely the Northeasterners are buying more expensive homes because they’re from more affluent states. “Those higher paying states reflect higher paying pensions — and it gets cold up there, too.”

The Laid Back Florida Lifestyle Can Also Be Addicting and Now is Definitely the Time to Buy

Sales of new single family homes climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000 in October, up 25.4-percent from the previous month’s revised rate of single family homes, according to a report issued by the Commerce Department.

And according to CNN, the rate was the highest level in six months.

Also according to CNN, Keith Gumbinger, vice president of mortgage information site HSH Associates, said that this year’s stock market gains could be the prime factor in driving the housing market.

Gumbinger also said that the inventories of existing homes are thin in several markets around the country, which could prompt people to build new homes rather than buy old ones.

Randy Thibaut pointed out that home builders in South West Florida may need to rethink the way they design and sell their communities and single family homes as their clientele shifts to a different demographic.

It will be interesting to see how these factors stack up leading into the New Year, but right now—now is the time to buy.