The "curve ball" Hurricane Ian threw at us.
Hurricane Ian’s path of destruction through Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties will likely take years to heal and have consequences for the housing market in the Bradenton-Sarasota area. In Lee County alone, more than 4,000 homes were destroyed and more than 44,000 suffered some type of damage, according to PBS station WGCU. Many homeowners and renters who lost their homes will be looking north to the Bradenton and Sarasota area, as well as to Tampa and St. Petersburg for replacement housing.
In addition, some home buyers and renters who were looking at Naples or Fort Myers before Ian, have turned their focus to the Bradenton-Sarasota area, which already faces an affordable housing crisis. The added pressure could help drive costs even higher — or at least keep them high — just as increasing inventory and rising interest rates were beginning to moderate the surge in housing prices.
“We are in a flux market, trying to find balance, and then Ian comes along a throws a curve ball at it,” said Joanne Owens, founder/broker of Keller Williams on the Water. Greg Owens, broker and operating principal of Keller Williams on the Water, said he has already had several inquiries from people who were originally planning to buy in the Naples-Fort Myers area. The fallout from Ian will put pressure on housing inventory and the rental market, Greg Owens said.
“There are people who will move out of Florida, but I would bet there are four times as many moving in,” Mast said. Florida’s more stringent building codes enacted after Hurricane Andrew devastated Homestead in 1992 means that newer homes are better built than those in the past to withstand hurricane force winds. Mark Boehmig, a real estate agent with Michael Saunders & Company, said he expects to see people who lost their homes in Naples and Fort Myers moving to Bradenton, Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch.
“We do not feel like our market has been rattled by Ian,” he said. “Our prices are remaining pretty stable right now. We are not seeing a big decline.” John Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods and developer of North River Ranch in Parrish, said he is already seeing interest in Manatee County from persons displaced by Ian. “Especially from folks who had a seasonal home in the area affected by Ian,” Neal said. “It’s sad what has taken place to the south. It will come back, but it will take some time,” he said.
James A. Jones Jr. jajones1@bradenton.com
All information and credit to Bradenton Herald *James A. Jones Jr.
https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article267545912.html#storylink=cpy
