Thinking of Moving to Fort Myers or Naples?
Discover what living in SW Florida is like.
If you're thinking about moving to the Fort Myers or Naples area and in the process of researching various locations around the state, you're in the right place. This page has been assembled to help you gain a better understanding of SW Florida, what Fort Myers and Naples offers residents in terms of lifestyle, amenities, employment and healthcare. We also encourage you to reach out to Jenna Scharf, our Fort Myers & Naples relocation expert as she is glad to answer any questions you may have about the area, including the real estate market, housing prices and annual living costs.About SW Florida
The Fort Myers area is one of the fastest growing areas in the entire state. With a population of 86,395, Fort Myers is home to top-rated beaches, a thriving business environment, local museums and attractions, as well as an active events and social scene. With an average temperature of 74 degrees year-round and 271 sunny days each year, Fort Myers offers its full-time residents an outdoor playground to enjoy activities such as kayaking, stand-up paddle-boarding, golf, boating and fishing.Experience Fort Myers, some of our local attractions as well as the beauty of nearby Captiva and Sanibel Islands. Make sure your volume is on.
SW Florida Awards & Accolades
The Fort Myers and Naples areas commonly receive awards and accolades for its top-rated beaches, strong business climate, quality healthcare and overall high-quality of life. Below are recent mentions per year.- 2022
- 2021
Naples and Fort Myers Rank as the #2 and #7 Best Places to Retire in the Country - US News & World ReportNaples Named a Top 10 Best Place to Live in the U.S. - US News & World Report - 2020
Top 10 Reasons to Relocate to Fort Myers & Naples
- Fort Myers is the Fastest Growing City in America
In 2020, Fort Myers was ranked as the #1 Fastest-Growing City in the entire US by WalletHub. This study was based upon 15 important factors of both growth and decline over a period of 7 years from over 515 cities nationwide. Since the 2010 census with a city population at 62,298, Fort Myers has now grown to 87,103 (2019 data) which represents an overall 39.8% population increase. - Fort Myers & Naples are Top Cities to Retire In
The Naples and Fort Myers areas of SW Florida have long been popular retirement destinations on Florida's west coast. In 2022, Naples and Fort Myers were named the #2 and #7 Best Places to Retire in the entire country by US News & World Report (see table rankings below). In 2018, Livability.com also ranked Naples as the # 1 city to retire in the entire US. These studies are based upon several factors including the happiness of local residents, local tax rates, crime rates, the affordability of housing as well as quality healthcare services available to seniors.
# City, State Average Home Price Average Age 1 Sarasota, FL $482,283 49.2 2 Naples, FL $592,152 66.0 3 Daytona Beach, FL $258,082 42.5 4 Melbourne, FL $366,047 42.6 5 Lancaster, PA $317,902 38.6 6 Tampa, FL $408,997 35.7 7 Fort Myers, FL $382,935 40.6 City rankings based upon the 150 largest metropolitan areas across the US. - Fort Myers Real Estate Offers Good Value
Both Fort Myers and Naples have gorgeous waterfront property, top-selling master-planned residential communities (Babcock Ranch in Fort Myers and Ave Maria in Naples) and high-rise condos with breathtaking views of the Gulf and natural Florida. The biggest difference between the two communities is the affordability of the real estate. In late May of 2022, the median home price in Fort Myers is $382,935 whereas the median home price in Naples is roughly 200K more at $592,152 which makes Fort Myers a great value by comparison. For exact housing prices and a list of available homes matching your criteria, contact Jenna Scharf, our Fort Myers and Naples relocation expert listed on this page. - SW Florida is the Ideal Outdoor Year-Round Playground
SW Florida is the perfect destination for outdoor enthusiasts with an average temperature of 74 degrees year-round and 271 sunny days each year. If you enjoy a great workout in the Florida sunshine, try kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding through natural mangroves and experience Florida wild birds and abundant sea life. There’s also lots of waterways, local islands and sand bars to explore by boat. Lastly, if you prefer to improve your golf game, SW Florida has lots of popular community golf courses to check out. - SW Florida Has a Strong Economy & Job Market
The SW Florida employment and job market has been very strong in recent years with unemployment at only 3.7 percent. The top industries in the region include hospitality and tourism, healthcare, education, trades, retail and professional services. The biggest and largest employers in Lee and Collier counties include Lee Health System, county school districts, local city governments, Publix Supermarkets, Anthrex, ACI worldwide and ASG Technologies. - Top-Rated Fort Myers & Captiva Island Beaches
The beaches of SW Florida are among some of most beautiful and most popular in our state. Fort Myers Beach, lined with its waterfront restaurants and open-air bars, was recently ranked the as the 14th best beach in the US by TripAdvisor (2018). Sanibel, and nearby Captiva to the north, are consistently ranked among some of the best in the world for shelling. Shelling is the art of locating, observing and collecting sea shells. Fort Myers Beach | Sanibel Beach. - SW Florida Offers Great Dining Options
The SW Florida area offers a full array of casual outdoor eateries to elegant, five-star restaurants. There are also many new, trendy craft breweries and beer gardens to visit. These locations offer a very casual environment, are typically pet-friendly and many even offer daily live entertainment. Downtown Fort Myers, Cape Coral (near the bridge), Fort Myers Beach and downtown Naples are some of these trendy places to check out! - Fort Myers & Naples Have Endless Events to Check Out
SW Florida offers its residents an active scene of year-round events, great musical performances and outdoor festivals to check out. In addition, there are also many popular community events that take place each year including Artfest Fort Myers, The Southwest Florida Music Festival, Crafts on the River, The Craft Beer & Music Festival, The Fort Myers Beach Pirate Fest, The Naples National Art Festival, Baconfest Naples, The Everglades Seafood Festival and many more! - SW Florida Offers Top-Rated Healthcare
When moving to SW Florida, it's important to know that you have quality healthcare available to you for both emergency and preventative care. The top-rated hospitals in Lee and Collier Counties respectively are NCH Healthcare System and Lee Memorial Hospital. Both were ranked in 2016 as best hospitals in the state of Florida. View U.S. News & World Report Rankings - Fort Myers is a Great Small City to Start a Business
With a growing population, Fort Myers makes a great small city to start a new business. In 2018, WalletHub ranked Fort Myers as the #10 Best small city in the US (out of 1,200 small-sized cities) to start a business based upon 18 important factors including average growth, number of small businesses already in the area, investor access as well as the cost of local labor.
Fort Myers Beach View
Sanibel Beach View
Jenna Scharf
Realtor®Your Fort Myers & Naples Relocation Expert
239-222-8104
Please mention Moving to Florida Guide when calling so I can track my marketing efforts. Thanks!
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The Fort Myers & Naples Market in 2022
Market outlook, trends and relocation advice by Jenna Scharf.
We have a big demand for housing here in the Fort Myers/Naples area. Many people are fleeing the Midwest, New York, and New Jersey for better weather and lifestyle! Our housing inventory remains at an all-time low of roughly a one month's supply. In a healthy, normal market, we would have about a six months' supply. Unfortunately, the low inventory is not something that can or will be resolved quickly and may take several years to normalize. As such, there's no sign of a drastic market change anytime soon.
In conjunction with the already high housing prices, rising interest rates are now simply making it unaffordable for many buyers and we are observing where many are simply just pulling out of the market. With SW Florida home prices achieving all-time highs, we're now seeing where buyers that CAN buy, WON'T buy, as they simply can't justify the current prices. I truly think we've hit our peak in the first half of 2022.
In conjunction with the already high housing prices, rising interest rates are now simply making it unaffordable for many buyers and we are observing where many are simply just pulling out of the market. With SW Florida home prices achieving all-time highs, we're now seeing where buyers that CAN buy, WON'T buy, as they simply can't justify the current prices. I truly think we've hit our peak in the first half of 2022.
My Outlook for the 2nd Half of 2022
There's nothing indicating that SW Florida home prices will drop significantly any time soon. However, we are starting to notice more decreases in listing prices as of late. In fact, Cape Coral tops the list for Florida with the highest percentage of price decreases in April 2022 at 32.5% (vs. 18.5% in April 2021). This is a great sign! With higher interest rates and some buyers now pulling out of the market, homes will start to sit on the market a little longer. Inventory will eventually start to grow, and prices will slowly start to drop. It won't be significant, but it's a great sign of the change to come!Market Trends I'm Observing
Over the past couple of months, I've noticed many more financed offers getting accepted. My listings have also had fewer cash buyers mixed into the competition. This is a great sign overall for younger buyers and families that have had a hard time competing against the all-cash offer. Another positive sign of a shifting market!My Relocation Advice
The biggest piece of advice that I can give buyers is if you're thinking of buying, don't wait! If you're financing, be pre-approved and ready to go. Know how much money you'll need to put down and talk to your agent about strategic ways to make your offer more appealing to sellers. Even with interest rates rising, they are still historically low by comparison. It's still a great time to buy and to achieve your goal of home ownership!Fort Myers & Naples Relocation Reviews:
Read what Jenna's past clients are saying.
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"Jenna was fantastic in our search for the perfect home. We were shopping from our home in NJ and she cleared her weekend and had several listing lined up for us to look at once we got to Florida. She was flexible and we revised our search as the weekend progressed - she was able to line up new properties for us to view. At the end of the weekend we found our perfect home."
Scot E.
Home Buyer -
"Jenna was great as she spent an entire weekend helping us find a home. We flew down from Wisconsin and by the end of our 3 days together Jenna helped us buy a home. Through the whole process with us in Wisconsin, Jenna was our eyes and ears made our purchase as stress free as she could us being 1500 miles away. She was great im so glad we got to work with such a great young lady. Thanks Jenna!"
Bob B.
Home Buyer -
"My wife and I would highly recommend Jenna Scharf. We were searching for a winter home in Fort Myers and we were several states away. When we narrowed our search, we flew down and Jenna took us to several homes. She was amazing and incredible crafting our offer and making it happen fast. We could not have done this without her!"
Past Client
Home Buyer
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