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Future Southwest Florida Home Owners Need To Make 6 Figures To Afford A House

Author Joe Winner

When it comes to buying a home, the term ‘affordable’ means a home buyer spends no more than 30% of their income on their housing. That number has become quite the joke to many Southwest Florida home owners. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that if I didn’t buy my house 7 years ago, there is absolutely no way I could afford to buy in 2023.

A combination of home prices and rising interest rates has priced many people out. I think when interest rates rose, they expected that the rates would push home prices down. But what happened is that, now no one is willing to give up their 3% interest rate mortgage. When no one is moving, no new inventory opens up. Supply and demand pushes prices up. And here we are.

WFLA used data from Redfin to show how much money you need to make to afford to buy a median price home in Florida.

Miami was the highest. With a median home sale price of $525,000 you need to make $143,187 a year to be ok. Lakeland was the lowest on their list. Lakeland’s median home sale price is $325,000 which would require a $88,639 salary to hit that 30% threshold. We’re somewhere in between the two.

Future Southwest Florida Home Owners Need To Make At Least $108,249 To Afford A House

That’s the number they came up with for Cape Coral. This number corresponds to a median home sale price of $396,900 for a monthly mortgage payment of just over $2,700. $108,249. And other parts of Southwest Florida are worse. Even North Port came in at $123,888 a year salary to afford a home.

It may not be obvious yet, but this will show up in the Southwest Florida workforce. It’s going to be increasingly expensive for businesses to attract out of town talent to the area. Would you move somewhere where you couldn’t afford to live?

Naples Florida Single Family Homes You Can Buy For Less Than $300,000

Seven years ago I bought my house for about $270K. Not a condo, it’s a stand alone single family house with 3 bedroom, 2 bath and a pool. The pool is screened and I live in a nice gated neighborhood with a great HOA. The latest estimates say my house is worth more than double that price now. Quite a bit more. I feel like a boomer with all my equity, but it’s only been 7 years. Naples single family homes have gotten pricey.

Home values in Southwest Florida have just gone straight up. So I was wondering, what could I get for the same amount of money today? Is there anything in Naples you can buy for less than $300,000? I’m not talking condos or a duplex, I’m talking a single family house. Maybe some yard, a driveway. Put up a picket fence. Kids and a dog. You know, the American Dream, right?

Affordable single family homes in Naples are pretty slim pickings. And with the rising interest rates heading towards 8% it seems like the longer you wait, the worse it gets. Rising rates and rising prices. It’s become pretty common for adult children to be moving back in with their parents. It’s not like you can afford to strike out on your own, get yourself a house, and settle down.

Actually, you can. You just need to really, really, really lower your expectations. And I’d stay current on your tetanus shots.

So get your Homestead exemption ready, let’s take a look at single family homes for sale in Naples for less than $300,000. The first one even comes with some acreage, if not much else.

  • 1975 Everglades Blvd S, - $250,000

    This place reminds me of the shack where Ray Finkle grew up in rural Collier County. It does come with over 2 1/2 acres. There are other houses in the area so I’m assuming there’s utilities. This lovely single family home was built in 1984 making me really wonder how it has survived all the hurricanes that have been through here since then. Just a few blocks down from Palmetto Elementary it might be a place to start a family. Plan for some 14 mile trips to the nearest hardware store as it appears this is a bit of a ‘fixer upper’.

    https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1975-Everglades-Blvd-S_Naples_FL_34117_M60074-80207?from=srp-list-card

  • 5477 Martin St - $270,000

    This cozy 3 bed, 2 bath, 1100 square foot home located in Naples Manor is currently in foreclosure. A true handyman’s dream as the first thing you’ll need to do is replace the roof. And the ac. And try to figure out just what was going on in that bathroom. As a bonus, there’s no neighbors adjacent on the back of the house so the kids will have room to play. Once you remove all the debris, of course.

    https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5477-Martin-St_Naples_FL_34113_M52327-09890?from=srp-list-card

  • 117 Audubon Rd - $275,000

    To start, this is in a 55+ community so that knocks out the starter home idea. But other than that, this place really doesn’t look too bad. A 2 bedroom, 2 bath, with docks and gulf access. HOA just $16 a month. I’m actually fans of the current residents because, as the pictures show, they clearly hate furniture. When there’s no couches or tables there’s so much more room for activities. We could make bunk beds!

    https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/117-Audubon-Rd_Naples_FL_34114_M58646-17135?from=srp-list-card

  • 2364 Bayside St - $275,000

    Is this a house or a shed? I think it may actually be a shed. This biggest selling point, as the realtor noted in all caps “NO HOA FEES OR RESTRICTIONS”. So, do whatever you want. The front door appears to be boarded, so it’s possible that the furniture comes with. That couch looks like it has stories. 

    https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2364-Bayside-St_Naples_FL_34112_M64750-81880?from=srp-list-card

  • 46 Lanai Ct - $299,900

    Your last choice hits the upper range of our $300,000 limit. Located in Lely Tropical Estates this 2 bed/2 bath 915 square foot home looks well maintained. Aside from some questionable judgment on decor, this might be the best of the bunch. 

    https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/46-Lanai-Ct_Naples_FL_34112_M64858-28960?from=srp-list-card

  • And that's it.

    If you’re looking to move into a single family home in Naples with a $300,000 budget, those are your options. Don’t forget to also budget in the near 8% mortgage interest rate, which certainly eats into purchasing power.

    I spoke with my neighbor about this yesterday. How can we really expect working class people to move here when they can’t afford to live? The solution used to be, live in Lehigh and drive to work. But even Lehigh Acres is getting too expensive for regular people. And making everyone drive long commutes to work just further crowds our roads. What’s the answer?

Joe Winner spends his days combing through memes and off beat stories to bring you the side of Florida not always seen.

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