Regional Economic Research Institute

Regional Economic Indicators: September 2023 Report

September 05, 2023 / RERI Research Team

The RERI has published Regional Economic Indicators for September 2023. The monthly publication represents a collection and analysis of economic indicators including airport passenger activity, taxable sales, tourist tax revenues, labor force, employment, real estate, and consumer sentiment for the Southwest Florida workforce region.

SWFL Real Estate: Third Quarter 2023 Report

August 31, 2023 / RERI Research Team / Tag: Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development & Finance

For the second quarter of 2023, existing residential units sold and housing affordability both continued to trend downward. Furthermore, increases in real median sale prices have begun to cool down, while the average age for properties sold continues to increase.

Issue Brief: Southwest Florida Housing Affordability

August 25, 2023 / RERI Research Team

During the past few years, in a period of low interest rates and increasing demand for homes, the U.S housing market has seen record high prices that are increasing at a faster rate than wages. Now that the U.S has entered a restrictive monetary policy period, high prices together with high interest rates have significantly decreased housing affordability. According to the National Association of Realtors, housing affordability ended 2022 with double digit declines from a year ago in all four regions of the country (Hyman, 2022). Moreover, there is a housing shortage which has reached crisis proportions at the same time as millennials are reaching the age when they are beginning to consider buying a home, which is likely to keep prices high (Trapasso, 2022).