Fort Myers Condo Sales Are Up and Prices Are Down. The Monthly Fee Explains Both

In 2024, WINK News reported on condo owners in two Fort Myers-area buildings who were struggling to sell. At High Point Place, the monthly association fee rose from $830 in 2021 to $1,300 in 2023. At Commodore II, it went from $488 to $799. One owner told the station that buyers "get hung up because of the fees that have to be paid here."

Those numbers are two years old, and both buildings may have different fee schedules today. What the story shows still holds, and it explains the 2026 Lee County condo data better than any headline about a "buyer's market." Buyers judge a condo by its purchase price plus its monthly cost. When the monthly cost goes up, the price has to come down for the unit to sell. That is why condos and townhouses across Lee County are selling more often in 2026 while the median price keeps slipping.

Two lines moving in opposite directions

Florida Realtors released its third-quarter and September figures on October 16, 2026. For townhouses and condos in the Cape Coral–Fort Myers metro, which covers all of Lee County, the year so far looks like this:

Each period in the table shows more sales at a lower median. In a market that had stalled, sales would fall along with prices because sellers would hold out and buyers would wait. In Lee County, through September 2026, closings were up a quarter from the year before. Sellers are accepting lower prices, and buyers are responding.

The pattern is local. In the third quarter of 2026, statewide condo and townhouse sales rose 3.1% and the Florida median held flat at $295,000, while the Lee County median fell 3.9%. Whatever is pulling Lee County prices down is stronger here than in Florida overall.

The fee is part of the price

Go back to High Point Place. A $470 monthly increase adds $5,640 a year to the cost of owning the same unit. Over ten years, that comes to $56,400 before any other cost changes. A buyer weighing that unit against one with a lower fee will knock that difference off the offer, and the seller absorbs it. That is how a fee increase ends up lowering the sale price.

The WINK report traced much of the increase to insurance. A local broker told the station that some owners who were outside a flood insurance area before the hurricane are now inside one. An agent explained the chain of costs: "If the association fee is covering the condo flood insurance, and that flood insurance doubles, then obviously the condo fee has to increase accordingly." The same agent also noted that with a condo, "It's built into the fee. It's not your choice. You have to be able to pay it."

A single-family owner can shop for a new insurance policy, raise the deductible, or put off a roof repair. A condo owner pays the association's decision every month. This is why fee changes push condo prices around more than single-family prices. In the same September 2026 report from the Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association, single-family homes sold in a median 42 days. Condos and townhouses took a median 89 days.

Florida's reserve rule makes the fee harder to cut

In recent years, the main lever for lowering condo fees in Florida was waiving reserves. That lever is now mostly gone. Under Section 718.112 of the Florida Statutes, residential condominium buildings three or more habitable stories tall must complete a structural integrity reserve study, known as a SIRS, at least every ten years. The study has to include a baseline funding plan that keeps projected reserve cash above zero. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, the reserves the study requires generally cannot be waived. The statute allows associations to fund them through regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit, or loans, and the last three need majority-vote approval.

HB 913, passed in 2025, adjusted the deadlines and added a limited option. For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an association that finished a milestone inspection within the previous two calendar years may, with majority approval, pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive budgets to pay for repairs the inspection recommended. It must then complete a SIRS before contributions resume.

For a buyer, the law adds a fourth line to the cost of owning a condo, after price, mortgage, and insurance. That line is the reserve cost the building owes under its funding plan, whether it shows up in the monthly fee, in a special assessment, or in a loan the association takes out. Two units with the same asking price in two buildings with different reserve positions are effectively different prices.

Plenty of inventory, but less than a year ago

The Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association, which covers Lee and Hendry counties outside Bonita Springs and Estero, reported 11.1 months' supply of condos and townhouses for September 2026. That was up 9.0% from August. The same figure is down 12.3% from September 2025. The association's median condo and townhouse sale price for the month was $220,000, down 3.1% from August. Its live statistics page lists slightly different September numbers, at $219,999 and 273 closings compared with 244 in the dated press release. Either set tells the same story.

Supply is high, and a year of price cuts has reduced it. The backlog shrinks when a unit's price comes down far enough to cover its carrying costs. Sellers who price for the fee get closings. Sellers who price for what the unit was worth before the fee went up add to the 89-day median.

The top of the market works differently

Statewide, second-quarter 2026 townhouse and condo sales grew fastest at the two ends of the price range. Sales under $200,000 rose 18.4%, sales at $1 million and above rose 29.5%, and most middle price ranges improved only modestly. The third quarter followed the same pattern, with sales under $200,000 up 7.3% and sales at $1 million and above up 15.3%. Those price-band figures are statewide, but downtown Fort Myers has its own example of the high end.

ONE Fort Myers is a 21-story tower with up to 34 units, under construction on First Street. Gulfshore Business calls it the first riverfront condominium tower to rise downtown since Oasis in 2006. Units start at $1.3 million and run to $2.5 million, a full-floor penthouse is about $4 million, and the top two floors sold together for $5.3 million. Jaxi Builders expects to finish construction by the end of 2027. The same outlet reported that about 45% of the units had sold. Gulf Coast News reported in April 2026 that parking is elevated and residences start on the third floor, about 40 feet above grade, as a response to flooding.

A new tower is easier for a buyer to evaluate. Its reserve plan starts on day one, its structure has no past repairs to catch up on, and its design addresses the flood exposure that drove fees higher in older buildings. Buyers paying more than $1 million are paying in part for a carrying cost they can see coming. More supply may follow. Gulfshore Business reported that a group led by KLM Development presented the Fort Myers City Council, at a January 12 workshop, with a proposal for a 23-story tower on the western downtown riverfront, with up to 600 hotel and residential units, retail, restaurants, and public marina access. The group gave a target of 18 to 24 months to groundbreaking, depending on approvals.

What to request before you write an offer

If the monthly cost sets the price, a buyer should know that cost before agreeing to a number. For any resale condo in a building three or more stories tall, ask for these documents early:

1. The most recent SIRS and the funding plan that goes with it, so you can see what the reserves are expected to cost each year.
2. The milestone inspection report if the building has had one, along with any list of recommended repairs.
3. The current budget, showing whether reserves are fully funded, paused under the 2028 provision, or covered through a loan or line of credit.
4. The fee history for the past several years, which shows whether past increases are already reflected in comparable sales.
5. The association's insurance coverage and recent premium changes, including flood coverage, because that is the cost the WINK story showed rising fastest.

Two units with identical comps can still be priced very differently once you compare these documents. Read them before you settle on a price. This post is general information about Florida condo rules, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm the details of a specific building and your own situation with a Florida real estate attorney, a lender, or an insurance professional.

Quick answers

Is Fort Myers a buyer's market for condos right now? Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association data shows 11.1 months' supply for September 2026, which gives buyers room to negotiate. That figure is lower than a year earlier, and Lee County townhouse and condo sales through September 2026 were up 25.3%.

Why are the RPCRA and Florida Realtors medians so different? They measure different areas. Florida Realtors reports the whole Lee County metro, including Bonita Springs and Estero, and its September 2026 townhouse and condo median was $255,000. RPCRA covers Lee and Hendry counties without Bonita Springs and Estero, and its September median was $220,000.

Does a new tower avoid the SIRS rules? The SIRS requirement in the statute covers residential condominium buildings three or more habitable stories tall, and a 21-story tower is well past that height. A new building does start its reserve plan without a backlog of past repairs. Ask an attorney how the rule applies to a specific building.

Before you shortlist a Fort Myers condo, Mitchell Properties & Salty Hook Homes can help you get the SIRS, the budget, and the insurance records, then compare each building's full monthly cost against the asking price so your offer reflects what the unit will actually cost to own. Schedule a Consultation to start with the documents.