For more than a century Florida has experienced major booms and busts in real estate, providing massive growth that has no sign of ending in 100 years of transformation into a hugely popular state.

For 100 years Florida’s real estate markets have experienced a series of major booms and busts, shaping the state’s economy and massive growth, according to a new report on FortMyersAgent.com

From the early land booms in the 1920s to the Great Recession of 2008, Florida has experienced a history of booms and busts. History has repeated itself in a series of major events, economic trends, and regulatory changes that have influenced home sales, development and protected consumers.

One of the first major real estate booms in Florida occurred in the early 1920s, driven by rapid population growth, speculation, and aggressive marketing campaigns. Developers and investors from across the country flooded into the state, buying up land and selling it at ever-increasing prices. Cities like Miami, Tampa, Bradenton and St. Petersburg saw huge expansions.

However, by the mid-1920s, a century ago markets became overheated. Rampant speculation, fraudulent land sales, and logistical bottlenecks in transporting materials needed to build homes and commercial dwellings slowed the market. A series of hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 devastated parts of Florida, damaging investor confidence. Cycles repeat themselves and these days Florida is emerging from another round of hurricanes.

For the first time in more than two years, housing prices have been leveling off in Fort Myers, Florida, where there is a huge surplus of homes and condos on the market. The decline in housing prices in Fort Myers has changed the market with home sales increasing nearly 50% on a month to month basis in March, according to a new report by FortMyersAgent.com, which provides real estate news on the South-west Florida real estate market.

However, the condominium market in South Florida is still undergoing a major crash, which provides consumers one of the best markets in years to make a condo purchase.

The number of home sales in the area, which includes Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Cape Coral and North Fort Myers declined substantially the last two years. Triggered by record low mortgage rates, home and condo prices also fell for the second straight year but single-family home prices show major signs that falling prices may be leveling off.

Mortgage interest rates fell to historic lows during the COVID pandemic, falling below 3% in 2020 due to emergency actions by the Federal Reserve. As inflation surged in 2022, the Fed raised their discount cost of borrowing, pushing mortgage rates to their highest levels in 20 years.

As the spring homebuying season gets underway, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw the largest weekly decline since mid-September. The decline in borrowing rates increases homebuyers purchasing power and should provide a strong incentive to make home and condo purchases. Fort Myers is a growing community and a destination for resort buyers, who purchase condos and homes as vacation destinations along its scenic waterfronts.