Located on the southern tip of Florida, the Everglades is a vast national park offering an idyllic backwater retreat to those wishing to escape the bustling cities.
This region is made up of Everglades City, Chokoloskee Island and Plantation Island. Although you will find a diverse range of housing in the Everglades, waterfront homes are by far the most popular choice of property, with the most frequently encountered property type being homes perched on stilts. With demand largely outweighing supply, the Everglades property market currently looks extremely healthy. There are several new developments in the pipeline so future growth looks promising. A threebedroom, two-bathroom manufactured stilt home with dock, boat ramp and pool privileges costs upwards of $285,000. Homes with direct waterfront access sell for between $370,000 to $400,000. Single family two- to three-bedroom, two-bathroom waterfront homes are currently on the market in Everglades City for $500,000 to $800,000. Plantation Island is zoned for mobile homes; all lots feature canal frontage with Gulf of Mexico access via Halfway Creek. The short-term rental prospects are very good. In Everglades City, a two-bedroom stilt home with a dock at the back door is currently being let for around $780 per week, while annual monthly rents for long-term leased accommodation are between $740 and $985. The rental zoning regulations differ from one area to another, but most rental leases are for a minimum period of one month. As the Everglades area is not directly on the coast, coastal restrictions do not apply to construction, but the area is subject to strong building regulations due to the high risk of hurricanes. The Everglades has been unharmed by the recent spate of hurricanes to strike the Florida coastline, though, so the market remains relatively unaffected. However, as with the rest of Florida, insurance costs for homes in the Everglades region have soared because of a knockon effect of the recent record number of hurricanes. Homeowner’s insurance, including cover for flood damage, for a $400,000 home will cost in the region of $6,500 per annum.