Condo and townhome buyers in Charlotte County are finally seeing some daylight after years of falling prices and swelling inventory. Closed sales of condominiums and townhomes in the county rose 2.2% year over year in September 2026, and the market's median sale price also edged higher, even as the number of homes for sale fell sharply compared with a year earlier.
According to Gulfshore Business, citing figures attributed to the Realtors of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port-Desoto Inc., the condominium and townhome median sale price rose to $216,700 in September, up 0.8% year over year, while inventory supply fell to 5.9 months, down 37.2% from 9.4 months a year earlier. A separate Gulfshore Business report gave different figures for the same month, listing the September median sale price at $215,000 and inventory at 9.4 months, with the median price climbing to $235,000 and inventory rising to 9.7 months by October. The discrepancy between the two sets of numbers remains unresolved.
Charlotte County's condo and townhome market had 661 active listings in September, down 17.7% year over year, per the same report. Condos and townhomes sold in September averaged $220,539, compared with $419,599 for single-family homes in the county the same month — a gap that helps explain why condos remain the more accessible entry point for many buyers.
Single-Family Homes Still Dominate on Price
Charlotte County's single-family home median sale price was $344,000 in September, and sellers received a median 94.6% of their original list price. Single-family inventory told a similar story to the condo side: the county had 2,360 active single-family listings, compared with 2,277 the previous month, even though overall single-family inventory fell 20.9% year over year. About 37% of September's single-family buyers paid cash, the report noted.
Unlike condo and townhome owners, single-family homeowners must maintain larger yards, and additional single-family developments are being built or planned across the county. Higher home-loan interest rates may be steering some prospective buyers toward condo purchases instead, according to the Gulfshore Business report.
Statewide Picture Is More Mixed
Zoom out to the state level and the recovery looks less uniform. Florida Realtors reported that statewide single-family home sales fell 3.5% from September 2025, while condo and townhouse sales were virtually unchanged, with just eight fewer closings statewide. The trade group attributed some of that resilience in the condo and townhouse segment to relative affordability.
Florida Realtors data also show the statewide townhouse and condo median sale price was $293,500 in September, down 1.8% year over year, with inventory at 60,367 active listings statewide, 9.0% lower than a year earlier. Cash purchases made up 53.2% of condo and townhouse closed sales statewide that month. Nearby markets tell their own versions of the story: Lee County's condo and townhouse median sale price was $255,000 in September, down 8.9% year over year, with inventory down 14.8%, according to naplesgolfguy.com. Meanwhile, time-realty.com reported Charlotte County logged 529 total residential sales in September, up 2.7% year over year, with an overall residential median sale price of $320,000, up 7%.
Amendment 3 Adds a New Wrinkle
Just as the local market shows early signs of stabilizing, Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on Tuesday, a property tax measure that could reshape buying decisions for both primary-residence buyers and second-home owners. The amendment takes effect January 1, 2027, and expands the homestead exemption for qualifying homeowners on non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which adjusts for inflation thereafter. The expanded exemption applies only to primary residences, and Florida newcomers who are not living in the state by December 31 generally must wait until their fifth year of homestead eligibility to claim it. The amendment also reduces the annual assessed-value increase cap for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%.
Some local realtors have suggested the amendment's approval could attract out-of-state buyers weighing retirement or relocation to Charlotte County, though the measure does not change condominium association fees or the state's structural inspection and reserve funding requirements for condo buildings.
Scars From Surfside and Hurricane Ian Still Shape the Market
Those inspection and reserve rules trace back to the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which killed 98 people. Florida enacted legislation in May 2022 requiring inspections of residential condominium and cooperative buildings at least three stories tall after 30 years and every 10 years thereafter, and local officials may require initial milestone inspections after 25 years under certain conditions. Condominium associations must now maintain reserves for major structural repairs.
In Charlotte County, Hurricane Ian in 2022 damaged the roofs of some condos and townhomes and caused leaks and other structural damage, pushing some associations to raise fees to cover repair costs. Some Punta Gorda condo and townhome owners have listed their second homes for sale to avoid those higher association fees, a dynamic that has weighed on local inventory even as demand has started to recover.
Shelton Weeks, who directs the Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development & Finance at Florida Gulf Coast University's Lutgert College of Business and holds the title of Lucas Professor of Real Estate at the university, said national media coverage of condo safety issues created panic among prospective condo and townhome buyers. Charlotte County's demographics add another layer to the story: the county has a median age of about 60 years, and roughly 41% of residents are age 65 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a population for whom condos and townhomes often offer greater affordability than single-family homes.
