Lee County

Lee County's gross rent-to-price ratio sits at 6.56%, which puts it on the better end of Florida cash-flow markets without quite reaching the threshold where financing works cleanly at current rates. The model underwrite tells the story directly: at a $339,954 purchase price with 20% down and a 6.85% rate, the $1,782 monthly mortgage plus $651 in estimated expenses consumes more than the $1,858 median rent, producing negative $574 in monthly cash flow and a cash-on-cash return of -8.81%. The 4.26% cap rate is the more honest metric here, and it confirms what the cash-flow score of 66 out of 100 reflects: the underlying asset-level yield is decent by Florida standards, but leverage at today's rates turns a marginal deal negative. The appreciation score of 7 out of 100 underscores the other side of the ledger, and home prices falling 8.81% year-over-year confirms this is not a market where you underwrite to price growth. Lee County sits squarely in the middle of the spectrum, leaning toward cash flow in concept but not yet delivering it through a financed structure at 2024 debt costs.

The investor profile this market suits is narrow but real. An all-cash or low-leverage buyer can extract a 4.26% cap rate on a median asset, which is serviceable if you believe rents hold or grow modestly. A value-add operator willing to push rents above the $1,858 median, or buy below the $339,954 median price point, has the tightest path to making the numbers work on a financed deal. Pure appreciation buyers have no case here: an 8.81% price decline year-over-year and an appreciation score of 7 out of 100 signal a market working through post-boom price correction, not one building equity for passive holders. The affordability index of 56 and median household income of $69,368 suggest a renter base that can support current rents but has limited capacity to absorb significant increases, which caps the upside on rent-push strategies.

The combined monthly tax and insurance burden deserves attention in any underwrite. At a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.89% and an insurance rate of 0.67%, the combined annual outlay comes to $5,304, or $442 per month, on a median-priced asset. Florida's property insurance market is not a secret risk at this point, and the 0.67% insurance rate baked into this estimate reflects a coastal Southwest Florida county where carrier availability and pricing have been materially affected by recent hurricane seasons. That $442 monthly fixed cost, before maintenance or vacancy reserves, is a real line item that narrows the margin on any deal underwritten to median rents. The 0.89% tax rate is flagged as normal, which is accurate relative to national averages, so it is not an unusual burden, but it is also not the tailwind you get in lower-tax states. Both rates are state-average estimates; actual Lee County millage rates will vary by municipality and district, and investors should pull the specific folio-level tax bill before finalizing any underwrite.

The 8.81% year-over-year price decline and a national percentile rank of 15 out of 100 are the headline risks. Lee County ranks 43rd out of 67 Florida counties in the provided dataset, which positions it in the bottom third of the state. A population of 772,902 means this is not a thin market, but concentration in tourism, retirement, and seasonal housing creates demand that can compress faster than primary-market rentals when economic conditions shift. No vacancy or crime data is provided here, but the combination of a post-hurricane insurance environment, price softness, and a seasonal demand base is a risk profile investors should model explicitly rather than discount.

Among the neighboring counties in the dataset, Lee's 6.56% gross rent-to-price ratio compares favorably to Nassau (5.23%), Palm Beach (6.90%), Broward (7.05%), and Osceola (6.75%). Lee is cheaper to enter than Nassau ($473,917 median), Palm Beach ($456,009), and Broward ($419,725), and it carries a lower absolute price than Osceola as well. Broward's 7.05% ratio and Palm Beach's 6.90% ratio both beat Lee on gross yield while offering larger and more economically diversified metros. An investor who can access Broward or Palm Beach at scale should look hard at those markets first given the superior rent-to-price ratios on larger asset bases. Lee makes sense over its neighbors primarily for investors with a lower capital budget who want Southwest Florida exposure, or for operators with specific local knowledge of the Fort Myers and Cape Coral submarkets where off-median pricing may produce better entry points than the county-level figures suggest.