Florida Retirement Buzz

     Where to Retire magazine is profiling Port Charlotte, Florida as a low cost haven for retirees in its latest issue. Last summer, Money magazine ranked Port Charlotte as the best place to retire in the country!  What is driving this acclaim are low real estate prices, in addition to all of the other amenities that Florida has to offer.  “Buyers can get a two bedroom, two bath condo for $50,000 or less or a single family home for less than $100,000” states the president of the local real estate association.  Some developers in the area are building new homes starting at about $130,000.  These prices are still being set by the backlog of foreclosures in the area.  In January 2010, one in 133 homes in Charlotte received foreclosure notices.  When this inventory is decreased, prices could resume their historical upward trends.