Sell Your Commercial Property In Cape Coral, FL

Who rents in Cape Coral

Cape Coral had an estimated 215,536 residents in the 2020–2024 American Community Survey, about 26% of Lee County's 817,666. It is a city of homeowners: of 82,914 occupied homes, 64,036 are owner-occupied and 18,878 rented, a renter share of 22.8%. The county rate is 25.7%, and across the river in Fort Myers it is 50.9%.

Cape Coral's median household income was $78,104, slightly above Lee County's $76,107 and well above Fort Myers' $63,732. Cape Coral's 18,878 renter households are about 22.4% of Lee County's 84,149, slightly below the city's share of county population.

The ACS counts 100,679 housing units in the city against 82,914 occupied as primary residences, a gap of 17,765 units, or 17.6%. That count includes seasonal and winter homes as well as units for sale or for rent. Lee County's gap is larger still, at 113,391 units or 25.7% of its stock. For an apartment owner, the figures mean buyers will ask how many leases are annual and how many tenants are seasonal.

Demand comes from service and health care jobs across the county. Lee Health, which operates Cape Coral Hospital, describes itself as one of Southwest Florida's largest integrated health networks. Construction, marine trades and tourism-related service work are the other main sources of renter employment named for the area.

Rents and affordability

Median gross rent, including utilities, was $1,858 in Cape Coral over 2020–2024. That is $146 above Lee County's $1,712 and $278 above Fort Myers' $1,580. Higher rents follow the housing mix, since many renters here lease single-family homes. The burden is heavy: 61.9% of renter households pay at least 30% of income for housing, and 31.4%, about 5,900 households, pay half or more. Lee County's rate is 56.5%, and Fort Myers' 59.0%. Cost burden at that level limits how fast owners can push renewals, even where market rents are rising.

HUD's fair market rents for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA, which set most voucher payment standards, are below the city median for smaller units and above it for larger ones:

Source: HUD FY2026 FMR schedule. FY2027 figures took effect October 1, 2026. Owners of buildings with mostly one-bedroom units should expect voucher payment standards to sit below market rents in much of the city.

The apartment stock

According to ACS table B25024, 11,004 of Cape Coral's housing units, or 10.9%, are in buildings of five or more units: 3,902 in 10–19 unit buildings, 3,467 in 5–9 unit buildings, 2,036 in 20–49 unit buildings and 1,599 in buildings of 50 or more. Detached houses account for 79.4% of the stock and two-to-four unit buildings another 5.3%, mostly duplexes. Mobile homes are rare, at 763 units.

That makes multifamily scarce. The contrast with Fort Myers is sharp: Fort Myers has fewer than half Cape Coral's residents but 20,760 units in 5+ unit buildings, 42.4% of its stock, including 6,238 in complexes of 50 or more. Cape Coral has roughly half as many apartment units with more than twice the population. Lee County has 93,355 units in 5+ unit buildings, 21.2% of its stock, and Cape Coral holds only about 11.8% of them despite having over a quarter of the county's residents. Most of the region's apartment supply sits in Fort Myers and unincorporated Lee County. Small and mid-size buildings dominate Cape Coral's multifamily; large complexes of 50 or more units are a small share.

The stock is young. Per table B25034, the median year built is 2000. A third of units, 33.6%, date from the 2000s, 17.1% from 2010 or later and 4.7%, or 4,773 units, from 2020 or later. Only 15.2% predate 1980. The 1980s added 20,005 units and the 1970s 10,351, and only about 4.9% of units predate 1970, so the city's older apartment buildings are mostly 35 to 55 years old. Buyers of any coastal property will ask for roof age, wind mitigation reports and flood zone status, because insurance premiums feed directly into net operating income.

New supply

New construction added 12,464 units in the 2010s and 4,773 since 2020. The post-2020 units equal 4.7% of the city's stock, against 3.6% across Lee County, so Cape Coral has been building faster than the county as a whole. New rental supply in the city competes with existing small buildings, especially for tenants who could choose between a duplex, a house and an apartment at similar rents. Under the Live Local Act, s. 196.1978 exempts new projects with more than 70 units set aside for income-qualified households, fully for units at or below 80% of area median income and 75% for 80–120%, with rents capped at the lower of the program chart or 90% of market.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Lee County

The Lee County Property Appraiser assesses each parcel at just value as of January 1 under s. 192.042. Buildings of 10 or more units fall under s. 193.1555, which caps annual increases in assessed value at 10% for non-school levies; 2–9 unit buildings get the same cap under s. 193.1554. School levies apply to full just value, and both caps reset after a sale.

The appraiser's 2025-26 levy comparison shows Cape Coral adopted 5.1471 mills, matching its rolled-back rate and down from 5.2188 in 2024-25. Because values rose, the city's levy still grew 6.2%, from $155.4 million to $164.9 million. Non-homestead residential property, the category that includes apartments, paid 45.8% of that levy, against 39.4% from homesteads and 6.5% from commercial property. Lee County's general levy was 3.7623 mills and Fort Myers' city rate 6.5000. School, fire and special district levies are added to reach a parcel's total, so check the TRIM notice for the full rate.

Valuation appeals go to the Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of the TRIM notice under s. 194.011. Deeds carry documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 under s. 201.02, or $14,000 on a $2 million sale.

Landlord rules

Cape Coral cannot cap rents: s. 166.043 and s. 125.0103 bar local rent controls, and s. 83.425 preempts local tenancy rules. Deposits are uncapped but must be returned within 15 days or claimed in writing within 30 under s. 83.49. Nonpayment notices give three days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, under s. 83.56, and month-to-month tenancies end on 30 days' notice under s. 83.57. Leases of six months or less are taxable as transient rentals, per the Department of Revenue, which affects owners who rent units by the season.

What this means if you own a building here

Cape Coral apartment owners sell into a market with high rents and little competing multifamily stock. Buyers will discount for three things: the reset tax bill, insurance and storm exposure, and seasonal vacancy. A rent roll showing annual leases, a recent roof and wind mitigation report and clean storm repair records answer most of those questions before they become price cuts. Our cap rate calculator shows how a higher tax line changes value, and the net operating income glossary entry explains what buyers will test.

Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings across Cape Coral and North Fort Myers, listed or off-market and in any condition. Our seller page explains how we underwrite. Before talking to any buyer, gather the last two TRIM notices, a current rent roll that separates annual from seasonal leases, deposit balances, insurance declarations, and permits and invoices for any storm repairs.