Pictured: Feirrera Neto is currently director of the Regional Economic Research Institute and associate professor of economics at Florida Gulf Coast University. Provided photo.

Next Tuesday, August 19, the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange will host Dr. Amir Ferreira Neto for a Lunch & Learn on the current economic state in the Sarasota and Charlotte County area. Ferreira Neto, who works as director of the Regional Economic Research Institute and associate professor of economics at Florida Gulf Coast University, shares his perspective on this topic ahead of his presentation.

Can you provide some insight into the current economic situation in this region?

This is not much of a surprise for the region, but we are seeing signs of a slowdown. We have been through several different hurricanes over the past year, and the cost of reconstruction and insurance, as well as the effect on the real estate market, are all contributing to a downturn in our economy.

Can you explain more about the effect that these storms have had on the real estate market?

Since these hurricanes, we have seen declines over the year in the median price of homes sold in Sarasota. The real estate market had a peak after COVID, but that has started to slow down—in the past 13 months, the median price of sold homes has been declining during 12 of those months.

What do you see as the greatest economic opportunities for the region moving forward?

A lot of how we rebuild from these hurricanes is going to determine our future growth path.

It's quite interesting to think about what's going to happen next, and I think that's where it really depends on what we decide to prioritize as we are rebuilding, because that's what's going to determine which companies and how many companies, as well as how many people we are attracting to the region to sustain future growth and the ability of the region to support potential new residents and new businesses.

What do you hope attendees will take away from your presentation with GCBX?

As we think about what is happening in Southwest Florida overall, we need to understand that our growth is driven by bringing in new businesses and people. So we need to start seriously talking about housing attainability, both for locals looking to buy new homes and for people who are moving here, because that is going to be key to rebuilding and developing our economy. I’d also like more people to know that FGCU and the Regional Economic Research Institute provide many resources with data, but also information for better data-driven decision making. So I hope people know this resource that exists and is open for everyone to use.

Contact eventsinfo@gcbx.org for more details.

Pictured: Feirrera Neto is currently director of the Regional Economic Research Institute and associate professor of economics at Florida Gulf Coast University. Provided photo.