The inside track on Fort Myers Beach
What's really happening on Fort Myers Beach. Updated daily, every claim sourced.
We track every building permit the Town of Fort Myers Beach issues, add up the dollars flowing back into the island, and explain its hardest questions — flood zones, the FEMA 50% rule, rental zoning — in plain English. No hype, no predictions. Just the public record, made readable.
Facts, not talk. Data, not drama.
Every number is cited
Figures link back to the town, the county, FEMA, or the filing they came from. Check any of them.
Straight from the public record
Permits are pulled from the Town's own portal every day and kept permanently, so the history only grows.
No hype, no predictions
We don't forecast prices or sell a story. We report what has actually happened and let it stand.
Documented from the Town's building-permit record through August 14, 2026, plus 129 newer permits added daily from the Town's public permit dashboard.
Big public projects, private developments, and — added up from the town's building permits — what individual owners are pouring back in. Every figure traces to a source. See the full breakdown →
The permit record
The Rebuild, by the Numbers
The Town of Fort Myers Beach's full building-permit record · records through July 31, 2026
What this means
Every bar is a month of real construction activity — roofs, elevations, new homes, docks, pools — from the town's own building-permit record — 14,190 approved permits since 2022. Permit volume is the most honest measure of rebuild momentum there is: nobody files a permit for show. We keep the full history and add each new records release from the Town.
See what's being built, permit by permit
New homes, elevations, demolitions, docks, and commercial projects — the whole-structure work reshaping the island — with the town's own record behind every entry.
Start anywhere
Explore the Record
Four ways into the same story — all cited, all public.
Happening Now
The projects reshaping the island right now — the pier, key rebuilds, and what just changed.
ExploreThe Money
Every documented dollar of investment flowing back into Fort Myers Beach, itemized and sourced.
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Island History
How Fort Myers Beach came to be — the people, the places, and the storms that shaped it.
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The Hard Questions
Flood zones, the FEMA 50% rule, rental zoning — the rules, explained carefully with sources.
ExplorePlain-English guides
The Hard Questions, Answered
The rules that govern rebuilding, buying, and renting on Fort Myers Beach — explained carefully, with sources.
The FEMA 50% Rule, in Plain English
The single most important rule for anyone repairing or remodeling on the island — what counts, what doesn't, and who decides.
FMB Flood Zones Explained: VE vs AE
What the letters on the flood map mean for buying, building, and insuring a home on Fort Myers Beach.
Weekly vs Monthly Rental Zones on FMB
Where short-term rentals are allowed, where they aren't, and what that means for investment income.
Teardown, Remodel, or Elevate?
The real decision framework for a storm-damaged or older home on the island, and the rules that force the choice.
Buying on Fort Myers Beach: The Honest Guide
The process, the insurance questions, and what to check before you offer — written for people who want the truth, not a pitch.
Selling on Fort Myers Beach in Today's Market
What actually drives price and time-on-market on the island right now — facts, not hype.
The Comeback: FMB's Rebuild, Documented
Permit velocity, major projects, and the verifiable case that Fort Myers Beach is coming back.
FMB Market Data
Inventory, sales, and pricing on Fort Myers Beach — sourced, dated, and refreshed monthly.