The report was the latest in which Southwest Florida communities have made news as top places in the nation for retirees to find housing bargains.

Port Charlotte had been ranked by publications in February and last fall.

Bob Gray, president of the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port Association of Realtors, said there are "extremely good values" in the marketplace, attracting retirees as well as investors. He said home sales in general have been up for much of the year.

Gray said Punta Gorda has turned the corner past the devastation of Hurricane Charley in 2004 and the later construction decline.

"Punta Gorda has done a fantastic job of rebuilding, and there's so much stuff going on here every weekend," he said.

Jack McCabe, of McCabe Research & Consulting in Deerfield Beach, said retirement areas that cater to the active lifestyles of baby boomers are thriving.

"I think Punta Gorda is a great retirement area," said McCabe, adding that Punta Gorda and Fort Myers are just two examples of prime spots all along the Gulf Coast.

The size of retirees' nest eggs usually determines the place they choose, he said.

The report follows a profile of Port Charlotte as a "low-cost haven" in the March/April issue of Where to Retire magazine. That article pointed out qualities in Charlotte County that are important to retirees: waterways for boating and fishing, nature preserves, volunteering opportunities and a variety of shopping centers and entertainment.

Last October, Port Charlotte was rated first among the 25 best places in the country to retire by the editors of Money magazine on CNNMoney.com.

Punta Gorda's home prices dropped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2009, and Fort Myers' real estate prices have lost about two-thirds of their peak value, according to the U.S. News report.

The report examined trends for price-to-income ratios in 384 markets to determine housing affordability; if a market has a ratio of 2.5, for example, the median-priced homes sell for 2.5 times the average household income.

Punta Gorda's ratio was 1.4 at the end of 2009, down from 1.7 for the 15 years ending in 2003.

Gray said foreclosures and short sales in the Charlotte County area are down, and the inventory of available houses has been whittled to eight months' worth, compared to 47 months in October 2007. As a result, home prices are starting to climb slightly. In turn, that could spur housing starts and sales of existing homes, he said.

Article from Herald Tribune.com from 6/3/2010