Local News
From housing crisis to hope: How one Lee County mom beat the odds to find a home
Channing Frampton
•5/14/2026
Source: Gulf Coast News Now
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. —
The median sale price of a home in Lee County was $360,000 last month, down 4% from last year, according to real estate site Redfin, but housing affordability remains a major challenge for many families, especially single parents.
Ashleigh Kendall, a single mother of two in Bonita Springs, faced these challenges after Hurricane Ian damaged the home she was living in. “It was in an unexpected place in life,” Kendall said.
She began searching for a new home to rent or buy but found few options. “(With) the cost of housing being astronomical, we got to a place where I was actually just surprised to find that there weren't any options,” Kendall said.
Despite working full-time as a physical therapist, Kendall said, “(I) have a good job, doing everything right, but there's nowhere affordable to live for a mom of two kids.”
Her experience mirrors the struggles of many families on the Gulf Coast. Cece Willis, with Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties, said, “Last year, we had around 1,000 families come to us with a need, and about 400 of them were actually female-led households.”
Willis explained that housing costs remain out of reach for many families. “The median home cost is actually still five times the median household income,” she said.
Shelton Weeks, a professor of real estate at Florida Gulf Coast University, said, “Things are improving significantly, but it's going to take a long time for that affordability to get to a point where it's really where we want it to be as a region.”
Weeks added that higher interest rates are compounding the issue. “Interest rates are several hundred basis points higher than they were just a few years ago,” he said.
Kendall eventually turned to Habitat for Humanity for help. After applying for assistance in November 2024, she was approved in April 2025. She moved into her new home last November, just in time for Christmas.
“Christmas with my kids in our house was the goal,” she said.
To qualify for her new home, Kendall completed hundreds of hours of sweat equity and more than 20 hours of homeownership education classes. “(I'm) so grateful and proud to be in that space,” Kendall said of her new home, which is part of a Habitat for Humanity neighborhood called Carolina Cove.
Where empty lots once stood, brand-new homes now fill the area near the corner of Neighborly Lane and Empowerment Place.
“We are not a handout. We are a hand up. And what that means is that we actively partner with families in our community to help them build a better life for themselves and for their children,” Willis said.
Kendall expressed her gratitude for the stability her new home has brought. “We're finally in a space where I can create joy and peace and creativity for myself and my kids and just operate from a place of stability. I think that is what I'm most grateful for,” she said.
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Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties is building 54 homes this year. Families who qualify must demonstrate a need, the ability to pay a mortgage, and a willingness to partner with Habitat to help build homes.
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