Boards and property managers ask us this every week, so here is the honest answer: most Southwest Florida condominium and HOA repaints are priced per square foot of paintable surface, and the number is driven far more by access, substrate condition, and sealants than by the paint itself.
The short answer
For well-scoped community repaint work in Naples, Fort Myers, and Cape Coral, budget conversations usually start around $3.50 per square foot for elastomeric wall coating systems (preparation and detailing included) and $12 per linear foot for joint sealant replacement. Garden-style communities are typically priced building by building; mid-rise and high-rise towers add lift or swing-stage access to the math. A credible contractor will convert those ranges into a fixed price after walking the property — if a bid stays vague past the walkthrough, that is a warning sign, not a convenience.
The four factors that decide most of the number
1. Height and access
A two-story garden building can be painted from ladders and small lifts. A riverfront tower needs 135-foot boom lifts or swing stages, certified operators, and staging logistics. Access alone can move the per-square-foot price more than any paint upgrade ever will. This is why a Cape Coral duplex community and a Fort Myers high-rise with identical wall area get very different proposals.
2. Substrate condition
Florida stucco that has been chalking in UV for a decade drinks primer, and hairline cracks must be routed and sealed before any finish coat. If spalling concrete is present — rust stains, delaminating balcony edges — that is a structural restoration item, not a painting item, and it must be repaired first. Painting over spalling hides the symptom while the rebar keeps corroding.
3. The coating system
A premium 100% acrylic system is right for sound, previously painted stucco. Elastomeric coatings cost more per gallon and per coat but bridge hairline cracking and form a waterproof membrane — on coastal exposures they usually earn their premium. The honest answer depends on the wall, which is why we spec after sounding and inspecting, not from the curb.
4. Sealants — the hidden line item
Joint and window sealant replacement is the item low bids most often omit. Failed urethane joints are how wind-driven rain enters a building envelope; painting over them changes nothing. When you compare proposals, check the linear footage of sealant replacement first — it is the most common reason one bid looks cheaper than another.
- Fixed price with per-building breakdown
- Named coating system and manufacturer spec
- Linear footage of sealant replacement included
- Concrete/spalling repair protocol and unit pricing
- Phasing plan written around residents and parking
- Written workmanship warranty plus manufacturer warranty
Why Southwest Florida is its own market
Between UV index, salt air, summer wind-driven rain, and stucco-over-block construction, coatings here fail differently than anywhere north of us. A repaint cycle that lasts 12 years in Atlanta may need attention at year 7 on a Gulf-exposed elevation in Naples. That is also why reserve studies in our market should treat painting as building protection — deferring it converts five-figure maintenance into six-figure restoration.
What MORA does differently
We publish our starting ranges, walk the property within about 48 hours of a request, and return a board-ready fixed-price proposal — scope, system, phasing, and warranty in writing. Recent community work includes Moorings Point and Sunset North in Fort Myers, The Crescent at Pelican Bay and Vanderbilt Towers in Naples, and community-wide programs across Cape Coral and Punta Gorda. You can see the photos on our projects page.
Getting bids for your community? Request a proposal — thirty seconds online, same-business-day response — or call (239) 772-1302.