By every measurable indicator, Charlotte County’s economy is on the upswing. Real estate? In the fourth quarter of 2014, the county had the state’s largest increase by percentage in single-home sales with 1,057 homes sold, a 25 percent rise from the previous quarter. Business growth? So far in 2015, the county has issued 25 commercial building permits, nearly doubling the number handed out in 2014. Tourism? Passenger traffic at the Punta Gorda Airport jumped 88 percent in 2014 to a record 628,075 passengers and was identified as the fourth-fastest growing airport in the nation.