Construction cranes on large buildings being erected in downtown Tampa, Florida, seen in aerial panoramic views. Photo and Caption: TetKabrit/Shutterstock.com
The biggest homebuilder in the US, D.R. Horton, has noted the Florida housing market’s ongoing difficulties.
“The dynamics of the Florida marketplaces have changed significantly. During an earnings call last week, Chief Operating Officer Michael Murray stated, “And maybe most so there.” “Other markets that have had little inventory and little lot construction have remained steady performers. Additionally, there is still a high demand for houses in those markets.
This came after the business revealed that its Southeast division’s net sales had decreased by 10 percent year over year in the third quarter.
The Significance of It
Significant fractures have appeared in the Florida housing market this year due to virtually nation-leading price decreases, slower sales, and rising inventories. The Sunshine State has been identified as a specific area of worry, with one expert recently calling South Florida the “epicenter of housing market weakness in the United States.” However, many of same problems are present throughout the larger U.S. housing market.
Things You Should Know
According to relocation firm HireAHelper.com, Florida experienced a massive surge of new inhabitants during the COVID-19 pandemic and rose to the top destination between January and June 2020. Nevertheless, the state is currently dealing with poor sales, soaring inventories, and falling housing values brought on by the declining demand.
In June, Florida home prices dropped 2.2 percent year-over-year to a median price of $410,400, according to real estate agency Redfin. This is in spite of the fact that over the same time period, home prices countrywide increased by 1.0 percent. In addition, the median number of days on the market rose from 57 to 70, while the number of sold properties decreased by 3.2 percent.
According to recent data from John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC), as sellers battle to get their houses off the market, sales and prices have declined dramatically in the following areas: Fort Myers, Lakeland, Naples, Jacksonville, Orlando, Sarasota, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.
High mortgage rates have been blamed for the rising national gap between buyers and sellers, the drop in home values in many regions, and the economic worries that many Americans have.
Some therefore think that an extra 5.5 million households would be able to climb the property ladder if rates were to fall to 6 percent. Newsweek was informed by one analyst that this might turn out to be a “magic mortgage number that will push Americans to buy.”
What Individuals Are Saying
“South Florida is the epicenter of housing market weakness in the United States,” Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, told Bloomberg in June. Will this expand throughout the rest of the nation? Florida is particularly awful at the moment.
“The single-family home market in Florida is adapting to a new normal,” 2025 Florida Realtors President and real estate analyst Tim Weisheyer told Newsweek last month. Some buyers have become more cautious due to elevated mortgage rates, and the spike in domestic in-migration that occurred during the epidemic is leveling off.
What Follows
Redfin predicts that by the end of the year, home prices across the country will have decreased by 1 percent from 2024. It predicts that mortgage rates will stay relatively stable at roughly 6.8 percent.
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
