31 Aug, 2025

Florida property values are influenced by location (coastal proximity significantly increases value), property size, condition, and recent comparable sales (“comps”). The median sale price of homes in Florida was approximately $420,000 in early 2024, varying widely by region. Interest rates impact affordability and demand; rising rates typically cool the market. Property taxes in Florida average around 0.97% of assessed value. Estimating fair market price requires analyzing recent sales of similar properties in the same area, considering any unique features or deficiencies, and adjusting for market trends. Online valuation tools can provide estimates, but local expert appraisal provides the most accurate assessment. Insurance costs, particularly flood insurance, are a significant factor impacting affordability, especially near the coast.

30 Aug, 2025

Florida’s real estate market is showing signs of cooling but remains complex. Inventory is rising from historic lows, offering more options for buyers, but still below pre-pandemic levels in many areas.

* **Median home prices:** Remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, but price growth has slowed significantly or even seen slight decreases in some regions. Specific numbers vary widely based on location (e.g., South Florida vs. Central Florida).
* **Interest rates:** Elevated interest rates impact affordability and buyer demand, putting downward pressure on prices. Current mortgage rates hovering around 7-8% significantly increase monthly payments compared to the 3% rates seen in 2021.
* **Days on Market:** Homes are staying on the market longer, indicating less urgency among buyers.
* **Inventory:** Increasing, offering more choices for buyers. The Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI) is a key indicator to watch; a balanced market typically has 5-6 months’ supply.
* **Migration:** Florida continues to attract new residents, particularly from other states, but the influx has slowed compared to the peak of the pandemic.
* **Foreclosure Rates:** Remain low compared to historical averages, but slightly increasing, indicating potential distress in the market.
* **Rental Market:** Rental rates are stabilizing or decreasing in some areas after significant increases. This influences investment property considerations.
* **Seller Strategy:** Price reductions are becoming more common, and sellers may need to offer concessions to attract buyers.

29 Aug, 2025

Florida’s affordable housing crisis significantly impacts homeownership accessibility. The state faces a severe shortage of affordable units, with a deficit estimated to be over 700,000 units. Rising home prices and rents, coupled with stagnant wages, exacerbate the problem. In many Florida metros, median home prices have surged, outpacing income growth considerably. Data indicates a large percentage of Florida renters are cost-burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing. The limited supply of affordable homes and high demand creates intense competition, making it challenging for first-time homebuyers and low-to-moderate income families to enter the market. The Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund, designed to address housing needs, has faced consistent sweeps, diverting funds to other purposes, further hindering efforts to increase affordable housing options.

29 Aug, 2025

There are two big picture inflation reports in US that address consumer prices: CPI and PCE. Of the two, PCE is broader and more highly regarded by policymakers. The downside is that it comes out about 2 weeks later for the same month of price data. PCE is also easier to forecast due to other inflation data being out earlier in the month. As such, it’s less common to see big deviations from forecasts and today was no exception with all monthly and annual numbers perfectly hitting expectations. Unsurprisingly, bonds haven’t really changed from opening levels.

One of the only interesting developments (debatably, perhaps) is that the “supercore” reading (core services inflation excluding housing) was 0.1% lower in PCE versus the figures reported by bloomberg that were extrapolated from CPI 2 weeks ago. Supercore is still slightly elevated and has been trending higher, but 0.390 is a lot better than 0.481 (reported with CPI) when it comes to inflation staying out of the way of a Fed rate cut.

28 Aug, 2025

– Staged homes in Florida sell, on average, 73% faster than non-staged homes.
– Professionally staged homes can sell for up to 20% more than comparable non-staged properties.
– Investing 1-3% of a home’s listing price into staging can yield an 8-10% return.
– Common staging recommendations for Florida include decluttering, depersonalizing, and optimizing curb appeal.
– Emphasizing indoor-outdoor living spaces is crucial for attracting Florida buyers.
– Neutral color palettes and light, airy decor are favored to appeal to a broad audience.
– Staging vacant homes is particularly impactful in Florida, often reducing time on market significantly.
– Real estate agents often recommend staging services, with a majority believing it helps sell homes more quickly.
– Homebuyers often view staged homes as more move-in ready, impacting their willingness to offer a higher price.

28 Aug, 2025

Florida’s housing market forecast presents a mixed outlook. Inventory remains low compared to historical averages, yet has increased substantially year-over-year in many metro areas. Rising mortgage rates, averaging over 7% currently, are impacting affordability and cooling demand. Price growth has slowed considerably; some markets are experiencing price corrections. Population growth in Florida has decelerated from its peak but continues, supporting demand. Insurance costs are a major concern, adding significantly to the overall cost of homeownership and affecting property values, especially in coastal areas. While some analysts predict a soft landing with modest price declines, others foresee potential for larger corrections in specific overvalued markets. New construction is ongoing, but supply chain issues and labor shortages continue to impact delivery timelines.

28 Aug, 2025

This morning’s economic calendar only looks robust on paper.  While quarterly GDP results in numerous line items, they’re not as important as they might sound. For instance, PCE prices are an important inflation index, but the version released with GDP applies to Q2 and is thus just revising already-released PCE data. Additionally, it is not capturing any of the July inflation that will be reported with tomorrow’s monthly PCE.  The same “stale” factor applies to everything in today’s GDP release (this is why GDP revisions don’t have nearly as much market movement potential as an initial release, which we won’t get until October). Jobless Claims data rarely has a big impact and today is no exception. While Continued Claims recovered slightly, it wasn’t a big enough bounce to be significant. Weekly claims continue to be boring.

Yields continue operating well within the post-NFP range, but with a friendlier trend since last week’s Jackson Hole speech.

27 Aug, 2025

– **Mortgage insurance (MI)** is required in Florida when a borrower makes a down payment of less than 20% on a home purchase.

– **Two main types of MI:** Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) for conventional loans and Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) for FHA loans.

– **PMI** is typically required if the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio exceeds 80%.

– **PMI Costs:** Can range from 0.3% to 1.5% of the original loan amount annually, paid monthly. Credit score and down payment size significantly impact the premium rate.

– **PMI Cancellation:** PMI can be canceled once the LTV reaches 78% based on the original property value, provided the borrower is current on payments. Borrowers can request cancellation at 80% LTV.

– **FHA MIP:** Requires an upfront premium (currently 1.75% of the loan amount) and an annual premium (ranging from 0.45% to 1.05% of the loan amount), paid monthly.

– **FHA MIP Duration:** For loans with less than 10% down, MIP lasts for the life of the loan. For loans with 10% or more down, MIP lasts for 11 years.

– **Avoiding MI:**
– Saving for a 20% down payment.
– Exploring piggyback loans (taking out a second mortgage to reach the 20% equity threshold).
– Consider VA loans (for eligible veterans and active-duty service members, which typically don’t require MI).
– Seeking lender-paid mortgage insurance (LPMI), which results in a higher interest rate but eliminates the separate MI payment.

27 Aug, 2025

I was today years old when I realized that the shovel was literally a groundbreaking invention. The best ads and marketing focus on rates and products, right? Wrong. From Florida, Todd P. reminds me of a powerful, memorable lending ad that doesn’t even mention words like mortgage or loan or technology or lending. What message are you sending to potential clients? Loan officers are intent on offering the right products, service, and pricing to clients (read the piece on optimism below), but there is a lot going on “out there” that is impacting the psychology of borrowers. Beginning on Friday, all international merchandise headed to U.S. customers’ doors, assuming that countries are shipping it to us, will be subject to the overall tariff rate that their country of origin has been slapped with, or close to it, meaning pretty much any good your client orders could cost them at least 10 percent more than it does now. And in a mix of technology news, a bank fired a set of workers, and then rehired them after it was determined that the chatbot was terrible at its job. Go figure. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Arrive Home. Arrive Home, now serving six of the nation’s top 10 mortgage lenders, helps mortgage lenders connect creditworthy buyers with down payment assistance and affordable homeownership solutions. Hear an interview with Experian’s Alison Bird and Joy Mina on how streamlining the verification process helps lenders serve more borrowers without sacrificing accuracy.)

26 Aug, 2025

* **Interest Rates:** Mortgage rates remain elevated, impacting affordability. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovers around 7% (as of late 2023/early 2024), significantly higher than rates seen in the past few years.
* **Inventory:** Housing inventory in Florida is increasing in some markets, giving buyers more options and potentially slowing price growth. However, inventory is still low compared to historical averages in many areas.
* **Price Trends:** While prices have cooled from their peak in 2022, they remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Price appreciation is slowing down, and some areas are experiencing price corrections.
* **Market Variations:** Florida’s real estate market is highly localized. Coastal areas and major metropolitan areas often experience different trends than inland or rural regions. Demand remains high in some popular locations.
* **Economic Factors:** Florida’s strong population growth and job market continue to support housing demand. However, concerns about insurance costs and property taxes are impacting affordability for some buyers.
* **Days on Market:** Homes are staying on the market longer compared to the peak of the pandemic-era buying frenzy. This indicates a shift towards a more balanced market.
* **Sales Volume:** Overall sales volume has decreased compared to 2021 and 2022, reflecting the impact of higher interest rates and affordability challenges.
* **Foreclosure Rates:** Florida currently has a foreclosure rate that is slightly higher than the national average.