Florida Regional Intelligence

Our selling season is officially over in Southwest Florida. The beaches are quieter, locals are able to get a tee time, I can finally get a restaurant reservation again, and builders are tallying their sales. Most builders we’ve spoken with …

The big three housing markets—Texas, Florida, and California—all easily topped 100,000 building permits in 2017. Combined, they account for almost one of every three new homes permitted for construction in the US last year. Only one other state (North Carolina …

Strong housing markets attract competition. Home builder competition in the 33 largest markets in the country has increased 6% over the last year to 8,336 new home communities. These communities represent about 40% of US new home sales. The increases …

Southwest Florida had a banner year in 2015 for new home sales, with Naples recording an 18.4% increase in volume YOY and Fort Myers notching a 10.1% increase. Builders in Florida’s retirement housing hot spots count on the early months …

Moderating Job Growth: We are forecasting significant moderation in job growth across most markets. A spike in retirees will result in fewer working-age adults, leading to strong retiree demand at the same time as slower employment growth.  Watch for moderate economic …

Southwest Florida remains a retiree mecca, but rapid job and population growth is increasing family-buyer demand. Affordability is a concern; the median existing home prices in Naples hit $345,000, surpassing 2008 levels, and Fort Myers has had double-digit price appreciation …

Palm Beach County’s housing market has always been constrained: geographically, with the Everglades to the West and Atlantic Ocean to the East, and affordability-wise, as median home prices continue to climb. With families moving down from the Northeast and Midwest …

Price-conscious Florida home buyers of all ages have recently created mini-booms in the most affordable suburbs and rural areas. Affordability in the suburbs Sales have increased recently in communities within a 45 minute to 1 hour commute to major employment …

We continue to see positive momentum in Florida’s housing markets with steady home sales, varied levels of price appreciation, and higher construction levels. But the pace of growth differs tremendously across metropolitan areas. If we entered each of Florida’s major …