Can Florida’s housing market rebound in 2025 after experiencing one of worst years in decades?

After one of the worst years in decades for home sales in the Sunshine State, local realtors are reporting an uptick in activity to start off this year. Tonight, we're digging deeper into the factors behind this encouraging trend and whether or not sellers or buyers will ultimately have the advantage at the closing table this year. 2024 was one of the worst years for Florida real estate sales in decades. According to economic experts, the volume of home sales was down 50% from the pandemic peak in 2021 for a number of reasons, including the state's property insurance crisis and the number of homes on the market. You have a lack of inventory. So buyers dissatisfied with the menu of options out there. Uh, they have, uh, inflation issues in other parts of their lives that really feel the pinch in their wallet. So that hurts. There was some election discontent and, and, um, you know, concern as to what was going to happen there. So I think having that settled gives people confidence that they can move forward, at least from, from the unknown there. Howard Flash in is a broker at Roundtable Realty in ST john's County and has more than two decades of experience in finding families homes. Flash in notes of pickup and showings inquiries and offers since January 1st. It says florida remains a popular place to relocate to, depending largely on price point. I'm seeing home prices below 350,000 struggling to find buyers because a lot of those buyers are reliant on all of the things that are causing affordability issues, which is not just mortgage rates being close to 7% but also homeowners insurance is higher. But what we are finding is that homes that are priced well from 500,000 and up in northeast florida actually are not doing poorly at all. They're getting multiple offers. So it's 2025 predicted to be a better year for buyers looking to move into a new zip code or for sellers like this family here in san marco who are hoping to sell this home as soon as possible. Experts say there are several factors at play. News for Jackson's learned that home prices are expected to stabilize this year and increase at a slower pace. Mortgage rates are projected to remain elevated around six or 7% in the short term but may decrease as inflation eases. Buyer activity is expected to increase as potential buyers become more realistic about interest rates in market conditions. Flashing had this to say about the evolving real estate market that's experiencing diverging trends. I think that we are probably still closer to a seller's market because we have such a shortage of inventory. Then you break that down granularly as I mentioned before and you have certain price points that are difficult to find a buyer for. And so a seller has to be negotiable if they have to sell. The home construction is expected to ramp up and give buyers more options as well this year. Locally there's been explosive growth in ST john's county. It continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. Real estate professionals warn both buyers and sellers to be prepared to adapt to this shifting market and the trends.