Florida’s housing market is experiencing a significant slowdown, with home sales falling statewide, including in the Tampa Bay area. The biggest factors behind this trend are rising insurance and HOA fees, coupled with the aftermath of the recent hurricane season.
Tampa is ranked as the fifth-worst city in the country for home sales, with a 7% drop this year compared to last, according to a study by Redfin. Nationwide, home sales rose by nearly 5%, making Tampa’s struggles stand out. After Hurricane Helene in September and Hurricane Milton in October, pending home sales in the city fell by a staggering 32%.
Many residents are selling in flood zones, while buyers avoid the hardest-hit areas. “We’re not going to move back into our house. It was very traumatic. We actually have a contract on a new house. We’re not going to come back here,” said Jody Hameroff, a St. Petersburg resident from the flooded Shore Acres neighborhood.
“The market went crazy during the pandemic, then slowed with rising interest rates and inflation. Two back-to-back hurricanes only added to the slowdown,” said Denise Antonewitz, a local realtor. “We came off a really crazy market with the pandemic—everyone came to Florida, and prices soared—then the slowdown happened as rates and inflation rose.”
Florida has seen the largest drops in home sales, with Fort Lauderdale suffering a 15% decline, while cities like Miami, West Palm Beach, and Jacksonville also face major losses.
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