April 2025 | Carlton Proctor
Jimmy Arteca is a senior loan officer with Fairway Independent Mortgage, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders with 54 offices throughout Florida. Arteca, who's been with the company for seven years, shares his thoughts on Florida’s current real estate and mortgage lending markets.
Statewide housing trends
- Many first-time homebuyers are using down-payment assistance programs.
- Demand continues for condos or short-term rentals and investment properties.
- Second home purchases by out-of-state residents remain steady.
- No slowdown foreseen in the rising numbers of new housing construction projects.
- Prices for new home construction remain steady.
Five-year trends
“Since COVID, home values have continued to rise all across Florida. Consumer interest in real estate investment remains strong. However, the other challenge we run into is that inventory has been limited, more so over the last few years. This is likely due to homeowners being hesitant to sell their homes and losing their low interest rates, especially with the current higher-rates environment we’re in. However, I think the appetite for consumers to own homes is still there and will remain strong in 2025.”
Housing hot spots
“Right now, from my perspective at Fairway, Tampa and Orlando are the top Florida cities for first-time homebuyers and real estate investment.
“In the Panhandle, Santa Rosa County is the hot spot for new construction along with areas in north Escambia County. There is also a strong market for luxury condominiums in Destin and the 30A area in south Walton County.”
National Association of Realtors civil suit settlement
“The NAR settlement was implemented in August 2024 because it just became the norm over the decades that the listing side, or seller, would pay both commissions, half to the listing agent and half to the buyer’s agent. It was never supposed to be like that, but it just became the norm where the buyer’s agent would tell clients that nothing comes out of their pockets.
“Now there has to be a written agreement on who’s going to pay the buyer’s agent. If the listing side is not willing to pay the buyer’s agent’s commission, then it would be the buyer’s responsibility to pay the buyer’s agent’s the sale price. Now the seller has a choice whether or not to pay the commission to the buyer’s agent.”
Effect on first-time homebuyers
“In a situation where a first-time homebuyer would have to pay their agent a 3% commission on top of their closing costs, yes, it potentially could become a challenge. In that situation many mortgage lenders will assist first-time homebuyers in finding assistance programs — like Florida’s SHIP (State Housing Assistance Program) program — to help them come up with their down payment and closing costs.”