Florida home insurance costs rose 1.5% so far in 2025. Will they ever get lower?

Average home insurance premiums in Florida increased by 1.5% over the first eight months of 2025 — an improvement over previous years but not the reduction that cost-burdened policyholders have been waiting for since reforms were enacted in 2022 and 2023. Will prices ever come down? Insurance insiders are divided over the prospect. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Interactive map tracks housing shortages across Florida

Florida is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. Its housing supply hasn’t kept up. The causes for the state’s housing shortages are similar to those cited in other cities and states dealing with the housing crisis: permitting delays, zoning restrictions and limited adoption of flexible housing solutions such as accessory dwelling units or residential duplexes, according to the housing data project, which presents decades of housing and population data. [Source: Smart Cities Dive]

Property tax relief: Lawmaker wants $1,000 checks for homeowners over next 5 years

A Florida state lawmaker says he has an idea to help homeowners stressed over high property taxes; $1,000 checks for the next 5 years. "It would start in 2026 and the goal is to have this hit the mailboxes of the homesteaded homeowners who qualify," says State Rep. Jeff Holcomb (R-Spring Hill). He's filed House Bill 71. The bill would offer the money to homeowners with a current taxable value of at least $100,000 but no more than $450,000. [Source: WPTV]

Florida lawmakers ponder AI in insurance

Amid explosive development of artificial intelligence, Florida lawmakers last week began drilling into questions about the technology’s use in the insurance industry. A panel of insurance and tech officials told the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee that insurers are using artificial intelligence in a variety of ways, including in claims handling, and tried to dispel concerns that the technology could be misused. [Source: WUSF]

Which coastal housing market is stronger, California or Florida?

California and Florida remain two of the nation’s most visible coastal housing markets. The two states present a clear contrast. California pairs a higher price point with a smaller active base and measured reductions. Florida combines a lower median price with much larger inventory and wider discounts. Together, these signals describe how each market is pacing into year end. Watching the weekly relationship between newly listed and absorbed homes will clarify whether balance improves or tilts further toward buyers. [Source: Housing Wire]

STAT OF THE WEEK
$20 million
Florida's top leaders voted to purchase 4 acres of coastal land in Destin for $83 million. At more than $20 million an acre, the purchase is one of the most expensive per-acre land acquisitions in state history. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO TRENDING:

› Tampa-based developer opens ‘lagoon community’ in West Jacksonville [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Tampa-based Metro Development Group has opened its Diamond Springs master-planned community in West Jacksonville, where plans call for 2,700 single-family residences and town homes centered by a lagoon. The group describes the development as Duval County’s first lagoon community, saying in a news release that Diamond Springs “offers a lifestyle unlike any other in the region, bringing a unique blend of leisure, nature, and modern living.”

› Miami tops global list for housing bubble risk —again, UBS says [South Florida Business Journal]
UBS Group has put the Miami metropolitan area at the top of its global real estate bubble index for the second year in a row. The Swiss bank's report is based on index scores that used a weighted average of price-to-income and price-to-rent ratios, change in mortgage-to-GDP ratio and change in construction-to-GDP ratio, and city-to-county price ratio. Miami's overall score was 1.73, down slightly from 1.79 last year. Tokyo and Zurich followed with scores of 1.59 and 1.55, respectively.

› Florida brokerage endures a nightmare and lesson in real estate cybersecurity [Housing Wire]
A real estate brokerage's harrowing experience with AI-powered fraud reveals the vulnerability of the industry to sophisticated cyber attacks. The incident, involving 36 agents and their families, serves as a stark reminder of the need for heightened cybersecurity awareness and the implementation of multi-channel verification methods in real estate communications.

› Florida mall could be replaced by 9 towers, hotel and affordable housing [Tampa Bay Times]
The new owners of Fort Lauderdale’s Galleria Mall are considering a redevelopment plan that envisions nine 30-story towers, a 170-room hotel and hundreds of affordable-housing units under state’s Live Local Act, the project’s joint venture leader confirmed Monday. The 1980s-era mall was sold last month to a consortium of real estate and development interests led by Russell Galbut, who is based in Miami Beach and is a founder of investment and development firms with a history of creating mixed-use communities in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S.

Judgment Call