Major legal fights over longstanding commission practices may upend Florida's real estate business

Major legal fights over longstanding commission practices may upend Florida's real estate business  

The decades-long practice of property owners paying real estate commissions is being seriously challenged in courts nationwide and the legal fallout could dramatically change how much money buyers and sellers of homes pay real estate agents in the future. The repercussions will be especially pronounced in Florida, which has more real estate agents than any other state in the nation. [Source: WLRN]

New poll shows Floridians still worried about property insurance

A new poll of Florida voters is revealing that many are still worried about fixing insurance. The Associated Industries of Florida Center for Political Strategy survey found 21% of voters said insurance is a big problem and 23% of voters found inflation an important issue facing the state. It also revealed that 55% think both Republicans and Democrats aren’t doing enough to lower insurance costs. [Source: WPTV]

Flying south: Canadian buyers return to Florida with bigger budgets

Florida real estate has always been a magnet for global wealth, with the well-heeled typically traveling northward from Latin America to buy condos and mansions. Now, one of the region’s most significant buyer pools is flying south from the land of hockey, moose and poutine. Canadian buyers, primarily from Montréal and Toronto, are coming to the table with serious cash, but are still coasting under the radar. [Source: The Real Deal]

Here are the 20 cities where home prices could see the biggest gains in 2024 — and where prices could fall

While home prices are expected to appreciate by 2.5% nationally this year, residential real estate in 20 U.S. cities could see pricing gains of at least double that rate, property research firm said. At the same time, a handful of metropolitan areas could see home prices fall, the analysis found. Many are regions that saw big pricing gains during the pandemic, such as Florida's Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, where housing costs have soared 72% since early 2020, prior to the pandemic. Four of the five cities that could see the sharpest price declines are in Florida, according to Florida. [Source: CBS News]

Home sales in South Florida dropped by double digits in 2023. What happened to prices?

Homes sales keep falling in South Florida, continuing a downward spiral from the buying frenzy in the early years of the pandemic. But one thing keeps climbing: prices. South Florida home sales in 2023 fell by double digits from 2022, according to a Miami Association of Realtors housing report released on Friday. [Source: Miami Herald]

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› Builders pushing mega-development in east Orange are back again [Orlando Sentinel]
Familiar foes find themselves in a fracas again over a proposed mega-development in rural east Orange as residents hope to block a plan for 1,800 homes on ranchlands in the environmentally sensitive Econ River Basin. Developer Sean Froelich’s proposed project also has a familiar sounding name, Sustanee, a spelling tweak of “Sustany,” the tag by which an earlier iteration of the plan was known in 2016 when it last fired up neighbors’ rancor.

› Broward buys Fort Lauderdale dev site for police crime lab, medical examiner’s office [The Real Deal]
Broward County bought a commercial building in Fort Lauderdale, with plans to replace it with a new police crime laboratory and medical examiner’s office. Broward dropped $18.5 million for the two-story, 133,300-square-foot office building at 2000 West Commercial Boulevard, according to records and real estate database Vizzda.

› A rare Florida pedestal home is now on the market for $185K [Creative Loafing Tampa Bay]
A unique Florida home designed to withstand hurricane winds is now for sale in Polk County. Located in Haines City, this "pedestal home" was built in 1982 and comes with just two bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as 791-square-feet of living space. Though pretty rare, the majority of the pedestal homes sold in Florida came in kits and were mostly built by the North Carolina-based company Topsider.

› New Orlando housing market data suggests more would-be homebuyers will get off sidelines [Orlando Business Journal]
Interest rates for mortgages in metro Orlando dipped below 7% in December, marking two consecutive months of rate decreases as optimism spurred by improved borrowing costs continues to grow. New data from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association shows the average interest rate for December was 6.6%.

Tags: Real Estate eNews

Previous Real Estate Updates:

• Now might be the time to move to Florida as inventory levels surge and sellers slash prices
• Florida home values have more than doubled in the past decade
• Florida insurance market full of ‘low quality' companies, study finds
• Real estate pros say Florida's future looks bright
• What are squatters' rights? New Florida law targets occupancy fight
• Is trouble brewing in Florida's housing market? Here's what the data says
• Florida is growing. Can affordable housing keep up?
• Florida condo sales plummet despite falling prices and rise in 'motivated' sellers
• Want to get rich quick selling Florida real estate? Think again.