Florida property tax faces huge change under new proposals
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has floated property tax cuts for residents of the Sunshine State. Property taxes in Florida are slightly lower than the national average of 0.90 percent at 0.82 percent. Nevertheless, a 2024 Redfin study found that three of the five metropolitan areas reporting the biggest increases in property dues since 2019 were in Florida. The rise in property tax is just one element of a broader housing crisis taking place in the Sunshine State.[Source: Newsweek]
Florida condo, townhouse sales down 10.5% in 2024. Here are Realtors' reasons
Florida condo and townhouse sales dropped 10.5% in 2024, the lowest in 15 years, after a hike in special assessments and monthly fees due to new condo safety legislation, experts said. Florida Realtors, a trade association representing Realtors in the Sunshine State, said there were 94,380 closed sales of existing condo-townhouses in 2024, compared to 105,411 in 2023. The total dollar amount of sales, $44.4 billion, was down 9.1% compared to 2023's 48.8 billion. Recent legislation may have contributed to the drop. [Source: Naples Daily News]
S&P study shows Florida had nominal increase in homeowners insurance rates
Homeowners insurance rates are rising across the nation, but despite more hurricanes striking the state, Florida remains relatively stable regarding rate hikes. S&P Global just released an analysis of homeowners insurance rates across America, and while there were stiff increases for many states, Florida fared well in comparison. The S&P report found Florida to have one of the smallest increases in homeowners insurance in the country as of December 2024 since 2019. But there was an increase. [Source: Florida Politics]
Central Florida housing prices hit record high in 2024
Housing prices in Central Florida hit a record high in 2024 and the supply of for-sale homes jumped, creating a more active real estate market than in recent years— at least for buyers who could afford to enter it, end-of-the-year data shows. The median home sale price in the region was $380,000 in December, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. The data is for sales of single-family homes as well as condominiums, duplexes and townhouses in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Luxury condos planned for South Florida site where building collapse killed 98
A Dubai-based developer plans to build a 12-story luxury condominium project on the South Florida site where a building collapsed in 2021, killing 98 people. DAMAC International said Tuesday that it planned to build The Delmore on the site where the Champlain Towers South partially collapsed in Surfside, outside Miami, in June 2021. Construction has already started and the project is expected to be finished in 2029, the company said in a news release. [Source: AP]
27 percent
A four-bedroom home outside of Tampa sold at a significant loss last week. Blackstone, the property's owner, purchased the home for $490,000 in April 2022 and sold it on Wednesday for just $360,000—a sharp decline of $130,000, or roughly 27 percent. [Source: Newsweek]
› Unsold housing inventory keeps piling high in Southwest Florida. What's happening to prices?
How jammed up is the Southwest Florida housing market? Despite all the hot sales from the pandemic and the structures lost in subsequent hurricanes, Collier County's unsold home inventory is now nearly 200% higher than 2019. Lee County is close to 150% than just a year ago, both counties well above other Florida communities newly analyzed by real estate firms, Miller Samuel Inc. and Douglas Elliman.
› Osceola County wants to kickstart high-wage jobs center with land for sale
Osceola County will sell 57 acres to kickstart development on one of its properties. The county is seeking letters of intent to buy the property, which sits east of Florida's Turnpike and west of East Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. The county bought more than 57 acres from the Partin family in 2023 for $15 million.
› Nearly 1,200 new Boca Raton residences, with a ‘retail village’ of shops and dining, will be done in phases
A massive property in Boca Raton is pictured to become a South Florida destination, set to one day offer nearly 1,200 homes, a village of shops and restaurants, public art, and event spaces for a variety of entertainment offerings. The changes are expected for the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the former IBM hub.
› Pinellas County approves $8M for affordable housing project in Largo
An affordable housing development in Largo will offer 36 units for households earning just 40% of the area median income, thanks to a financial boost from Pinellas County tax coffers. County commissioners approved dedicating $7.92 million to the project, Olea on 126. The $54.6 million development will provide 144 affordable units in total. The county’s funding includes a land-use restriction agreement that ensures a 30-year affordability period.