Florida Trend Real Estate

Florida market cooled in 2025, but rebound emerging

Florida’s housing market slowed through much of 2025 as high mortgage rates and affordability pressures weighed on buyer demand, but early signs suggest activity is beginning to rebound as rates ease, according to Florida Realtors’ review of international sales and economic conditions. While Florida’s market reflects local challenges – from insurance costs to elevated prices – it is also being shaped by a cooling global economy marked by slower growth, trade tensions and lingering uncertainty. Together, those forces have softened demand, extended time on market and kept price movement largely in check across much of the state. [Source: Florida Realtors]

Opinion: Keep Florida’s growth management local

Florida’s towns, cities and counties have a lot in common with Floridians themselves: Some are tidy and quiet. Some are focused on fun. Some are struggling with big problems, and others are doing their best to make the world a better place. Each community has its own character, priorities and challenges. But across Florida, most local governments have embraced the idea that careful planning is one of the best ways to create sustainable, balanced communities. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Do recent megamillion real estate buys signal a coming billionaire wave?

Several of the world’s wealthiest people have been shopping for and buying South Florida real estate in recent weeks, fueling speculation that a billionaire wave may be hitting the region. A few tech billionaires, reportedly enticed by Florida’s business-friendly policies and spooked by a possible new tax in California, have been house hunting, and even making some big purchases. They’re checking out multimillion-dollar properties in Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove and other desirable locales. More from the Tampa Bay Times and WLRN.

Could granny flats help ease Florida's housing crunch?

Are more granny flats an answer to help create more affordable housing options throughout the state? As Florida is grappling with the affordable housing shortage, a proposed bill in the Florida Legislature might provide some relief for people struggling to find places to live. Senate Bill 48 would give all Florida homeowners the green light to build small homes in their backyards, which they can rent to residents struggling with rising costs or invite their kids to move back home. [Source: Isander News]

Here are all of the plans so far to cut property taxes in Florida

The latest Legislative session is underway in Florida, and lawmakers have already filed several proposals for cutting property taxes statewide. These plans come largely in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent calls for property tax reform. That said, there are also a few other amendments being proposed, including some aimed at elections and government structure in the state. Even if any of these amendments gets through the Legislature, though, they will need at least 60% approval from voters in the next general election later this year before they can take effect. [Source: Click Orlando]

ALSO TRENDING:

› Walmart buys land in Orlando tourism corridor once slated for AREA15 [Orlando Sentinel]
Walmart has continued its recent buying spree, scooping up prime real estate in the heart of Orlando’s tourism corridor where an immersive art and event center called AREA15 was once planned. The company paid $35 million to Cornerstone Collard Vineland, LLC, a partnership between South Florida-based The Cornerstone Group and Winter Park-based Michael Collard Properties.

› Tampa gets no offers on sale of downtown police headquarters [Tampa Bay Times]
No one wants to buy Big Blue. Tampa’s aging police headquarters, a boxy blue building in the heart of downtown, went up for sale in December with a starting bid of $36 million. But the city’s request for proposals, which closed on Feb. 6, received no responses. The bid request was the first step toward relocating Tampa’s Police Department, a city news release said last year.

› Fort Lauderdale, Miami among top 5 slowest housing markets in U.S. [South Florida Sun Sentinel]
South Florida homes have been sitting on the market for longer than nearly anywhere else in the country, even as closures on sales have climbed. According to a recent Redfin report analyzing MLS data from December 2025, the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area tied with the San Antonio metro area for the second-slowest housing market in the country that month, with the Miami and West Palm Beach metro areas taking the next two spots in the top five. Austin, Texas, topped the list.

› Northeast Florida median home prices fall 1.3% in January [Jacksonville Daily Record]
The median price of a single-family home in Northeast Florida fell 1.3% in January to $369,900, while sales fell 8.5%. Each month, the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors releases home sales data for Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. The median price is down 5.1%, while the inventory of homes available is up 4.4% from a year ago. Prices are now down 8.9% from the high of $403,000 in May 2024.