Florida Housing Market Healthy, Builder Says
The CEO of D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest homebuilder, said good migration and job growth in Florida is a plus for the housing market.
ARLINGTON, Texas – D.R. Horton CEO Paul Romanowski feels good about the Florida housing market, saying the inventory has increased 57% year-over-year.
“There certainly has been a lot of news tied to the rise in insurance rates and for most of where we sell our homes are off the coast, and building new construction allows for some stability in those insurance rates," he told Fast Company. “So, [we] haven't seen a significant increase for the homes in the communities where we sell as you may see reported along the coastal and high wind zones. Still seeing good migration and good job growth throughout the Florida market. [W]e feel pretty good about the Florida market and especially about our positioning at the more affordable price points across the Florida Peninsula.”
In March 2024, the U.S. housing market's inventory had increased 24% from March 2023, but it was still 37.7% below the level reached in March 2019, Romanowski said.
"Months of supply has crept up slowly across most of our markets," but he indicated the added inventory often needed improvements or was overpriced and "not in the affordable price points where we tend to compete."
He added, "So, we expect it's going to take significantly more homes to come on before we see [a lot] of impact on our ability to sell."
Source: Fast Company (04/28/24) Lambert, Lance
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