Housing Inventory Is Growing Fast in Fla.
Single-family home developers haven’t experienced a downshift in sales due to more inventory, however. Higher property insurance rates may be a bigger concern.
MIAMI – Even with more housing inventory available in the Florida market, developers of single-family homes appear undeterred.
Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda, an analytics firm specializing in new construction, said, "The rise in [housing] inventory in Florida has definitely caused rumblings in the new home industry. We've had builders reach out to compare notes with what other builders are saying. The interesting caveat is that most builders think this will impact sales but haven't seen a dramatic downshift yet."
The biggest impact from higher home insurance rates, property damages from 2022's Hurricane Ian, and changes to the state condo market has been on existing homes and condos.
Wolf noted, "If someone is looking to buy in Southeast [or Southwest Florida], they will find that new homes come with a much lower home insurance bill than buying existing ones. In addition, some of the increase in supply comes back to the new laws related to existing condo structures and the fear of getting hit with a large bill to upgrade the building."
Source: Fast Company (06/09/24) Lambert, Lance
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