Florida, Texas Home Sellers Face Unfavorable Climate
Housing supply is surging, sellers are cutting their asking prices, and the time it takes to sell is soaring.
The never-steady housing market is being impacted in key areas today due to bursts in supply and the home insurance crisis and affordability that comes with living in areas such as Florida and Texas, according to Redfin.
Homes for sale in Cape Coral, Fla., and North Port, Fla., surged roughly 50% from a year earlier in March—more than anywhere else in the country. And in McAllen, Texas, supply jumped 25%.
“Nationwide, new listings slowed in March as mortgage rates remained elevated,” writes Lily Katz at Redfin. “The Fed recently warned rates are likely to stay high longer than expected.”
Volatility is at high levels on the west coast of Florida, according to Katz.
Housing supply is surging, sellers are cutting their asking prices, and the time it takes to sell a home is soaring—all at a faster rate than anywhere else in the US, she said. The same goes for parts of Texas.
The home-building boom is an after-effect of the high number of people who chose to relocate to Texas and Florida during the pandemic.
“Many people have been priced out,” Katz said, and “homes are sitting on the market, and price growth is stagnating.”
A recent Redfin survey found that nearly three-quarters of Florida homeowners have been affected by rising home insurance costs or changes in coverage.
“Out-of-town homebuyers no longer see Florida as a place to get amazing value,” Eric Auciello, a local Redfin sales manager, said in prepared remarks.
“Now they’re moving to North Carolina or Tennessee to get a good deal. Many local blue-collar workers have been priced out of homeownership, too.
“Two years ago, the North Port metro was one of the most competitive housing markets in the country because it was affordable for remote workers and there was a shortage of homes for sale, but none of those things are true today. Sarasota, in particular, has been overvalued for decades.”
Of the 10 metro areas that posted the largest year-over-year increases in supply, six are in Florida and two are in Texas. As for Florida: Cape Coral saw the biggest jump in homes for sale (51%), followed by North Port-Sarasota (48%), Fort Lauderdale (30%), Tampa (29%), Orlando (23%), and West Palm Beach (20%). Other high-fliers are McAllen, Texas (25%), Knoxville, Tenn. (23%), Dallas (20%), and Cincinnati (17%).
Five Florida markets were home to sellers most likely to cut their list prices and two are in Texas. In North Port-Sarasota, 48% of listings had a price cut—the highest share in the country. Next came Tampa (44%), Indianapolis (43%), Cape Coral (41%), Denver (37%), Orlando (35%), Portland, Ore. (34%), Houston (33%), San Antonio (33%) and Jacksonville (33%).