Home Seller Sentiment in the Dumps! Florida Home Insurance Looks Bleak!

Dive into a discussion about real estate as we deliver the latest real estate news and headlines related to the housing market. Home seller sentiment is lukewarm heading into the spring buying market as rising interest rates continue to pummel home buyer affordability. Many homeowners have been patiently waiting for interest rates to go down so that they can sell their current home in order to upgrade or downsize into a new one. Despite the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinting at three possible interest rate cuts in 2024, many eager home buyers and sellers are unsure when or if the cuts will come. With inflation data suggesting that the Federal Reserve's target of 2% has not been met; there could be a longer period of time before we see interest rates go down to a more affordable level for homebuyers. Despite high interest rates on mortgages, inventory of homes remain disturbingly low. This has cause home values to inflate to a level that puts affordability out of reach for most home buyers. Also in the news, states like Florida and California continue to see problems with home insurance coverage. As many home insurance companies abandon providing coverage in these states, it is causing higher insurance premiums. Couple high insurance premiums, or lack there of, with rising mortgage rates, is providing a panacea of unaffordability. Perhaps a recession is looming, or a major market correction? But it's difficult with low inventory that keeps home prices high. In the long-term, there are a number of commercial real estate properties facing foreclosure and could be redeveloped into residential dwellings. But with builder confidence low, that remains to be seen.Watch this Episode on YouTube