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Florida Trend Real Estate
A weekly alert that contains in-depth news, information, insight and analysis on the most critical real estate related issues and topics facing Florida.
Florida investors shop across price ranges
Florida’s investor buyers aren’t all shopping for the same kind of deal. In Jacksonville, their typical purchase price was a third below the overall market median. In Cape Coral-Fort Myers, it was nearly 10% above it. That split offers a useful starting point for conversations about investment properties: The local numbers tell a more specific story than a statewide generalization. [
Florida lawsuit blames ‘alarmist’ real estate risk scores for hurting homeowners’ property values
Climate-risk scores displayed on real estate websites could cost homeowners money and diminish their property values, Florida alleged in a lawsuit against the company behind the ratings. Florida’s case, filed Oct. 23, named First Street Technology, whose models estimate properties’ exposure to floods, wildfires, severe heat, and wind. First Street said it helps consumers weigh home purchases by clarifying the climate hazards a property faces. [
Column: When the land beneath a condo is worth more than the building
In some cases, the underlying land may now be worth substantially more as a redevelopment site than the aggregate market value of the individual condominium units sitting on it. That doesn’t mean condominium owners need to organize themselves and sell a building together. It does mean, however, that an individual condominium owner may have another potential buyer for his or her unit: someone attempting to assemble the larger property. [
Home prices rebound in Florida
Home prices rose in 78% of American metros this summer, down from 80% in the spring, while Florida saw a resurgence in prices after several years of weak growth and outright declines. The Sunshine State sharply rebounded in price appreciation following pullbacks there in 2025, according to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors® released Thursday. “Homes in nearly all Florida markets are showing price gains,” says NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. [Source: <a href="https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/home-prices-rising-miami-florida-nar-q3-2026/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Realtor.com]
What international buyers are looking for in the Florida market
Florida Realtors® has released its latest report on the state’s international buyer and seller transactions, the 2026 Profile of International Residential Transactions in Florida. International buyer purchases of Florida residential properties between August 2025 and July 2026 declined by 18% compared to the prior 12-month period. High prices and interest rates, along with economic uncertainty, continue to dampen buyer activity, as international sales remain well below pre-pandemic levels. [Source: Florida Realtors]
STAT OF THE WEEK$311 million
The city of Naples just landed its own real-estate mystery: Someone quietly dropped $311 million to stitch together close to 19 waterfront acres on Gordon Drive, without ever even walking the land. [
› Naples and Sarasota redefine luxury homes
The question comes up more frequently these days with area residents and potential buyers from across the country. Are Naples and Sarasota becoming the next Palm Beach or Miami? The answer is decidedly no. Instead, they are evolving into something the Gulf Coast has not been before: high-end markets that set their own prices rather than taking cues from the Atlantic.
› The towns on Florida’s Emerald Coast where retirees are moving
Florida’s Emerald Coast draws older newcomers to quiet bayous and historic river towns as well as its Gulf beaches. Medicare enrollment in Bay, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties grew by 21,293 people between 2020 and 2025, according to the Florida Department of Health, with Santa Rosa and Walton recording the strongest percentage gains.
› Miami selected for national housing initiative
Miami was chosen as one of the first cities in the nation to participate in a new initiative aimed at boosting the country’s housing supply. Bloomberg Philanthropies selected the Magic City and and 13 other municipalities for a program that seeks to streamline local housing construction. “Housing affordability is one of the biggest challenges facing Miami families, and we cannot afford to keep doing things the same way and expect different results,” Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins said. “Being selected for this initiative is a tremendous opportunity for our city.”
› Castor says Tampa has surpassed 10,000-unit affordable housing goal
With the help of a city homeownership assistance program, Oscar Beasley bought a Tampa house that he hopes to one day pass down to his grandchildren. Beasley, a first-time homebuyer, spent two decades in prison before working full-time as a truck driver. On Wednesday, he thanked Mayor Jane Castor outside his new home. Without the city program, he said, “I would never have had the chance to get this house.”
Florida’s most influential business leaders
