Newsletters Archives - Page 20 of 29 - Doiron Realty Services

Across from Johns Pass Boardwalk

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Condo law issues 2025-01-30

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

January 30th, 2025

Florida Condo Issues

Officially Dropped

From Special Session

TALLAHASSEE The state Legislature continues to defy Ron DeSantis’ call to amend a new condominium-safety law that is putting financial pressure on condo owners and homeowners associations.

During an unprecedented speech Monday, House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, said legislation like the condominium law in question — passed in response to the deadly 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside — was too complicated to take up during a SPECIAL SESSION, even though that is how the original law was passed in 2022. The law, which took effect at the end of last year, requires condominium associations to fully fund their building maintenance reserves — a rule that some condo owners and associations have blamed for escalating maintenance fees and hefty special assessments. It is a departure from the previous law that allowed associations to vote to waive funding reserves, causing repairs in some older buildings to build up over decades, ballooning costs that may now be unaffordable. Legislators plan to review the condo safety law in the upcoming 2025 legislative session which begins March 4^th.

Source Miami Herald

Fed Declines

To Cut

Interest Rates Further

At the Federal Reserve’s first 2025 press conference January 29, following a two-day meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced that there would not be an immediate rate cut and gave little insight into when further reductions in borrowing costs may take place. The Fed reiterated that the “timing and extent” of further interest rate cuts would depend on the “incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks.”

Source: RisMedia

30 Day Minimum Rental

No Minimum Rental

$635,000

Mortgage Rates

Show Little

Movement

The 30-year fixed-rate has hovered between 6% and 7% for most of the last two and a half years. That trend continued this week, with the average rate remaining essentially flat at 6.95%. Driven by these higher rates and a persistent supply shortage, affordability hurdles still exist for many homebuyers and a significant number of them remain on the sidelines..

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For Sale

Four Bedroom – Three Bath

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Home sales will rise 2025-01-23

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

January 23rd, 2025

Existing Home Sales

Will Rise but

Still Be Constrained

In comparison with historical norms prior to the pandemic years, home sales are expected to remain low as long as mortgage rates remain well over the 6% level. According to recent projections, the Federal Reserve doesn’t see inflation subsiding to 2.0% on a consistent basis until early 2026. This will mean higher but gradually declining short-term interest rates throughout 2025.

With rising costs for property taxes, home insurance, maintenance, the total costs for homeownership are far more than just mortgage principal and interest payments alone. According to a study in mid-2024 by Bankrate, these annual variable costs for a typical single-family home rose by nearly 26% between March 2020 and March 2024.

Source: NAR and U.S. News

Available

Highwood Estates

Dunedin

Three Car Garage

$975,000

Mortgage Rates

Drop Below

Seven Percent

After crossing the 7%-mark last week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw its first decline in six weeks. While affordability challenges remain, this is welcome news for potential homebuyers, as reflected in a corresponding uptick in purchase applications.

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Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

DeSantis calls special session 2025-01-16

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

January 16th, 2025

DeSantis calls special session to address condo safety bill

DeSantis has called a special session of the Florida Senate for the week of Jan. 27 to address a series of issues, including complaints from condo owners that a 2022 law passed in response to the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside has led to onerous maintenance costs and special assessments for building repairs. Senate leaders balked at DeSantis’ call for a special session the week of Jan. 27, saying it was “premature” when the Legislature is already set to convene on March 4. “Condominium safety and ballot initiatives proposing constitutional amendments are complex subjects and should be considered during the regular session, not a truncated special session,” Senators Perez and Albritton wrote in the joint memorandum to the Legislature.

Source: TampaBay Times

Mortgage Rates

Surpass

Seven Percent

Mortgage rates ticked up for the fifth consecutive week and crossed seven percent for the first time since May of 2024. The underlying strength of the economy is contributing to this increase in rates. Despite rising rates, Freddie Mac research highlights that consumers can save money if they shop for several different lender quotes.

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Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Florida continues to 2025-01-09

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

January 9th, 2025

Which states

are gaining and

losing Americans

Florida continues to see positive net migration. Net domestic migration is calculated as the difference between the number of Americans moving into a given state (in-migration) and the number of people leaving that state (out-migration) over a specific period.

These 5 states saw the biggest net domestic migration INCREASE between July 2023 and July 2024:

1. Texas —> +85,267

2. North Carolina —> +82,288

3. South Carolina —> +68,043

4. Florida —> +64,017

5. Tennessee —> +48,476

Florida saw net domestic migration of +64K in 2024, compared to +314K in 2022

Just Listed

Gulf Side

Single Family Home

Madeira Beach

3 Bedroom 3 Bath

1,304 Square Feet

No Rental Restrictions

Turn Key

2nd story possible

$1,280,000

More

Mortgage Rates

Continue

To Trend Up

In the first full week of the new year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained elevated at just under 7 percent. The continued strength of the economy has put upward pressure on mortgage rates, and along with high home prices, continues to impact housing affordability. The lack of entry-level supply also remains an issue, especially for those looking to become first-time homeowners.

For Sale

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Tampa Bay Market 2024-12-27

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

December 27th, 2024

How has Tampa’s housing market fared since Hurricane Milton?

The Tampa Bay metro area was faced with in October with Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in the area as a Category 3 storm. In the days leading up to the storm’s landfall on Oct. 9, housing markets in the Tampa area came to a complete halt as sellers took their homes off the market.

The week of the hurricane, new listings fell by about 80% in five major cities in the metro area — Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, Brandon and Riverview. Clearwater lost 81% of its listings, the highest rate among the five cities.

After the hurricane passed, new listings in Largo jumped by a shocking 650% compared to the week prior. Clearwater (+400%), Tampa (+309%), Riverview (+271%) and Brandon (+175%) also saw significant recoveries.

Source: Housing Wire

Mortgage Rates

Continue to

Rise

Mortgage rates increased for the second straight week, rebounding after a decline from earlier this month. While a slight improvement in new and existing home sales is encouraging, the market remains plagued by an overwhelming undersupply of homes. A strong economy can help build momentum heading into the new year and potentially boost purchase activity.

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For Sale

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

People leaving Florida 2024-12-12

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

December 12th, 2024

Will people leave Florida

after devastating hurricanes?

History suggests not

Up and down Florida’s coast residents are calculating whether they should stay or go. Can they afford to rebuild? What will insurance cover? People considering moving to Florida are contemplating whether it’s worth the risk to come to a hurricane prone state.

Questions about Florida’s appeal are raised regularly after the state experiences a busy hurricane season, such as in 2004, when four hurricanes crossed the Sunshine State.

If moves into the state offer any answer, hurricanes have not been a deterrent. Florida’s population has grown by one-third to 23 million residents in the two decades since hurricanes Charley, Frances, Jeanne and Ivan ravaged the state. Last year, Florida added more than 365,000 residents.

On the other hand, there are signs that Florida’s white-hot real estate market has cooled. Sales of single-family homes were down 12% in September compared with the same time in the previous year. But interest rates, rising home prices and skyrocketing insurance costs likely played bigger roles than the recent hurricanes.

Source: Associated Press

Mortgage Rates

Continue to

Drop

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased for the third consecutive week. The combination of mortgage rate declines, firm consumer income growth and a bullish stock market have increased homebuyer demand in recent weeks. While the outlook for the housing market is improving, the improvement is limited given that homebuyers continue to face stiff affordability headwinds.

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For Sale

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Lawmakers need to 2024-12-06

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

December 6th, 2024

Florida

Condo Crisis

Needs to be Addressed

by Lawmakers

Florida’s legislative leaders will not have a special session before year’s end to address the Dec. 31 deadline for structural integrity inspections and reserve studies. Governor DeSantis expressed support for such a session earlier this year but now it’d clear that no such action will be taken before the deadline. The next legislative session begins in March of 2025 and lawmakers will address the issues then. Various forms of assistance for condominium owners can be explored, including zero-interest loans that would help pay for special assessments. Loans to condominium associations are backed by owners’ monthly assessments, so associations’ lien rights make them extremely low risk for lenders. With so many associations and unit owners struggling to meet the financial burdens stemming from the safety reforms, the condominium market is ripe for a state-sponsored financing program offering no-interest or low-interest loans to qualified associations as well as their unit-owner members. Some associations have been implementing dramatic and unnecessary assessments that could have been diminished if they had more time vet their study findings and conclusions.

Source: Miami Herald

Mortgage Rates

Continue to

Decrease

This week, mortgage rates decreased to their lowest level in over a month. Despite just a modest drop in rates, consumers clearly have responded as purchase demand has noticeably improved. The responsiveness of prospective homebuyers to even small changes in rates illustrates that affordability headwinds persist.

Archive of Past Newsletters

For Sale

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Tampa-St. Pete 2024-11-28

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

November 28th, 2024

Tampa/St. Pete

Housing

Will Be

A Top 5

US Market In

2025

Tampa Bay’s housing market, which has been hit with obstacles ranging from hurricanes to high interest rates in the past couple of years, remains strong and is poised to be one the tops in the nation next year. A report, titled Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2025, ranked Tampa-St. Petersburg as No. 4 on its list of the top 10 markets to watch next year. That is up 14 spots from last year. According to the report, Tampa-St. Petersburg’s housing market is worth watching because of continued population growth; the area’s positive business climate; and job growth forecast at 2.3 times the nation’s five-year forecast.

These factors, the report’s authors write, “set the stage for continued demand for Tampa real estate.”

But the report came with warning signs for the area as well.

Chief among those is the cost of homeowners’ insurance in Tampa-St. Petersburg, which ranks among the 10 highest nationally, and home prices, which have risen 66% in the past four years. Because of this, “much of Tampa’s previous housing affordability has eroded, with little hope of returning in the near term.”

“On the bright side,” the authors add, “costs of doing business remain below national averages (95% of the national rate, per Moody’s), with costs considerably lower than U.S. averages for energy, state, and local taxes, and office rent.”

Source: Business Observer Florida

The 30-Year

Fixed-Rate Mortgage

Inches Down

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved down this week, but not by much. Rates have been relatively flat over the last few weeks as the market waits for more clarity on specific economic policies. Potential homebuyers are also waiting on the sidelines, causing demand to be lackluster. Despite the low sales activity, inventory has only modestly improved and remains dramatically undersupplied.

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Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

13800 Park Blvd. Suite 207
Seminole FL 33776
727-391-2829

Florida Losses 2024-11-21

Gulf Coast
Real Estate Update

November 21st, 2024

Florida Losses

Top $5B

So Far

With more than 50% of Hurricanes Milton and Helene insurance claims closed, payouts have exceeded $5 billion between the two storms as property owners work to recover from the widespread damages.

The total estimated insured losses in Florida from both storms is $5,033,738,579.

The total estimated insured losses for Hurricane Helene were $1,990,543,518 as of Monday and the total estimated insured losses for Milton were $3,043,195,061.

Statewide, there have been 285,311claims for Milton and 135,505 claims for Helene, totaling 420,816. Pinellas County claims account for 21% of the statewide total.

As of Monday, 11/20/24 the number of claims filed in Pinellas County reached 47,095 for Helene and 41,080 filed claims for Milton totaling 88,175.

Source: Florida Realtors

Mortgage Rates

Tick Up

Mortgage rates ticked back up this week, continuing to approach 7 percent. Heading into the holidays, purchase demand remains in the doldrums. While for-sale inventory is increasing modestly, the elevated interest rate environment has caused new construction to soften.

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