July 3rd, 2025

Two New

Property Insurers

Approved

Two more property insurers have been approved to operate in Florida, bringing the total to 14 since recent reforms. Officials say the market is stabilizing.

One of the new companies, Florida Insurance and Reinsurance Company will primarily offer coverage for condominiums and condo associations.

The two new carriers are the 13th and 14th to enter Florida’s market since lawmakers enacted reforms in 2022 and 2023 that have decreased financial incentives for policyholders, repair contractors, roofing companies and plaintiffs’ attorneys to file what insurers contend are frivolous lawsuits. 

New companies start out with clean slates, unburdened by claims and lawsuits that predate the reforms. Many of the new companies build their initial books of business by participating in depopulation of state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. because there are no initial acquisition costs.

Source: Florida REALTORS

 Mortgage Rates

Stable

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

June 20th, 2025

A look into Florida’s 

Real Estate Market

Real estate across the Sunshine State for condos and homes is experiencing a slowdown in sales and a drop in prices.

This comes after the COVID-19 pandemic powered a desire for Florida housing, pushing prices up and out of reach for some residents. In April, there was a double-digit drop in the pace of condo sales, and in general, it’s been dropping since last summer.

According to Juan Arias, the director of market analytics at real estate data firm CoStar, condo sales were down 20% in April in Hillsborough County. He added they were also down 21% in Miami-Dade County, down 15.5% for Southwest Florida in general 

Source: COSTAR

 Mortgage Rates

Creep Lower

This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose slightly higher. Aspiring buyers should remember to shop around for the best mortgage rate, as they can potentially save thousands of dollars by getting multiple quotes.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

June 12th, 2025

Mortgage Rates 

Retreat Again on 

Better-Than-Expected 

Inflation, Jobs Reports

Mortgage rates eased today for the second consecutive week following the release of the latest inflation report, which showed that consumer prices rose less than predicted in May. The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans ticked down to 6.84% for the week ending June 5, down from 6.85% last week, according to Freddie Mac. Rates averaged 6.95% during the same period in 2024. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index also came in relatively positive for May, with home purchase sentiment climbing to a 2025 high, and concerns over financial security diminished. In May, roughly one out of four survey respondents said it is a good time to buy a home—the highest share since March 2022. 

Source: REALTOR.com

 Mortgage Rates

From 2020 to Today

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

June 6th, 2025

Home Sellers 

Outnumber Buyers 

by record amount

The housing market is seeing a major shift in the number of buyers and sellers. The U.S. housing market has nearly 500,000 more sellers than buyers, a recent analysis by Redfin found. According to Redfin, as of April 2025, there are 500,000 more people selling homes than buying them. Redfin says the last time the number of homebuyers were this low was during the start of the pandemic, and before that was in 2013. In our Market here in Tampa Bay there are currently 2.2 Sellers for every Buyer

Source: Redfin

 Mortgage Rates

Move Down

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

May 30th, 2025

Millennials Show 

Increased Interest 

in Buying

Millennials are the only generation with a greater interest in buying a home in the next six months compared to September 2024, according to a new survey from Realtor.com®. Millennials’ buying intention grew to 23% this year compared to last September (15%), although most Americans (69%) are not planning to engage in a real estate transaction in the next six months.

Overall, over two-thirds of respondents acknowledge that mortgage rates influence their decision to buy a home. In contrast, Baby Boomers are less influenced by mortgage rates overall, 41% of Baby Boomers say that mortgage rates do not impact their decision to buy a home. Notably, only 2% would consider purchasing a home with mortgage rates exceeding 6%. Most, 63%, are looking for rates below 5.0% before they would consider purchasing a home.

Source: Florida REALTOR.com

 Mortgage Rates

Continue to Stay

Under 7%

This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose slightly higher. Aspiring buyers should remember to shop around for the best mortgage rate, as they can potentially save thousands of dollars by getting multiple quotes.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

May 23rd, 2025

Big Beautiful Bill 

Incudes 

Several Wins 

for Real Estate

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a long-anticipated tax reform package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, early Thursday morning that included several major victories for Real Estate.

• The bill permanently increases the qualified business income deduction from 20% to 23%
• It also quadruples the state and local tax deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000
• The bill makes the current individual tax rates permanent and indexes them for inflation
• In addition, it preserves and makes permanent the mortgage interest deduction
• legislation protects Section 1031 like-kind exchanges and leaves business SALT deductions intact

The bill also includes other Real Estate related items including: Low-income housing tax credit, estate tax certainty, renewed Opportunity Zone incentives, and the creation of tax-advantaged child investment accounts that can be used for qualified expenses of the beneficiary such as first-time home purchases.

The bill will proceed to the Senate. The biggest obstacle may be the threatened opposition from Senate conservatives who say the bill doesn’t do nearly enough to cut future deficits, which are projected to exceed $2 trillion annually for the next two years.

Source: Florida REALTORS

 Mortgage Rates

Average 6.86%

Mortgage rates inched up this week but continue to remain lower than one year ago. With more inventory for buyers to choose from than the last few years, purchase application activity continues to hold up.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

May 8th, 2025

Seller Concessions

Lower in

Tampa Bay

About 33% of Tampa Bay homes sold in the first quarter of 2025 had a concession, down from around 43% a year earlier, according to Redfin data. That’s money buyers can put toward repairs, closing costs and other expenses.

The big picture: Nationally, over 44% of sellers are giving buyers concessions — nearly a record high, the real estate site reports.

Driving the news: More sellers nationwide have handed out such sweeteners as buyers face high home prices, elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty, per the report.

But in Tampa Bay, where the housing market has cooled, sellers are pricing homes lower upfront and often avoid concessions.

Source: AXIOS

 Mortgage Rates

Remain Under 7%

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

May 8th, 2025

Property Tax Reform

Property taxes are at the center of debate between the governor, House, and Senate leadership. Committee members already met for the first time Friday, May 2, discussing proposals for property tax reform, all of which will require a constitutional amendment.

Here are five proposals being considered.

1.      Requiring every city, county and special district to hold a referendum on the elimination of homestead property taxes.

2.      Creating a new $500,000 homestead property tax exemption for non-school property taxes. That $500,000 exemption would be increased to $1,000,000 for homeowners who are over 65 years of age or who have had a homestead in Florida for over 30 years.

3.      Authorizing the state Legislature to raise the amount of the homestead exemption by state statute.

4.      Enhancing Florida’s assessment limitation caps for homestead and non-homestead properties. Change the homestead assessment cap from 3% per year to 3% every three years. For non-homestead assessments, adjust the cap from 10% per year to 15% every three years.

5.      Prohibit the government from foreclosing on a homestead property for unpaid taxes.

Source: Florida REALTORS

 Mortgage Rates

Remain Flat

Mortgage rates stayed flat this week. At this time last year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 30 basis points higher and purchase applications were declining. Today, rates are lower and have remained stable for weeks, sparking continued increases in purchase applications.

Just Listed

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

May 1st, 2025

Florida Lawmakers 

Pass Changes To 

Condo Safety Rules

Florida Legislature on Wednesday signed off on proposed changes to condominium safety laws passed after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside that killed 98 people. 

The measure (HB 913), approved unanimously by the House and Senate, is now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has made changing the condo laws one of his top priorities of this year’s legislative session. The laws, passed in 2022 and tweaked in 2023, included requiring “milestone inspections” of older buildings and “structural integrity reserve studies” to determine how much money should be saved for future major repairs.

The proposed changes include:

• Extending the deadline for structural integrity studies by one year.
• Milestone inspections and structural reserve studies apply to buildings that have three or more habitable stories. 

• A temporary pause in reserve funding for two years immediately following a milestone inspection.
• Allow associations to use lines of credit or loans to satisfy reserve obligations, if a majority of owners approve.
• Require design professionals and contractors who bid on milestone inspections and structural integrity studies, to disclose if they intend to bid on related maintenance, repair or replacement work.
• Deferred-maintenance expenses of more than $10,000 raised to $25,000.

The measure also addresses a variety of other issues, including condominium association managers and management companies.

Source: Tampa Bay Times

 Mortgage Rates

Continue to Decline

Mortgage rates again declined this week. In recent weeks, rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage have fallen even lower than the first quarter average of 6.83%.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785

April 24th, 2025

Florida’s California Moment

Florida’s Population 

Trajectory

The relentless pace of migration is putting pressure on public services and inflating costs across sectors. While New York has long been a top source of incoming residents, 2023 saw California contribute 6% of new arrivals — a notable shift from the West Coast toward Florida’s economic and political climate. Georgia, Texas, and New Jersey also ranked among the top five origin states.

It’s a pattern that echoes California’s experience: soaring housing costs, escalating insurance, and aging infrastructure eventually led to a population outflow. Florida, once viewed as a destination for relief and reinvention, is now seeing early signs of the same phenomenon — a reversal driven by its own explosive growth.

Source: Residential News

 Mortgage Rates

Decrease

The average mortgage rate decreased slightly this week. Over the last couple of months, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fluctuated less than 20 basis points, and this stability continues to bode well for buyers and sellers alike.

For Sale

Condos on the Gulf

Condos on the Bay

Waterfront Homes

Belleair Homes

Seminole Homes

Income Properties

Doiron Realty Services
Pete Doiron
Broker

727-391-2829

© 2025 Doiron Realty, Inc.

18395 Gulf Boulevard Suite 203

Indian Shores, FL 33785