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.
