Major Homebuilder Sees Surprising Signs of Life in Troubled Florida Housing Market

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A major homebuilder has reported recent gains in Florida, marking a surprising turnaround in the state after several years of slowing sales and falling prices.
PulteGroup, the third-largest homebuilder in the nation, said that net new orders in Florida rose 2% last quarter compared with a year earlier.
“We’re really happy with what we saw out of Florida,” PulteGroup President and CEO Ryan Marshall told investors on a call last month. “We get buyers from all over the country, all over the world that come into Florida. We also see a healthy mix of folks moving within Florida as well.” PulteGroup’s unexpected uptick in Florida sales follows years of pronounced weakness in the state, where homebuilders have been forced to slash prices and offer mortgage rate buydowns and other generous concessions in the face of weak demand.
In recent months, however, there are signs that Florida’s housing market is getting closer to equilibrium, with inventory stabilizing and price declines slowing.

“Florida and its constituent markets are in a period of price decline, but it appears that decline is slowing,” says Realtor.com® senior economist Joel Berner. “As inventory growth flattens, prices in Florida look poised to do the same. Prices may not rebound quickly, but their current retreat may be coming to an end.”
Inventory might also be stabilizing after years of rapid expansion. Since April, the supply of homes on the market in Florida has declined for three straight months, reflecting a decrease in new listing activity.
After active inventory in Florida hit 182,600 in April, an all-time high in records dating to 2016, inventory declined each of the subsequent months, reaching 174,600 in July. While that is still well above pre-pandemic levels, it could be a sign that supply is beginning to stabilize. (Realtor.com)