Weekly Real Estate News
Florida’s residential market lost momentum in September even as third-quarter closings held near last year’s levels, a distinction that matters for brokers trying to judge whether the state’s cooling period is giving way to another leg down.
Figures released Friday by Florida Realtors show 20,537 existing single-family closings in September, down 3.5% from a year earlier. Condominium and townhouse transactions totaled 7,179, a 0.1% decline. Over the full July-to-September quarter, single-family sales reached 65,904, up 0.2%, while condo and townhouse closings climbed 3.1% to 22,664.
Those quarterly gains should not obscure the recent turn. The September figures mark a second straight month of year-over-year declines in single-family sales, according to the association. Quarterly totals include closings from earlier contracts, while the September count captures a market confronting higher borrowing costs toward the end of summer.
Florida Realtors Chief Economist Brad O’Connor attributed the slowdown chiefly to mortgage rates. Modest gains earlier in the year left the market vulnerable to even relatively small increases in financing costs, he said. A borrower shopping at today’s rates may face a substantially different payment than one who qualified earlier in the year.
The market’s price readings were steadier than its sales counts. September’s median existing single-family price was $415,000, 1.2% above September 2025. The median condo-townhouse price slipped 1.8% to $293,500. For the third quarter, the single-family median reached $420,000, up 2.4%, while the condo-townhouse median was unchanged at $295,000.
The median is the midpoint of transactions rather than an index of appreciation for identical properties. A greater share of expensive closings can lift the median even when individual sellers have less pricing power. The association said luxury and near-luxury properties continued to outperform lower-priced segments.
Different supply conditions for houses and condos
Florida ended September with 4.4 months of single-family supply, compared with 7.7 months for condos and townhouses. Those are materially different negotiating environments. A buyer shopping for a detached house in a supply-constrained neighborhood may encounter little competition among sellers; a condo buyer may have considerably more choice, though insurance, reserve requirements and association assessments can change the economics of any particular unit.
The association’s September and third-quarter data tables allow comparisons by property type and metro area. Statewide averages can conceal sharp differences among coastal condominium markets, suburban family-home corridors and inland communities.
Florida Realtors also reported that new pending single-family sales declined more than 7.5% from a year earlier, while pending condo-townhouse transactions were down about 3.5%. Pending sales are a nearer-term gauge of demand than closed sales, although they do not all proceed to closing.
For lenders, weaker contract activity can limit purchase pipelines even when home values remain broadly stable. The impact varies by price tier: higher-priced transactions often involve larger down payments or cash purchases, while entry-level borrowers are more exposed to changes in monthly payments and insurance premiums.
For agents, the state numbers argue against a single Florida pricing script. A seller in a tight single-family submarket may still have room to hold firm; an owner in a condo building with competing listings may need to address carrying costs and buyer concerns directly. Inventory measured in months is a useful starting point, but building-level and neighborhood-level comparisons matter more for an individual transaction.
The national market is showing a similar split between available listings and qualified demand. WRE News reported this week on Redfin estimates showing a record national surplus of sellers over buyers in September. Redfin’s estimates use a different methodology from Florida Realtors’ closed-sale and supply figures; they should not be treated as interchangeable.
O’Connor characterized Florida’s market as having lost momentum without suffering a collapse. The next test will be whether lower pending sales translate into weaker fourth-quarter closings, particularly if mortgage rates remain elevated. The October statewide report is scheduled for November 16.
