FLA. ORIGINATOR

Five Florida Metros Among Nation’s Most Overvalued

While a U.S. housing correction has started, home prices are still rising in many areas, according to a study from researchers at Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University.

The average home price increased between September and the end of October

Top Overvalued FL Markets

in 64 of the 100 largest housing markets, including Chicago, Dallas, Memphis, Philadelphia and San Jose, Calif.

“We hear how slow the U.S. housing market is,” said Ken H. Johnson, Ph.D., a real estate economist in FAU’s College of Business. “But consumers are still buying and selling, and that activity is keeping prices elevated in a lot of metro areas.”

Johnson and Eli Beracha, Ph.D., of FIU’s Hollo School of Real Estate, analyze longterm pricing trends back to 1996 in 100 markets to determine the most overvalued areas. The data covers single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.

Cape Coral-Fort Myers is the nation’s most overvalued market, with buyers paying 67.68% more than they should, based on the market’s pricing history. Four other Florida markets are also in the top 10, along with Atlanta, Charlotte, Las Vegas, Ogden, Utah; and Boise, Idaho.

Jacksonville, Miami To Be Among Hottest Markets In 2023

Jacksonville and Miami will be two of the hottest housing markets in 2023, according to a recent Zillow forecast.

Zillow measured the 50 largest U.S. housing markets on price growth, inventory, jobs and demographics to determine its rankings.

Jacksonville was ranked sixth and Miami eighth in the forecast.

“Record-breaking home value growth ended in 2022, fueled in large part by the highest mortgage interest rates seen since 2008, though the story is varied across markets,” the report said. “Some, like Miami, have seen very slight home value declines, with prices even rising in some recent months.”

Charlotte, N.C., was ranked No. 1 in the report.

Forecaster Says Central Florida Housing Market Slowly Improving

Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Forecasting at the University of Central Florida, says the housing market is slowly improving.

“The housing market is not as severely tight as it was six or eight months ago, that being said, it’s still a very tight housing market,” Snaith told WMFE’s Talia Blake when discussing what central Florida residents can expect in 2023.

But even with more houses becoming available, Snaith says, “They’re still below what would be considered a balanced housing market.”

Snaith expects home prices to gradually come down this year.

When looking to buy a house in Central Florida, Snaith says there are a few steps you can take to find an affordable place. “Of course, the biggest one is to have a larger down payment on the home, so you’re borrowing less money,” he says.

If that’s not an option, Snaith says look for a house outside the Orlando metro. “The farther out, you tend to get from the center of the metropolitan economy, prices tend to decline,” he says.

Study: Post-storm Price Hikes Could Drive Climate Gentrification

A new study finds that post-storm price hikes could be a key driver of so-called climate gentrification in Florida.

The study, published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, found that Florida home prices were 5% higher in the three years following a hurricane, the USTimesPost reported. Hurricane-troubled housing markets attracted rather than deterred wealthier residents.