Florida homebuyers are backed out of deals to purchase properties at a record rate, according to a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin, as prices continue rising and mortgage rates aren’t budging.
In June, nearly 56,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in the Sunshine State, the equivalent of roughly 14.9 percent of all homes that went under contract that month. It’s the highest percentage of any June on record.
“We’re seeing nightmare scenarios where deals are getting canceled at the last minute for the most minute reasons,” Rafael Corrales, a Redfin Premier agent in Miami, said in a press release. In the coastal city, around 2,500 home purchases were canceled in June—about 17.6 percent of all homes that went under contract.
“Buyers often back out during the inspection period because they find something they don’t like, but affordability is really the underlying issue,” Corrales explained. “I don’t want my buyers to be surprised by all of the expenses that come with owning a home in Florida, so I advise them to proactively research the hefty costs of insurance, property taxes and HOA fees, in addition to the cost of their mortgage payment.”
These expenses add up to the already hefty sum needed to purchase a home in the Sunshine State. The median sale price of a home in Florida, according to the latest Redfin data included in the report, was $442,525 in June, up 0.9 percent from a month earlier and up 4 percent year-over-year. That’s higher than the state’s 2022 pandemic peaks of $410,000.
Prices are creeping up at the state-level despite the recent growth in inventory across Florida, one of the states that’s been building the most new homes in the country, together with Texas. The number of total homes for sale, seasonally adjusted, according to Redfin, was 1,636,110 in June—down 0.1 percent month-over-month but up 12.8 percent year-over-year.
In total, the state had a 2.6-month supply in June, which means that it would take 2.6 months for the current inventory to be sold given the current sale pace if no new listing was added. In terms of buyers’ options, that’s not much at all.
But the high price of homes in the state are still keeping buyers waiting on the sidelines. According to Redfin data, homes in the state spent an average 32 days on the market before going under contract, enough to be considered “stale” listing.
Orlando, Florida, was the city with the highest percentage of home-purchase agreements canceled in June out of the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas analyzed by Redfin, for a total of 900—about 20.8 percent of all homes that went under contract that month.
It was followed by Jacksonville, Florida (20.5 percent), Tampa, Florida (20.5 percent), Las Vegas (20.2 percent) and San Antonio, Texas (19.9 percent).
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
