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You’ll find our blog to be a wealth of information, covering everything from local market statistics and home values to community happenings. That’s because we care about the community and want to help you find your place in it. Please reach out if you have any questions at all. We’d love to talk with you!

July 12, 2026

Central Florida Price Reductions: 1,479 Homes This Week -- July 2026

 

This week's numbers: 1,479 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.58% off list -- that is where the negotiation room is. Supporting context: 52.9% of those listings have been on the market 60+ days.

1. This Week's Price Reduction Snapshot

Every week, we pull fresh data from the Stellar MLS to track price reductions across four Central Florida counties. Here is where things stand as of July 12, 2026:

Orange County

619 price reductions (+127 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.13%

52.3% listed 60+ days

Browse Orange County

Seminole County

225 price reductions (+73 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.28%

50.2% listed 60+ days

Browse Seminole County

Volusia County

316 price reductions (+37 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.79%

55.4% listed 60+ days

Browse Volusia County

Lake County

319 price reductions (+6 from last week)

Average reduction: 4.14%

53.6% listed 60+ days

Browse Lake County

52.9% of all price-reduced listings have been on the market 60 days or longer. That is the number that matters most for buyers -- it signals sellers who are ready to negotiate on more than just price. Closing cost assistance, rate buydowns, and repair credits are all on the table when DOM climbs past 60.

2. Week-Over-Week Changes

Compared to last week's data:

  • **Orange County** added 127 new price reductions
  • **Seminole County** added 73 new price reductions
  • **Volusia County** added 37 new price reductions
  • **Lake County** added 6 new price reductions

These shifts reflect real buyer and seller activity -- not seasonal estimates. When listing counts drop, it typically means deals are closing. When they rise, new motivated sellers are entering the market.

3. What This Means for Buyers

Leverage is real right now. With 1,479 motivated sellers adjusting prices across four counties, buyers are not competing against the frenzy that defined 2021 and 2022. The data shows room to negotiate -- particularly on listings that have crossed the 60-day mark.

If you are pre-approved, this is the environment where a well-structured offer on a price-reduced listing can land below asking with concessions attached.

4. What This Means for Sellers

Price is a positioning decision, not a concession. The sellers who are closing right now are the ones who adjusted early and strategically. A price reduction does not mean desperation -- it means your listing re-enters buyer search alerts, gets fresh algorithmic exposure, and competes where actual demand exists.

If your listing has been sitting 45+ days without meaningful showing activity, the market is giving you a signal. We can help you read it.

5. What This Means for Investors

Price-reduced listings are where the math works. When a seller has already cut the price, your acquisition cost drops -- and with 52.9% of listings past 60 days, there is room to negotiate further. That improves your cap rate, your cash-on-cash return, and your exit strategy flexibility.

Whether you are looking at buy-and-hold rentals or fix-and-flip candidates, this week's data across 4 counties gives you a clear map of where motivated sellers are concentrated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many price-reduced homes are available in Central Florida this week?

As of July 12, 2026, there are 1,479 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.58% off original list prices.

What does a price reduction mean for buyers?

A price reduction signals a motivated seller. Beyond the lower price itself, it often means faster closing timelines, openness to seller concessions, and more room to negotiate repairs or rate buydowns.

How often is this data updated?

We refresh our price reduction data weekly using direct Stellar MLS exports. New reductions are added each Sunday and sold properties are removed within 24 hours of closing.

Which county has the most price reductions right now?

Orange County currently leads with 619 active price reductions, averaging 3.13% off list prices.

Find Your Next Price-Reduced Home

Brenden Rendo and The Homes In Orlando Team track every price cut across Central Florida weekly. Whether you are buying, selling, or investing -- the data tells the story.

407-616-9019

Send Us a Message | Search Homes

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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July 9, 2026

Florida Property Tax Elimination: What a 3% Transaction Fee Means for You

By Brenden Rendo, Realtor · Updated July 9, 2026

It is affordability season in Florida politics. Proposals in Tallahassee and on the campaign trail promise to eliminate property taxes for most homeowners, paid for by new fees on real estate transactions and higher taxes on "out-of-state investors." As someone who believes markets work better than mandates, I keep asking a question nobody on a debate stage seems to ask: what happened to free markets? I read the fine print of the leading proposals and did the math the way I would for a client at a closing table. Here is what the headlines leave out.

4x to 7x
Proposed Jump in Florida's Transfer Tax
Doc stamps today: 0.7%. Leading proposal: 3% on homesteads, 5% on everything else
~$12,750
New Fee on a Median FL Home Sale
3% of the $425,000 median single-family price, due at closing, every time you move
1.7%
Share of FL Single-Family Homes Owned by Private Equity
~100,000 claimed institutional rentals of 5.8M homes (Census ACS 2024). 1 in 58
741,429
Florida Seasonal and Second Homes
7.4x the claimed Wall Street footprint. This is who a 5% non-homestead fee actually hits
TLDR:
  • Leading Florida proposals would eliminate property taxes for most homesteads, funded by a 3% to 5% fee on real estate transactions. That is a 4x to 7x jump over today's 0.7% doc stamps.
  • The fee is a tax on moving: roughly $12,750 on a median home sale, hitting downsizing seniors, growing families, and job relocations. Less moving means less inventory, which pushes prices up.
  • The "Wall Street" villain owns about 1.7% of Florida's single-family homes and has been a net seller for nine straight quarters. The 5% rate would mostly hit 741,000+ seasonal-home owners and small landlords.
  • Eliminating property taxes tends to capitalize into higher home prices, helping current owners and raising the bar for first-time buyers.
  • The free-market read: investors already left because profits did. Florida's real cost problem is carry costs, insurance and taxes, not who owns 1 home in 58.

The promise: zero property taxes

The headline versions are genuinely appealing. One leading proposal would create a $1 million homestead exemption, ending property taxes for roughly 95% of Florida homeowners, with exemptions for small businesses and a per-unit break for rental housing. Separately, lawmakers have advanced a measure that would end city and county property taxes on homesteads if voters approve it. The pitch: you should truly own your home, not rent it from the government. As a homeowner, I get the appeal. As a Realtor, my job is to read what is on the other side of the ledger.

Big plans need big pay-fors. The largest proposal replaces roughly $34 billion in property tax revenue with, among other things, real estate transaction fees of 3% on homestead purchases and 5% on non-homestead purchases, higher tourist taxes, and increased millage on "out-of-state investors" who own single-family rentals. That is where the fine print gets expensive.

The fine print: a tax on every move

Florida already has a transfer tax. Documentary stamps run 70 cents per $100, or 0.7% of the sale price, per the Florida Department of Revenue. The proposed 3% to 5% is a four to seven times increase, which would be the heaviest transfer tax in the country. On Florida's median single-family sale price of $425,000, the 3% homestead rate is roughly $12,750, due at closing, every time you buy.

Economists call this a mobility tax, and the research on transfer taxes is unambiguous: they reduce transactions by double digits. People stay in homes that no longer fit: seniors delay downsizing, growing families squeeze, workers turn down jobs across town. Florida already has a lock-in effect from Save Our Homes assessment caps. Stacking a five-figure moving penalty on top means fewer listings, and fewer listings mean higher prices. A plan sold as affordability would make the state's inventory problem worse by design.

Quick Tip: When you evaluate any tax reform as a homeowner, price it at the closing table, not the press conference. Ask one question: what does this cost me the next time I move? A tax you pay once at every transaction can easily outweigh years of the annual tax it replaced.

Who actually pays (hint: not Wall Street)

The pay-for is marketed as shifting the burden to "out-of-state private equity buying up our homes." Here is the arithmetic problem. Take the claim at face value: institutional investors own about 100,000 single-family rentals in Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey counts about 5.8 million single-family detached homes in Florida. That is 1.7% of the stock. One home in 58.

Meanwhile the same Census data counts 741,429 Florida homes held for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. That is 7.4 times the claimed Wall Street footprint, and every one of them is non-homestead. So is every small landlord's rental: national deed-record research finds mom-and-pop investors make up roughly 60% of investor purchases, while true institutions account for about 1% of home sales and have been net sellers for nine consecutive quarters. You cannot raise $20 billion from buyers who are not buying. The 5% rate lands where the transactions actually are: the retired couple from Ohio buying a winter condo, the nurse who owns two rentals, and, at 3%, you, the Florida family buying your next homestead.

Non-homestead owners already pay more, by the way. No homestead exemption, a 10% assessment cap instead of 3%, no portability. They fund schools their kids do not attend. They are not the subsidy problem; they are the subsidy.

The market already solved the investor "problem"

Here is the part that should bother anyone who believes in markets: the sell-off already happened, without a single new tax. Institutional buyers responded to rising insurance, rising taxes, and flattening rents exactly the way markets are supposed to respond. They stopped buying and started selling. Investor purchases in Orlando recently hit their lowest level since 2014. The biggest operators have sold more than they bought for nine straight quarters, and most of those homes go straight to traditional buyers.

Prices are signals. When the profit disappeared, so did the buyers. Proposing a punitive tax on an asset class that is already in retreat is not market correction; it is shooting at a target that left the range. And the mechanism, blame the outside speculator and tax him, is not a conservative idea. It is the same logic as foreign-buyer taxes and rent control, arriving from the opposite direction. Scapegoating capital is scapegoating capital, whoever does it.

★ Pro Move: Watch what investors do, not what politicians say about them. Institutional buyers exiting a market on carry costs told you Florida's real problem, insurance and taxes, two years before any campaign did. Investor flows are the most honest affordability indicator there is.

Four consequences nobody is talking about

1. Zero property tax means higher home prices. When the annual cost of holding a home drops, buyers bid that savings into the price. Economists call it capitalization. Current owners gain equity; first-time buyers face a higher wall. The plan's headline benefit quietly inflates the barrier it promises to remove.

2. Renters likely pay more. Higher millage plus a 5% acquisition fee on rentals shrinks rental supply as landlords exit and new rental construction pencils out worse. In industry surveys, 90% of single-family rental operators say ownership restrictions would reduce housing supply. Less supply, higher rents, and renters are the least wealthy Floridians in this equation.

3. Stable revenue becomes boom-bust revenue. Property taxes are the steadiest funding source local governments have. Transaction fees are the most cyclical. Home sales are already near multi-year lows; in the next downturn, transactions freeze exactly when police, fire, and school budgets need stability. Cities would trade a predictable base for a revenue stream tied to market mood.

4. The plan is silent on the actual crisis. Florida's cost spiral is concentrated in insurance premiums, condo association fees, and special assessments. A property tax swap does not touch any of it, and the transaction fee adds a new cost on top for anyone trying to move out of an unaffordable situation.

What a free-market fix would actually look like

If the goal is affordability, the market-friendly checklist is not mysterious. Keep attacking the insurance cost stack: litigation reform is already working, with new carriers entering and rate filings flattening, and regulatory steps could push further. Cut the carry costs government controls directly, like the tax on insurance premiums. Speed up permitting and let builders build; supply is the only durable price fix. And if you want to cut property taxes, cut them honestly, with spending discipline, rather than swapping them for a bigger tax on the act of moving.

Free markets are not the obstacle to affordable housing in Florida. Carry costs are. Fix what makes a home expensive to hold and to insure, and the market, which is already correcting prices, price cuts, and investor exits without anyone's permission, will do the rest.

What this means for your next move

None of these proposals is law today. A constitutional change needs 60% voter approval, and the details will move. But if you are planning a purchase or sale in the next few years, the direction of this debate matters: the window before any multi-point transaction fee takes effect is a real financial consideration, and I am tracking every version of these plans as they develop. You can see how the current market is actually behaving, prices, inventory, and negotiating leverage, on our Central Florida housing market hub, updated monthly with primary-source data.

Want the closing-table math on your specific situation, what a sale or purchase costs today versus what these proposals would make it cost? Call or text Brenden Rendo at 407-616-9019, or start with a free home value estimate.

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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July 9, 2026

Florida Housing Market 2026: The Truth Behind the Viral 1-in-7 Stat

By Brenden Rendo, Realtor · Updated July 6, 2026

A post went viral on X this week: 1 in 7 homes for sale in America is in Florida, 45% of Florida listings have taken a price cut, and 1 in 10 homes are "selling for less than the original owner paid." The conclusion, according to the data firm behind it, is that Florida's market is "flashing warning signs." The post pulled over 2 million views. The numbers are roughly accurate. The story they tell is roughly backwards. I checked every one of them against the National Association of REALTORS, Florida Realtors SunStats, and my own MLS pulls. Here is what the viral map leaves out.

14%
Florida's Share of U.S. For-Sale Inventory
Down from 15.5% (1 in 6) in both 2024 and 2025 - the share is shrinking, not growing
-13.4%
Florida Active Inventory, Year Over Year
All property types, May 2026 vs May 2025 (Florida Realtors SunStats)
96%
Median Sale-to-Original-List, Single Family
May 2026, UP from 95.5% a year ago - closings are getting stronger, not weaker
11
Short Sales Closed in June, 4-County Orlando
Orange, Seminole, Lake, Volusia combined - and they closed at a median 99% of list
TLDR:
  • Florida holds about 14% of U.S. for-sale inventory. That is real, but it was 15.5% each of the last two years. The share is falling, not rising.
  • Roughly half of Florida listings have a price reduction, down from 53% a year ago. Homes are closing at 96% of original list price, better than last year.
  • The "1 in 10 selling at a loss" claim actually measures asking prices on active listings, not closed sales. Median sale prices statewide are up year over year.
  • My own MLS pull found just 161 active short sales in the four-county Orlando market, and only 11 closed in all of June, at a median 99% of list price.
  • The firm behind the viral map powers a trading platform where users can short housing indexes and sells subscriptions for finding "motivated sellers." Consider the source.

The claim that went viral

On July 5, the co-founder of a real estate data startup posted a Florida map with three claims: 1 in 7 homes for sale in America is in Florida (a state with about 8% of the nation's homes), 45% of Florida listings have taken a price cut, and 1 in 10 homes are selling for less than the original owner paid. The framing: "The Florida for-sale market is flashing warning signs."

I work this market every day, and I track price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties weekly. So I did what anyone quoting a viral map should do: I checked it against the primary sources.

"1 in 7 homes for sale is in Florida": true, and shrinking

The number checks out. Florida holds roughly 14% of U.S. for-sale inventory, comparing Florida Realtors statewide listing counts against the National Association of REALTORS May 2026 inventory figures. That is about 1 in 7.

Here is what the post left out. In May 2024 and May 2025, Florida's share was about 15.5%, or 1 in 6. The share peaked two years ago and is now receding. Even in the calm 2014 to 2019 market, Florida typically carried around 11% of national inventory, about 1 in 9, on roughly 8% of the housing stock. Florida always runs heavy on inventory relative to its size: constant migration in both directions, retiree turnover, one of the country's biggest new-construction pipelines, and a huge condo and second-home segment. An outsized share of listings is a structural feature of this state, not a new symptom.

Meanwhile, the level of inventory is falling. Florida Realtors SunStats for May 2026 shows active inventory down 13.4% year over year across all property types, with months of supply down 17.4%, from 6.9 months to 5.7. Calling a shrinking number "breaking news" is like reporting a fever of 101 without mentioning it was 103 yesterday.

"45% of listings have taken a price cut": down from last year

Also roughly right, and also improving. About half of Florida's active listings are currently priced below their original list price, down from 53% at this time last year. The pre-pandemic norm was around 40%, so today's level is elevated but converging back toward normal. That is the opposite of deterioration.

Price reductions are how sellers negotiate, not how markets collapse. Sellers start high, test the market, and adjust. The only years when price cuts were rare, 2020 and 2021, were the anomaly, because runaway appreciation bailed out every overpriced listing. The closed-sale data tells you what actually matters: Florida single-family homes sold at a median 96.0% of original list price in May 2026, up from 95.5% a year ago, with median time to contract one day faster.

Quick Tip: A price-reduced listing is a signal about the seller's starting point, not the home's value. If you are buying, the useful number is the sale-to-list ratio for recent closings in that neighborhood, not the size of the cut. Ask your agent to pull it before you write an offer.

"1 in 10 selling at a loss": read the fine print

This is the claim that does not survive contact with its own source. The dashboard behind the viral post labels that 10.3% figure as the share of listings "asking below purchase price (unrealized loss)." Asking. On active listings. The viral post converted "asking" into "selling," and those are very different claims.

An asking price below a prior purchase price is a hypothetical loss. Many of those homes sell above ask, get withdrawn, or are flips, inherited properties, and as-is sales where the comparison means nothing. The group also skews heavily toward people who bought at the 2021 and 2022 peak and are reselling within a few years, which is historically a money-losing move in any market once you count transaction costs.

The realized numbers point the other way. Florida's median single-family sale price rose 2.4% year over year in May, to $425,000. The all-property median rose 1.3%. Total dollar volume rose 8.5% to $20.9 billion. You cannot have rising medians, rising dollar volume, and a wave of realized losses at the same time.

The distress test: what my own MLS pull shows

If Florida sellers were truly "fire selling," it would show up first in the forced-sale channels: short sales and foreclosures. So I pulled the numbers myself from Stellar MLS on July 6, 2026, for the four-county Orlando market (Orange, Seminole, Lake, and Volusia).

  • 161 active short-sale listings across the entire region, versus 155 a month earlier. Essentially flat. Only 20 new short-sale listings entered the market in a month.
  • 11 short sales closed in the entire month of June across all four counties.
  • Those 11 closed at a median 99% of list price. Two sold above list. The median sale price was $385,000, right in line with the statewide median. That is not bargain-basement pricing.
  • The median closing took 196 days to go under contract. The grind in a short sale is lender approval, not seller desperation.

For context, in 2009 through 2011, distressed properties routinely made up a third or more of this market. Today they are a fraction of one percent of active listings, and even those sellers are getting list price. Meanwhile cash buyers, typically the fastest to flee a failing market, increased their share of Florida single-family closings to 27.2% from 26.2%. Investors are stepping in, not running out.

Who is behind the viral map

The company that published the map describes itself, in its own social media bio, as powering a blockchain trading platform where users trade perpetual futures on city-level home-price indexes, long or short, with up to 10x leverage. Its price feeds settle those trades. It also sells monthly subscriptions marketed around locating "motivated sellers," and the call to action under its Florida map reads "Ready to find a deal?"

None of that makes the underlying listing data wrong, and the firm's data engineering is genuinely good. But it does mean the publisher has a commercial interest in dramatic framing. Alarming maps drive engagement, subscriptions, and trading volume. When you weigh "Florida is flashing warning signs" against Florida Realtors' read that the market is stabilizing, it is worth knowing that one of those two sources profits when people believe prices are falling.

The index even fails its own live dashboard. The "Typical Savings" table on the publisher's Florida page, captured July 6, shows what buyers actually saved versus last list price on a $450,000 home, by seller tier: "Stubborn" sellers closed $10,755 below list, "Motivated" sellers $10,215, and "Fire Selling" sellers $10,170. Read that again: the most desperate tier on the doomsday scale delivered a smaller discount than the tier defined as refusing to budge. The scale runs backwards against its own data, and the entire spread between calm and catastrophe is $2,790, about six-tenths of one percent of the home's price.

★ Pro Move: Whenever a housing statistic goes viral, find the publisher's map legend or methodology note before you repeat the headline. In this case, one word ("asking" versus "selling") was the entire difference between a scary claim and a routine one.

What this means for Central Florida buyers and sellers

Strip out the missing year-over-year context and all three viral claims describe a market that is measurably healthier than it was twelve months ago: a smaller share of national inventory, fewer price cuts, higher median prices, faster contracts, more pending sales, and no meaningful distress pipeline. Florida entered the post-pandemic inventory correction ahead of the nation, and it is exiting ahead of the nation. The data is fine. The headline is wrong.

For buyers, this is still a genuine window: more selection and more negotiating room than any time since 2019, before the rebalancing tightens further. For sellers, pricing correctly at listing matters more than it did during the frenzy, but well-priced homes are closing at 96% of original list. You can see the full picture, updated monthly, on our Central Florida housing market hub.

Update, July 9: The USA TODAY Network Florida examined these same claims in a statewide report quoting Florida Realtors chief economist Brad O'Connor and this author's MLS research. Read Clayton Park's reporting at The Palm Beach Post.

Update, July 21: This debate reached USA TODAY's national print edition. The Money section front story "Florida dominates U.S. housing sales" carries the analysis from this page, including the asking-price-versus-sale-price distinction and our four-county short-sale numbers, alongside Florida Realtors chief economist Brad O'Connor and University of Mississippi real estate chair Ken Johnson. The article ran July 21 on page 1B.

Wondering what the real numbers mean for your home? Get a data-driven answer, not a viral headline. Use our free home value estimator or call Brenden Rendo directly at 407-616-9019.

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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July 7, 2026

Central Florida Price Reductions: 1,236 Homes This Week -- July 2026

 

This week's numbers: 1,236 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.18% off list -- that is where the negotiation room is. Supporting context: 53.6% of those listings have been on the market 60+ days.

1. This Week's Price Reduction Snapshot

Every week, we pull fresh data from the Stellar MLS to track price reductions across four Central Florida counties. Here is where things stand as of July 07, 2026:

Orange County

492 price reductions (-87 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.16%

54.3% listed 60+ days

Browse Orange County

Seminole County

152 price reductions (-39 from last week)

Average reduction: 2.93%

55.3% listed 60+ days

Browse Seminole County

Volusia County

279 price reductions (+16 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.55%

55.2% listed 60+ days

Browse Volusia County

Lake County

313 price reductions (+18 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.07%

49.8% listed 60+ days

Browse Lake County

53.6% of all price-reduced listings have been on the market 60 days or longer. That is the number that matters most for buyers -- it signals sellers who are ready to negotiate on more than just price. Closing cost assistance, rate buydowns, and repair credits are all on the table when DOM climbs past 60.

2. Week-Over-Week Changes

Compared to last week's data:

  • **Orange County** saw 87 fewer listings (likely absorbed by buyers)
  • **Seminole County** saw 39 fewer listings (likely absorbed by buyers)
  • **Volusia County** added 16 new price reductions
  • **Lake County** added 18 new price reductions

These shifts reflect real buyer and seller activity -- not seasonal estimates. When listing counts drop, it typically means deals are closing. When they rise, new motivated sellers are entering the market.

3. What This Means for Buyers

Leverage is real right now. With 1,236 motivated sellers adjusting prices across four counties, buyers are not competing against the frenzy that defined 2021 and 2022. The data shows room to negotiate -- particularly on listings that have crossed the 60-day mark.

If you are pre-approved, this is the environment where a well-structured offer on a price-reduced listing can land below asking with concessions attached.

4. What This Means for Sellers

Price is a positioning decision, not a concession. The sellers who are closing right now are the ones who adjusted early and strategically. A price reduction does not mean desperation -- it means your listing re-enters buyer search alerts, gets fresh algorithmic exposure, and competes where actual demand exists.

If your listing has been sitting 45+ days without meaningful showing activity, the market is giving you a signal. We can help you read it.

5. What This Means for Investors

Price-reduced listings are where the math works. When a seller has already cut the price, your acquisition cost drops -- and with 53.6% of listings past 60 days, there is room to negotiate further. That improves your cap rate, your cash-on-cash return, and your exit strategy flexibility.

Whether you are looking at buy-and-hold rentals or fix-and-flip candidates, this week's data across 4 counties gives you a clear map of where motivated sellers are concentrated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many price-reduced homes are available in Central Florida this week?

As of July 07, 2026, there are 1,236 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.18% off original list prices.

What does a price reduction mean for buyers?

A price reduction signals a motivated seller. Beyond the lower price itself, it often means faster closing timelines, openness to seller concessions, and more room to negotiate repairs or rate buydowns.

How often is this data updated?

We refresh our price reduction data weekly using direct Stellar MLS exports. New reductions are added each Tuesday and sold properties are removed within 24 hours of closing.

Which county has the most price reductions right now?

Orange County currently leads with 492 active price reductions, averaging 3.16% off list prices.

Find Your Next Price-Reduced Home

Brenden Rendo and The Homes In Orlando Team track every price cut across Central Florida weekly. Whether you are buying, selling, or investing -- the data tells the story.

407-616-9019

Send Us a Message | Search Homes

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
no comments yet
June 30, 2026

Hidden Costs of Homeownership in Florida (2026 Data)

 

Florida Real Estate Data · 2026

The Hidden Costs of Homeownership in Florida: Statistics You Need to Know in 2026

By Brenden Rendo REALTOR, NextHome Neighborhood Realty Last updated: June 30, 2026

The mortgage payment is only the beginning. In Florida, the costs that do not show up on a Zillow listing, property taxes that reset at sale, the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the country, flood coverage, HOA and CDD assessments, and ongoing maintenance, can add well over $20,000 a year to the true price of owning a home. This page collects the most-cited 2024 to 2026 statistics on those hidden costs, with a Florida focus, sourced from government agencies, analyst firms, and primary surveys.

Key Hidden-Cost Statistics

The numbers buyers and reporters cite most often, in one place.

  1. The average annual cost of owning and maintaining a single-family home in the U.S. is $21,400 a year, including property taxes, insurance, utilities, internet/cable, and maintenance. (Source: Bankrate Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study, 2025)
  2. Florida is the most expensive state for home insurance, with a typical annual premium of $8,292 in 2025, more than double the national average, projected to rise to $8,458 by the end of 2026. (Source: Insurify, 2025)
  3. Zillow and Thumbtack put the hidden costs of owning a home at $15,979 per year nationwide, more than $1,300 per month beyond the mortgage. (Source: Zillow Research / Thumbtack, 2024)
  4. When a homesteaded Florida home changes ownership, it loses the Save Our Homes benefit and is reassessed at full market value the following January 1, resetting the new owner's assessed value to current market value. (Source: Florida Department of Revenue, Form PT-112, 2024)
  5. A typical Central Florida CDD assessment of $1,800 per year (about $150 per month) appears on the property tax bill as a non-ad valorem assessment, separate from regular property taxes. (Source: Millan Realty, Orange County CDD, 2026)
  6. Florida leads the nation with about 45% of homes in communities managed by HOAs. (Source: MagicDoor, 2026)
  7. Bankrate recommends budgeting up to 4 percent of a home's value annually for upkeep, with average maintenance alone at $8,808 a year. (Source: Bankrate Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study, 2025)
  8. Florida's average residential electricity bill was $156.09 per month in 2024, about $14 a month higher than the national average. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024)

Property Taxes in Florida

Florida's headline rate is low, but the assessment reset at sale and non-ad valorem charges are where new owners get surprised.

When a homestead protected by the Save Our Homes cap changes ownership, it loses the benefit and is reassessed at just (market) value the following January 1, so the new owner's assessed value resets to current market value. Florida Department of Revenue, Form PT-112, 2024
  1. Florida's effective property tax rate is 0.75%, lower than the national effective rate of 0.89%, and the median Florida homeowner pays $2,993 annually in property taxes. (Source: SmartAsset using U.S. Census Bureau ACS data, 2024)
  2. WalletHub's 2026 analysis finds Florida's effective real-estate tax rate is 0.76%, with annual taxes of $2,530 on a home priced at the state median value of $359,000. (Source: WalletHub via CPA Practice Advisor, 2026)
  3. ATTOM's tax-year 2024 analysis reports Florida's effective property tax rate is 0.9% with an average home value of $388,250. (Source: ATTOM Data Solutions via Bankrate, 2024)
  4. Nationwide, the average single-family home valued at $494,231 generated $4,427 in property taxes in 2025, a 3% increase over the prior year, at a 0.90% effective rate. (Source: ATTOM Data Solutions, 2025)
  5. Under Save Our Homes (s. 193.155(1), F.S.), the annual increase in assessed value of a homestead cannot exceed the lower of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index. (Source: Florida Department of Revenue, 2025)
  6. Florida's portability provision allows homeowners to transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to a new qualifying Florida homestead. (Source: Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, 2026)
  7. Florida's documentary stamp tax on deeds is 70 cents per $100 of consideration in all counties except Miami-Dade (60 cents per $100 plus a 45-cent surtax, the surtax not applying to a single-family dwelling). (Source: Florida Department of Revenue, 2026)
  8. Florida's documentary stamp tax on promissory notes and mortgages is 35 cents per $100 of the obligation, with tax on notes capped at $2,450 and no cap on mortgages. (Source: Florida Department of Revenue, 2026)
  9. Florida's nonrecurring intangible tax rate is 2 mills (0.2 percent), calculated by multiplying the obligation secured by Florida real property by 0.002. (Source: Florida Department of Revenue, 2026)

Homeowners Insurance in Florida

The single biggest hidden cost in Florida, and the one rising fastest.

Florida is the most expensive state for home insurance, with a typical annual premium of $8,292 in 2025, more than double the national average, projected to rise to $8,458 by the end of 2026. Insurify, 2025
  1. The average annual cost of U.S. home insurance rose 12% in 2025 to $2,948 and is projected to climb to $3,057 by the end of 2026. (Source: Insurify, 2025)
  2. Florida homeowners spend an average of $5,735 per year on home insurance, equal to 7.82% of the state's median annual household income. (Source: Bankrate, True Cost of Home Insurance, 2025)
  3. The national average annual home insurance premium was $2,470 as of mid-2025, or 3.18% of median national household income. (Source: Bankrate, True Cost of Home Insurance, 2025)
  4. Florida home insurance costs decreased an average of $579 (a 9% drop) from 2023 to 2025 following legal-system-abuse reforms. (Source: Bankrate via Axios, 2025)
  5. The cost of homeowners coverage in Florida grew 16% between 2021 and 2022 alone and was up 45% between 2017 and 2022. (Source: Florida Policy Project, 2024)
  6. In 2021 Florida households devoted 4.07% of their income to homeowners insurance, compared with a U.S. average of 1.99%. (Source: Insurance Research Council via Triple-I, 2021)
  7. Florida accounted for more than 72% of the nation's homeowners claim-related litigation in 2023 despite representing only about 10% of U.S. homeowners policies. (Source: Insurance Information Institute, 2023)
  8. Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance was ordered into receivership for liquidation by a Florida court on March 14, 2022, one of a cluster of Florida insurer insolvencies that year. (Source: Florida Department of Financial Services, 2022)
  9. Citizens Property Insurance's policy count peaked at 1.42 million policies in October 2023. (Source: Citizens Property Insurance, 2023)
  10. Citizens' policy count fell below 1 million for the first time in more than two years as of November 29, 2024, standing at 987,650. (Source: Citizens Property Insurance, 2024)

Five-Year Increase in Homeowners Insurance Premiums, Florida Metros

Source: Zillow Research / Thumbtack, 2024

Flood Insurance in Florida

Often required, frequently skipped in the budget, and priced by flood zone.

  1. Florida's average NFIP flood insurance price was $958 per year (about $80 per month) in 2022, slightly above the U.S. average NFIP policy cost of $939 per year. (Source: Policygenius citing NFIP, 2022)
  2. Using 2023 FEMA data, the average cost of NFIP flood insurance nationwide is $888 per year, with high-risk zones A and V averaging $1,607 and moderate-to-low-risk zones (B, C, X) averaging $662. (Source: Policygenius citing FEMA, 2023)
  3. The average cost of flood insurance in Florida is $964 per year. (Source: Policygenius, 2024)
  4. The average cost of federal NFIP flood insurance is $976 per year nationwide, with $1,114 in high-risk zones beginning with A or V and $745 in low- or moderate-risk zones. (Source: NerdWallet, 2026)
  5. Under FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0, the national analysis projected 23% of policyholders would see immediate premium decreases, 66% increases of $0 to $10 per month, 7% increases of $10 to $20 per month, and 4% increases of $20 or more per month. (Source: Association of State Floodplain Managers citing FEMA, 2021)
NFIP Flood Insurance Avg Annual Cost
National average $888 to $976
Florida average $958 to $964
High-risk zones (A / V) $1,114 to $1,607
Low / moderate-risk zones (B / C / X) $662 to $745

HOA and CDD Fees in Florida

Florida has more HOA-governed homes than any state, and new-construction communities often layer a CDD assessment on top.

  1. Florida leads the nation with about 45% of homes in communities managed by HOAs, followed by Colorado at 38.6% and California at 36.8%. (Source: MagicDoor, 2026)
  2. 44.3% of Florida households pay HOA or condo fees, and Florida's median monthly condo/HOA fee in 2024 was $230 per month. (Source: iPropertyManagement, 2024)
  3. The national median monthly condo/HOA fee was $135 in 2024, with about 21.6 million of the nation's 86.6 million owner-occupied households paying a condo or HOA fee. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024)
  4. Orlando homeowners pay an average of about $300 per month in HOA dues, with condominiums averaging roughly $490 per month, while Miami's overall average exceeds $600 per month, the highest in Florida. (Source: Florida Realty Marketplace, 2026)
  5. A typical Central Florida CDD assessment of $1,800 per year (about $150 per month) appears on the Orange County property tax bill as a non-ad valorem assessment separate from ad valorem property taxes. (Source: Millan Realty, 2026)
  6. A Community Development District appears on a property owner's TRIM Notice and Property Tax Bill as a non-ad valorem assessment. (Source: Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser, 2024)
  7. CDDs are special-purpose units of local government subject to Florida's Special District Accountability Program under Florida Statutes Section 189.064. (Source: Florida Statutes s. 189.064, 2025)
Avg Monthly HOA / Condo Fee Amount
National median (2024) $135
Florida median (2024) $230
Orlando HOA (avg) about $300
Orlando condo (avg) about $490
Miami (avg, highest in FL) $600+

Closing Costs in Florida

One-time, but easy to underestimate, and Florida's promulgated title rates and survey requirement add to the total.

  1. Florida title insurance rates are established by Rule 69O-186.003 of the Florida Administrative Code, which sets promulgated rates for owner and leaseholder policies. (Source: Florida Department of Financial Services, 2025)
  2. National average closing costs for a single-family property were $6,087 including taxes and $3,470 excluding taxes, with land-survey fees specifically included for Florida and Texas single-family properties. (Source: ClosingCorp / CoreLogic, 2020)
  3. States with the highest average closing costs including taxes were the District of Columbia ($29,329), Delaware ($17,727), and New York ($13,261); the lowest were Missouri ($1,571) and Indiana ($2,100). (Source: ClosingCorp / CoreLogic, 2020)

Maintenance and Repairs

The recurring cost owners most often underestimate, and Florida's roofs and AC systems make it worse.

Bankrate's 2025 Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study found home maintenance alone averages $8,808 a year, calculated as 2% of each state's median single-family home price adjusted for inflation. Bankrate Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study, 2025
  1. Bankrate advises budgeting up to 4 percent of a home's value annually for upkeep: 1 percent for routine maintenance plus 1 to 3 percent for repairs; for a $250,000 home that is up to $10,000 total. (Source: Bankrate, 2025)
  2. The average annual cost for roof repair or maintenance is $1,471, up nearly 30 percent from the prior year. (Source: Bankrate, 2025)
  3. The average annual cost to maintain a single-family home rose about 8% year-over-year, from $6,155 in Q4 2022 to $6,663 in Q4 2023, a new high since tracking began in 2020. (Source: Thumbtack, 2023)
  4. Homeowners spent an average of $12,050 on home projects in 2024, down from $13,667 in 2023. (Source: Angi 2024 State of Home Spending Report, 2024)
  5. Most homeowners spend between $5,900 and $13,368 for a full roof replacement, with a national average of $9,602 (about $4 to $11 per square foot). (Source: HomeAdvisor, 2025)
  6. Under Florida Statutes 553.844(5), if a roof built to the 2007 Florida Building Code or later has 25% or more repaired or replaced, only the affected portion must comply with current code, reducing the need for full roof replacement. (Source: Envista Forensics, 2024)

Utilities and Misc Costs

Florida's cooling load drives electricity higher than the national average, though water tends to run lower.

  1. Florida's average residential electricity bill was $156.09 per month in 2024, with average consumption of 1,104 kWh and a price of 14.14 cents per kWh. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024)
  2. The U.S. national average residential electricity bill was $142.26 per month in 2024, meaning Florida's average bill ran about $14 a month higher. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024)
  3. A new central AC system in Florida typically costs $4,000 to $8,000, with ductless mini-splits $3,000 to $7,000 per zone and heat pumps $4,500 to $8,500. (Source: Florida PACE Funding Agency, 2025)
  4. Florida's average monthly residential water bill is $37, below the U.S. family-of-four average of $78 per month. (Source: LawnStarter, 2026)

Total Cost of Ownership

Add it all up and the gap between the mortgage and the true cost of ownership is wide, and wider in Florida.

The average annual cost of owning and maintaining a single-family home in the U.S. is $21,400 a year, including property taxes, insurance, utilities, internet/cable, and maintenance. Bankrate Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study, 2025
  1. Bankrate's hidden-cost breakdown lists utilities/energy at $4,494 per year, property taxes at $4,316, homeowners insurance at $2,267, and internet/cable at $1,515 per year. (Source: Bankrate Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study, 2025)
  2. Zillow and Thumbtack find the hidden costs of owning a home total $15,979 per year nationwide, comprising $10,946 on maintenance, $2,003 on insurance, and $3,030 on property taxes. (Source: Zillow Research / Thumbtack, 2024)
  3. Miami homeowners now pay an average of $4,607 annually for homeowners insurance, a 72 percent increase in five years, with premiums also up 72 percent in Jacksonville, 69 percent in Tampa, and 68 percent in Orlando. (Source: Zillow Research / Thumbtack, 2024)
  4. Nationwide average homeowners insurance premiums have increased 48 percent since early 2020 and now total just over $2,000 per year. (Source: Zillow Research / Thumbtack, 2024)

Where the $21,400 Goes: Annual Hidden Costs of a U.S. Single-Family Home

Source: Bankrate Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is homeowners insurance so expensive in Florida?

Florida is the most expensive state for home insurance, with a typical 2025 premium of about $8,292 per year per Insurify, more than double the national average. Drivers include hurricane and windstorm exposure plus litigation: Triple-I reports Florida accounted for more than 72% of the nation's homeowners claim-related lawsuits in 2023 despite holding only about 10% of U.S. policies. Recent legal reforms have begun easing the market, with Bankrate noting a roughly 9% ($579) decline in Florida premiums from 2023 to 2025.

What is the Florida "tax reset" and why does my property tax jump after I buy?

Florida's Save Our Homes cap limits annual assessed-value increases on a homesteaded property to the lower of 3% or CPI (Florida Dept. of Revenue). But when the home sells, that benefit is removed: per DOR Form PT-112, the property is reassessed at full market value the following January 1, so the new owner's assessed value resets to current market value, often producing a sharp tax increase versus what the prior owner paid.

What are CDD fees and how much do they add in Central Florida?

A Community Development District (CDD) is a special-purpose local government (Florida Statutes s. 189.064) that finances infrastructure in many new-construction communities. The assessment appears on your property tax bill as a non-ad valorem charge separate from regular property taxes. A typical Central Florida CDD assessment runs about $1,800 per year (roughly $150 per month), on top of any HOA dues.

How much should I budget for home maintenance in Florida?

Bankrate recommends budgeting up to 4% of a home's value annually (1% routine plus 1 to 3% repairs) and pegs average maintenance at $8,808 a year in its 2025 Hidden Costs study; Thumbtack measured single-family maintenance at $6,663 in Q4 2023. Florida-specific factors like roof and AC wear add up: HomeAdvisor puts a full roof replacement at a $9,602 national average, and a new central AC in Florida runs $4,000 to $8,000 (Florida PACE).

What do the hidden costs of owning a Florida home actually total beyond the mortgage?

Nationally, Bankrate's 2025 study pegs the average hidden and ongoing cost of owning a single-family home at $21,400 a year (property taxes, insurance, utilities, internet, maintenance), while Zillow and Thumbtack estimate $15,979 a year, over $1,300 a month, on top of the mortgage. Florida's insurance burden makes the local figure heavier: Zillow found Orlando insurance premiums up 68% in five years and Miami's at $4,607 a year.

What property-tax savings can I keep when I move within Florida?

Florida's portability provision lets you transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes benefit from a prior Florida homestead to a new qualifying Florida homestead (county property appraisers). This can substantially soften the tax reset on your next home, but it must be claimed and applies only to homesteaded Florida-to-Florida moves.

Sources

Every stat above is sourced from one of the following organizations or publications:

  1. U.S. Census Bureau
  2. U.S. Energy Information Administration
  3. FEMA / NFIP
  4. Florida Department of Revenue
  5. Florida Department of Financial Services
  6. Florida Statutes
  7. Citizens Property Insurance
  8. Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I)
  9. Insurance Research Council
  10. Florida Policy Project
  11. Insurify
  12. Bankrate
  13. ATTOM Data Solutions
  14. SmartAsset
  15. WalletHub
  16. Zillow Research
  17. Thumbtack
  18. Angi
  19. HomeAdvisor
  20. Policygenius
  21. NerdWallet
  22. Association of State Floodplain Managers
  23. Palm Beach County Property Appraiser
  24. Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser
  25. Florida PACE Funding Agency
  26. Envista Forensics
  27. LawnStarter
  28. MagicDoor
  29. iPropertyManagement
  30. Florida Realty Marketplace
  31. Millan Realty

Posted in Topic Of Interest
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June 28, 2026

Central Florida Price Reductions: 1,328 Homes This Week (June 2026)

By Brenden Rendo, Realtor · Updated June 28, 2026

There are weeks when the four-county numbers barely move, and there are weeks when the aggregate hides a real shift underneath. This is the second kind. Across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, 1,328 homes are carrying an active price reduction this week — down 48 from last week's 1,376 — but Lake County alone accounts for more than that entire swing, shedding 69 listings. When listing counts fall that fast, it is not seasonality. It is deals closing. Here is what the data says, sourced directly from Stellar MLS and pulled June 28, 2026.

1,328
Total Price Reductions This Week
Across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties (June 28, 2026)
3.29%
Average Reduction Off List
Counties cluster from 3.03% (Lake) to 3.61% (Orange)
47.74%
Listings Past 60 Days on Market
634 of 1,328 — the buyer-leverage tier
Orange
Volume Leader This Week
579 active reductions, up 35 week over week
TLDR:
  • 1,328 active price reductions this week across four Central Florida counties, down 48 from 1,376.
  • 47.74% — 634 listings — have sat past 60 days on market, the tier where sellers negotiate concessions.
  • Lake County shed 69 listings, the steepest weekly drop — a sign correctly priced homes are closing.
  • Orange County added 35, the biggest volume gain; Volusia leads on leverage at 53.60% stale.
  • Average reduction across all four counties: 3.29% off list.

1. This Week's Four-County Snapshot

Every week I pull fresh price-reduction data from the Stellar MLS across the four counties our team covers. Here is where things stand as of June 28, 2026. Each county links to its live, continuously updated list.

Orange County

579 price reductions (+35 from last week)
Average reduction: 3.61%
45.90% past 60 days on market

Browse Orange County price reductions

Seminole County

191 price reductions (+1 from last week)
Average reduction: 3.10%
41.90% past 60 days on market

Browse Seminole County price reductions

Volusia County

263 price reductions (-15 from last week)
Average reduction: 3.42%
53.60% past 60 days on market

Browse Volusia County price reductions

Lake County

295 price reductions (-69 from last week)
Average reduction: 3.03%
49.80% past 60 days on market

Browse Lake County price reductions

The single number I watch hardest is the stale share. Across all four counties, 47.74% of price-reduced listings have been on the market 60 days or longer. That is the figure that matters most for buyers — it signals sellers who are ready to negotiate on more than just price. For broader context on where the metro sits, our Central Florida housing market hub tracks the longer-run trend.

2. Week Over Week: Lake Absorbs, Orange Builds

The aggregate dipped 48 listings, but the movement underneath is the real story:

  • Lake County dropped 69 reductions (364 to 295) — the steepest single-county move in the report. Clermont still holds the deepest single-city pool at 93 reduced listings, but the broader county is thinning fast in Leesburg and Groveland.
  • Orange County added 35 (544 to 579) — the largest volume gain. Orlando proper carries 382 of those on its own, more than any city across the four-county footprint.
  • Volusia County eased 15 listings (278 to 263) while keeping the deepest stale tier at 53.60%. Daytona Beach leads the county in volume, depth, and days on market all at once.
  • Seminole County held essentially flat (190 to 191) and stays the tightest market, with only 41.90% of inventory past 60 days.

These shifts reflect real buyer and seller activity, not seasonal estimates. When listing counts drop, deals are closing. When they rise, new motivated sellers are entering the market.

★ Pro Move: When a county's reduced-listing count falls sharply in a single week, the leverage that sat untouched for a month is being picked off first. If you have been watching a specific Lake County submarket, that is the signal to underwrite it now rather than wait for a deeper cut that may not come.

3. What This Means for Buyers

Leverage is real right now, and it is structural rather than seasonal. With 634 listings across four counties past the 60-day mark at a 3.29% average cut, buyers are not competing against the frenzy that defined 2021 and 2022. The reduction itself is the headline; the closing cost credits, repair credits, and rate buydowns that open up past 60 days are where the real money moves.

Financing framing matters here too. With Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey still the cleanest weekly read on the 30-year rate, a well-structured offer on a price-reduced listing — one that asks the seller to buy down the rate rather than only cut the price — can lower your monthly payment more than the headline reduction does. If you are pre-approved, this is the environment where that math works.

4. What This Means for Sellers

Price is a positioning decision, not a concession. The sellers closing right now are the ones who adjusted early and strategically. A price reduction does not signal desperation — it re-enters your listing into buyer search alerts, earns fresh algorithmic exposure, and competes where actual demand exists.

The stale half of every county is the cost of defending an outdated number. If your listing has been sitting 45 days or longer without meaningful showing activity, the market is giving you a signal. Pricing right the first time matters most in Seminole County, where the buyer pool is not waiting out a glut. If you are weighing a move, our home value estimator is a starting point, and we can pressure-test it against the live comps.

Quick Tip: A pre-listing inspection plus a 30-day pricing strategy beats chasing the market down in 5,000-dollar increments. Position ahead of the stale tier instead of joining it.

5. What This Means for Investors

Price-reduced listings past 60 days are where the math works. When a seller has already cut, your acquisition cost drops — and with 47.74% of inventory past the 60-day mark, there is room to negotiate further. That improves your cap rate, your cash-on-cash return, and your exit-strategy flexibility. This week the concentration is coastal Volusia, where Daytona Beach offers rare sub-300,000-dollar inventory at a 124-day average days on market, and the thinning-but-deep Clermont pool in Lake County.

6. Frequently Asked Questions

How many price-reduced homes are available in Central Florida this week?

As of June 28, 2026, there are 1,328 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.29% off list. That is down 48 from 1,376 the prior week.

Which Central Florida county has the most price reductions right now?

Orange County leads with 579 active price reductions, up 35 from the prior week and the biggest volume gain in the report, at a 3.61% average reduction.

Why does a listing past 60 days on market matter to buyers?

Past 60 days on market is the tier where sellers typically stop defending list price and start negotiating concessions — closing cost credits, repair credits, and rate buydowns. This week, 634 of the 1,328 reduced listings, or 47.74%, have crossed that 60-day mark.

How often is this Central Florida price reduction data updated?

The data is refreshed weekly using direct Stellar MLS exports. New reductions are added each week and sold properties are removed within 24 hours of closing.

Want the full list of price-reduced homes by city and days on market? Call or text Brenden Rendo at 407-616-9019, or browse the live county pages above. Whether you are buying, selling, or investing across Central Florida, the data tells the story — let it lead, not emotion.

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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June 25, 2026

2026 Housing Act: What It Actually Does for Central FL Buyers

By Brenden Rendo, Realtor · Updated June 25, 2026

Congress just passed the biggest housing bill in decades — the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. You'll see headlines calling it a fix for the housing crisis. It isn't, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. What it actually is: a package of building-code, financing, and oversight changes that help at the margins. A few pieces genuinely matter for buyers here in Orange, Seminole, Lake, and Volusia counties. Most of it is slow, modest, or depends on what local governments do next. Here's the straight version.

85-5 / 358-32
Senate & House Votes
Passed Congress June 22–23, 2026; awaiting signature
Under $100K
FHA Small-Dollar Mortgage Pilot
New financing lane for lower-priced homes (4-year test)
350+ homes
Institutional Investor Threshold
Big firms barred from buying more existing single-family homes
4–7 Million
The National Home Shortage
What this bill does NOT fully solve
TLDR:
  • The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed Congress June 22–23, 2026. It is not yet law — it's awaiting the president's signature.
  • Three provisions actually touch Central Florida buyers: a sub-$100K FHA mortgage pilot, cheaper manufactured homes, and a cap on big institutional investors.
  • It does not directly lower Orlando home prices. Prices here are set by local zoning, land cost, and mortgage rates — things this federal bill mostly can't touch.
  • Many headline pieces are studies, pilots, or grants with no funding attached yet.
  • Honest read: modest and real, but slow. Not the crisis fix the headlines suggest.

First: it's passed, but not signed

The Senate passed the bill 85-5 on June 22, 2026, and the House passed it 358-32 the next day. Those are huge bipartisan margins. But the bill is still sitting on the president's desk awaiting a signature, and the signing has been delayed. Until it's signed, none of it is law. Keep that in mind every time you see a headline written in the present tense.

I'll update this post the moment that status changes. For now, treat everything below as "what's coming if it's signed as passed."

The 3 parts that matter for Central Florida buyers

The full bill runs 12 titles and roughly 50 sections — community banking rules, veterans' disclosures, rural housing, oversight reports. Most of it won't touch your home search. Three pieces could.

1. A pilot for mortgages under $100,000 (Section 105)

Banks have largely stopped writing small mortgages because the paperwork costs the same on a $90,000 loan as a $400,000 one, but the profit is far smaller. That's a real problem here — think lower-priced condos, older homes in parts of Volusia and Lake, and some manufactured homes. The bill directs the Federal Housing Administration (HUD/FHA) to run a pilot program expanding access to FHA-backed mortgages under $100,000. It's a four-year test, not a permanent fix — but for buyers shopping at the lower end, it's the single most directly useful piece.

2. Cheaper manufactured homes (Section 301)

Manufactured housing is the most affordable type of home in America, and Lake and Volusia counties have real inventory of it. An old federal rule required these homes to keep a permanent steel chassis underneath — a needless cost driver. The bill eliminates that requirement and puts HUD in charge of energy-efficiency standards. Translation: factory-built homes get cheaper to produce. This one is national, takes no new funding, and is quietly the most meaningful supply change in the bill.

3. A cap on Wall Street buying houses (Section 1001)

This is the provision buyers ask me about most, so let's be precise about it. The bill restricts large institutional investors — firms that own 350 or more single-family homes — from buying additional existing single-family homes. There's a big exemption: they can still buy or build homes intended for the rental market. So it's narrower than the headlines suggest. Institutional investors own only a small share of single-family homes nationally, so don't expect this to suddenly open up inventory. It's more about optics and the margins than a flood of new listings.

★ Pro Move: If you're shopping under roughly $150K in Volusia or Lake — condos, manufactured, or older single-family — ask your lender directly whether they participate in FHA's small-dollar programs. That financing gap is exactly where deals quietly fall apart, and it's worth sorting out before you write an offer.

What it won't do for Orlando prices

Here's the honest part most coverage skips. Housing affordability is mostly a supply problem, and supply is controlled at the local level — city and county zoning, parking rules, permitting timelines, and land cost. A federal bill can nudge, but it can't rewrite Orange County's zoning code. The U.S. is short an estimated 4 to 7 million homes per Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and nothing in this bill closes that gap on its own.

A lot of the headline items — a $200 million "Innovation Fund," zoning best-practice frameworks, pre-approved building designs — are either voluntary guidance that local governments can ignore, or programs with no money actually attached yet. And mortgage rates, which matter more to your monthly payment than any of this, aren't addressed at all.

Quick Tip: When you read "Congress fixes housing," check whether the provision is funded and whether it takes effect on signing or needs your local government to act. Most of this bill is the slower, local-dependent kind.

What I'm telling my clients

Don't change your plans because of this bill. It won't move Orlando prices this year. If you're buying at the lower end, the FHA small-dollar pilot and cheaper manufactured homes are worth watching — ask me or your lender how to use them once it's signed. If you're worried about competing with investors, the new cap helps at the edges but won't transform the market. The fundamentals that actually drive your purchase — rates, local inventory, and your own timeline — haven't changed.

For where Central Florida actually stands right now, see our Central Florida housing market hub, and if you're hunting for value, our county price-reduction lists for Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake are updated weekly.

FAQ

Is the 2026 Housing Act now law?
As of June 25, 2026, it has passed both chambers (Senate 85-5, House 358-32) but is awaiting the president's signature. It is not yet law.

Will the 2026 Housing Act lower home prices in Orlando?
Not directly or quickly. It removes some federal cost and financing barriers, but prices here are driven by local zoning, land cost, construction, and mortgage rates. Most provisions are modest, take years, or depend on local adoption.

Does the bill stop investors from buying Orlando homes?
Only large institutional investors owning 350+ single-family homes are restricted from buying more existing single-family homes, with an exemption for build-to-rent. Most local and small investors aren't affected.

Questions about how this affects your specific buying plans in Orange, Seminole, Lake, or Volusia? Call or text me at 407-616-9019, or reach out through homesinorlando.forsale. I'll give you the straight answer.

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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June 21, 2026

Central Florida Price Reductions: 1,376 Homes This Week -- June 2026

 

This week's numbers: 1,376 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.23% off list -- that is where the negotiation room is. Supporting context: 49.1% of those listings have been on the market 60+ days.

1. This Week's Price Reduction Snapshot

Every week, we pull fresh data from the Stellar MLS to track price reductions across four Central Florida counties. Here is where things stand as of June 21, 2026:

Orange County

544 price reductions (+64 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.19%

48.3% listed 60+ days

Browse Orange County

Seminole County

190 price reductions (-25 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.31%

43.7% listed 60+ days

Browse Seminole County

Volusia County

278 price reductions (-53 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.4%

54.3% listed 60+ days

Browse Volusia County

Lake County

364 price reductions (+43 from last week)

Average reduction: 3.02%

50.3% listed 60+ days

Browse Lake County

49.1% of all price-reduced listings have been on the market 60 days or longer. That is the number that matters most for buyers -- it signals sellers who are ready to negotiate on more than just price. Closing cost assistance, rate buydowns, and repair credits are all on the table when DOM climbs past 60.

2. Week-Over-Week Changes

Compared to last week's data:

  • **Orange County** added 64 new price reductions
  • **Seminole County** saw 25 fewer listings (likely absorbed by buyers)
  • **Volusia County** saw 53 fewer listings (likely absorbed by buyers)
  • **Lake County** added 43 new price reductions

These shifts reflect real buyer and seller activity -- not seasonal estimates. When listing counts drop, it typically means deals are closing. When they rise, new motivated sellers are entering the market.

3. What This Means for Buyers

Leverage is real right now. With 1,376 motivated sellers adjusting prices across four counties, buyers are not competing against the frenzy that defined 2021 and 2022. The data shows room to negotiate -- particularly on listings that have crossed the 60-day mark.

If you are pre-approved, this is the environment where a well-structured offer on a price-reduced listing can land below asking with concessions attached.

4. What This Means for Sellers

Price is a positioning decision, not a concession. The sellers who are closing right now are the ones who adjusted early and strategically. A price reduction does not mean desperation -- it means your listing re-enters buyer search alerts, gets fresh algorithmic exposure, and competes where actual demand exists.

If your listing has been sitting 45+ days without meaningful showing activity, the market is giving you a signal. We can help you read it.

5. What This Means for Investors

Price-reduced listings are where the math works. When a seller has already cut the price, your acquisition cost drops -- and with 49.1% of listings past 60 days, there is room to negotiate further. That improves your cap rate, your cash-on-cash return, and your exit strategy flexibility.

Whether you are looking at buy-and-hold rentals or fix-and-flip candidates, this week's data across 4 counties gives you a clear map of where motivated sellers are concentrated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many price-reduced homes are available in Central Florida this week?

As of June 21, 2026, there are 1,376 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.23% off original list prices.

What does a price reduction mean for buyers?

A price reduction signals a motivated seller. Beyond the lower price itself, it often means faster closing timelines, openness to seller concessions, and more room to negotiate repairs or rate buydowns.

How often is this data updated?

We refresh our price reduction data weekly using direct Stellar MLS exports. New reductions are added each Sunday and sold properties are removed within 24 hours of closing.

Which county has the most price reductions right now?

Orange County currently leads with 544 active price reductions, averaging 3.19% off list prices.

Find Your Next Price-Reduced Home

Brenden Rendo and The Homes In Orlando Team track every price cut across Central Florida weekly. Whether you are buying, selling, or investing -- the data tells the story.

407-616-9019

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Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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June 18, 2026

Orlando Housing Market June 2026: Pending Sales, Rates & Inventory

By Brenden Rendo, Realtor · Updated June 18, 2026

This week on the Orlando Real Estate Buzz, the headlines pointed in two directions at once: the Federal Reserve held rates steady under its new chair, mortgage rates stayed flat, and homebuilders kept tapping the brakes — yet here in Central Florida, pending home sales just jumped 8.70% over last year. Below is the full breakdown of what moved, what it means, and the window sellers have right now.

+8.70%
Orlando Pending Sales (YoY)
June 2026 vs. June 2025 — buyers are coming back
+14.50%
Pending Inventory
Nearly 4,000 Orlando homes currently under contract
4.2 mo.
Months of Inventory
Down from ~4.5–5 months — a balanced market
−24%
Lennar Avg. Sale Price
~$370,000 with incentives, down from ~$500,000 in 2022
TLDR:
  • The Fed held rates steady in its first meeting under Chair Warsh; 9 of 19 members projected a possible hike later in 2026.
  • Mortgage rates are flat — the 10-year Treasury sits near 4.43% and heavy federal borrowing keeps yields from falling.
  • U.S. housing starts dropped to 1.177 million (lowest since 2020) as builders slow construction to protect margins.
  • Orlando pending sales rose 8.70% and pending inventory rose 14.50%, while active inventory fell — months of supply is down to 4.2.
  • Sellers have a real window through early-to-mid August if homes are priced right and move-in ready.

The Fed held — and Warsh is playing it close

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady in its first meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh — in line with expectations given recent inflation and jobs data. The bigger story was tone: 9 of the 19 members signaled at least one rate increase could still come this year.

"Warsh is definitely a little tighter to the vest," Brenden noted. Where the prior chair forecast nearly every move, the new Fed plans to keep its cards closer to its chest — which likely means more month-to-month volatility in rate expectations. The CME FedWatch read going into July: roughly 70% expect a hold, about 30% a hike, with the odds of an increase rising to about 50% by September.

Quick Tip: With less forward guidance from the Fed, don't try to time the bottom on rates. If you're pre-approved at today's numbers, plan around them — you can always refinance later.

Why mortgage rates aren't falling yet

The 10-year Treasury yield has eased off its ~4.50% peak to about 4.43%, but that's not enough to move mortgage rates meaningfully. The reason is supply: the Treasury has been issuing enormous amounts of new debt — north of $600 billion in recent single weeks. As long as that pace continues, yields stay elevated, and mortgage rates, which track the 10-year, stay put.

One bright spot for Central Florida wallets: gas prices have fallen about 30 cents in the past week, dipping into the $3.60s. If the broader inflation picture cools, that's the kind of trend that eventually helps rates — but Brenden sees no clear catalyst to push the 10-year back to the 4.2–4.30% range just yet.

Builders are pulling back inventory

Nationally, U.S. Census new residential construction data showed housing starts dropping to 1.177 million in May 2026 — the lowest total since 2020. Because starts translate to inventory six to nine months out, builders are effectively holding back their spring 2027 supply.

Why? Margins. Lennar's average sale price, including incentives, has fallen about 24% — to roughly $370,000, down from near $500,000 in 2022. In Orlando, builders are still buying rates down to the 4.5–4.99% range (and lower on some ARMs), which can cost $30,000–$50,000 per home and keeps headline prices propped up. Slowing starts is how they stop the bleeding on incentives.

★ Pro Move: Builder rate buydowns are real money — sometimes 20–25% of the home's value in total incentives. If you're shopping new construction, ask exactly what the buydown costs and compare it against a resale home priced lower up front.

Orlando pending sales jumped 8.70%

Here's the local good news. Pending sales — the forward-looking signal, not the rear-view "sold" number — are up 8.70% year over year, with pending inventory up 14.50% and nearly 4,000 homes currently under contract across the metro. At the same time, active inventory has fallen, pulling months of supply down to 4.2 from the 4.5–5 months we saw earlier this spring.

"Two months ago I said we were a complete buyer's market. Now you're more of a stable market," Brenden explained. Real example: a client relocating from Louisiana was watching two homes that had sat 47 and 50 days — both went pending within two weeks. Buyers who paused are deciding that with rates steady, they finally know where they stand. For the broader picture, see our Central Florida housing market hub. (National pending-sales context is tracked by the National Association of Realtors.)

What buyers and sellers should do now

For buyers: there are still motivated sellers and real choice, but the easy concessions are thinning as inventory tightens. Move quickly on well-priced homes — the good ones are going pending again.

For sellers: you have a genuine window through early-to-mid August before the market typically slows into September. Price correctly out of the gate, get the home clean and move-in ready, and you may not need the concessions sellers were handing out a couple months ago. Curious where your home stands? Start with our home value estimator.

Florida overall has now posted nine straight months of rising sales — this isn't a crash, it's a transition back toward realistic pricing across Orange, Seminole, Lake, and Volusia counties.

Thinking of buying or selling in Central Florida this summer? The window is open — let's make a plan. Call or text Brenden Rendo at 407-616-9019, and catch the Orlando Real Estate Buzz every Thursday at 11 a.m.

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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June 14, 2026

Central Florida Price Reductions — June 2026 Market Data

By Brenden Rendo, Realtor · Updated June 14, 2026

This week, 1,347 homes across our four-county footprint — Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake — carry an active price reduction. That is not a rounding error in a hot market; it is 1,347 sellers who have already moved off their original number. More than half of them have been listed 60 days or longer, and that 60-day line is where a prepared buyer finds real negotiating room. Here is exactly where the data stands, pulled directly from the Stellar MLS on June 14, 2026.

1,347
Active Price Reductions This Week
Across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties (June 14, 2026)
3.23%
Average Reduction Off Original List
Counties cluster between 2.77% and 3.46%
52.19%
Listings Past 60 Days on Market
703 of 1,347 — the leverage tier
+60
Lake County — Biggest Inventory Gainer
Lake added 60 price-reduced listings week over week
TLDR:
  • 1,347 homes across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties have active price reductions as of June 14, 2026.
  • The average cut is 3.23% off original list, with counties clustering between 2.77% and 3.46%.
  • 52.19% of these listings (703 homes) have sat 60 days or longer — the tier where sellers negotiate on more than price.
  • Lake (+60) and Seminole (+51) added the most price-reduced inventory this week; Orange tightened by 54 as deals closed.
  • Buyers gain leverage, sellers should treat price as positioning, and investors should run the 60-day listings first.

This week's four-county snapshot

Every week we pull price-reduction data straight from the Stellar MLS rather than relying on third-party estimates. Here is where the four counties stand on June 14, 2026:

County Price Reductions Avg Off List Listed 60+ Days Browse
Orange 480 3.46% 54.00% (259) Orange County deals
Volusia 331 3.26% 52.60% (174) Volusia County deals
Lake 321 3.41% 54.80% (176) Lake County deals
Seminole 215 2.77% 43.70% (94) Seminole County deals

Orange County carries the most volume at 480 reductions, but Lake (54.80%) and Orange (54.00%) carry the highest share of listings past the 60-day mark — the homes most likely to come with a motivated seller behind them. Seminole, the tightest county at 43.70% past 60 days and a 2.77% average cut, is where sellers still hold more of the cards.

Week-over-week: where inventory moved

The weekly trend matters as much as the snapshot, because it shows which direction leverage is shifting:

  • Lake County added 60 price-reduced listings (261 to 321) — the biggest jump, and the average cut deepened to 3.41%.
  • Seminole added 51 (164 to 215), though its average reduction eased to 2.77% as newer, lightly-cut listings entered the pool.
  • Volusia held roughly steady, up 16 listings to 331.
  • Orange dropped 54 (534 to 480) while its average cut grew to 3.46% — when reduced listings disappear and remaining cuts deepen, it usually means buyers absorbed the sharper deals.

These are real transactions and real seller decisions, not seasonal modeling. Rising counts in Lake and Seminole mean more motivated sellers are entering the market right now.

Quick Tip: Sort any county search by days on market, then start your offers with the listings past 60 days. That single filter surfaces the sellers most likely to negotiate on concessions, not just price.

What this means for buyers

Leverage is real right now. With 1,347 sellers across four counties already adjusting their prices, today's buyer is not competing against the bidding-war conditions of 2021 and 2022. The 703 listings past 60 days are the clearest opening: a well-structured offer there can land below asking with concessions attached. With 30-year mortgage rates still elevated per Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, a seller-funded rate buydown is often worth more to your monthly payment than another small price cut — and a motivated, 60-day seller is exactly who will fund one.

★ Pro Move: On a listing past 60 days, ask for a 2-1 rate buydown instead of a price reduction. A buydown can cut your first-year payment more than an equivalent price drop, and sellers often prefer it because it protects their closed-price comp.

What this means for sellers

Price is a positioning decision, not a concession. The sellers closing right now are the ones who adjusted early and deliberately. A price reduction is not a sign of weakness — it puts your listing back into buyer search alerts, earns fresh algorithmic exposure, and re-enters the conversation where demand actually exists. If your home has been sitting 45 days or more without meaningful showing activity, the market is sending a signal worth reading. Knowing your true position starts with an honest number; our home value estimator is a useful first checkpoint before we build a pricing strategy together.

What this means for investors

Price-reduced listings are where the math starts working. When a seller has already cut, your acquisition basis drops — and with 52.19% of this week's reductions sitting past 60 days, there is room to negotiate further on price, repairs, or terms. That improves cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and exit flexibility on both buy-and-hold and value-add deals. Lake and Volusia, with deeper 60-day pools and steady inventory gains, are worth a first look this week. For the broader trend behind these weekly numbers, see our Central Florida housing market hub.

Frequently asked questions

How many price-reduced homes are available in Central Florida this week?

As of June 14, 2026, there are 1,347 homes with active price reductions across Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties, averaging 3.23% off original list prices, based on direct Stellar MLS data.

What does a price reduction signal to buyers?

A price reduction signals a motivated seller. Beyond the lower price, it often means room to negotiate concessions, rate buydowns, or repair credits, especially on listings that have been on the market 60 days or longer.

Which Central Florida county has the most price reductions right now?

Orange County leads this week with 480 active price-reduced listings, followed by Volusia with 331, Lake with 321, and Seminole with 215.

How often is this price reduction data updated?

We refresh this data weekly from direct Stellar MLS exports across the four-county footprint, so the counts reflect active reductions, not seasonal estimates.

Want the list of motivated, 60-day sellers in your target area before everyone else does? Call or text Brenden Rendo at 407-616-9019, or browse this week's reductions by county above. We track every cut across Orange, Seminole, Lake, and Volusia so you always know where the leverage is. See what past clients say on our reviews page.

Posted in Orlando Real Estate Market Updates
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