After years of tight U.S. housing inventories—driven by high prices, soaring interest rates, and homeowners clinging to their low-cost mortgages—the real estate landscape is finally shifting. Nowhere is this transformation more visible than in the Sun Belt, where homes that once sparked bidding wars are now lingering on the market for weeks.
In conversations with Bloomberg, brokers across the South and Southwest describe a new reality: more homeowners are listing their properties and are no longer willing to wait for mortgage rates to fall and make their next purchase more affordable. This uptick is giving buyers more options, but it’s also a sign of changing seller expectations.
Other forces are reshaping the market as well. In Florida, for example, the cost of home insurance has surged. According to WUFT, climate change has unleashed more frequent and destructive storms, sending insurance premiums skyrocketing and making coverage harder to obtain for many residents. This financial pressure is prompting some homeowners to reconsider their options.
Recommended For You
Meanwhile, population growth in Florida has slowed dramatically. Realtor.com data reveals that net new residents in the Sunshine State plummeted to just 64,017 in 2024, a steep drop from 185,067 in 2023 and 314,476 in 2022. WUFT also reports a decline in out-of-state interest. In February 2023, 50.4% of home shoppers browsing Florida listings fit that category, but by February 2024, that figure had fallen to 45.1%.
The supply of homes in Florida has surged as a result. In February, inventory was up 34% year-over-year, surpassing 2019 levels. The median time for a home to sell now stands at 73 days, more than a week longer than last year, according to data from Redfin and Realtor.com.
“Florida is getting less attention from home shoppers in other states than it was in previous years, and home affordability in the state seems to be the main culprit,” wrote Joel Berner, Senior Economist at Realtor.com. As buyers look elsewhere, states such as Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee have gained traction, capturing 48% of the mortgage applications from those leaving Florida. These states not only offer lower median home prices but also present fewer risks from natural disasters.
The trend isn’t limited to the South. In Colorado, investors are offloading rental properties. The number of listings in Colorado Springs jumped 15.6% in April and 13.2% in May, with homes taking longer to sell compared to the previous year. Statewide, the number of new and existing homes on the market rose 51% year-over-year in May and 110% over the past two years.
As inventories rise, a new irony emerges: while the nation’s overall supply of previously owned homes remains below 2019 levels, nine states in the South and West now have inventories that exceed those pre-pandemic benchmarks, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Drew Reading.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
