Homebuyers are increasingly hesistant to buy properties in Florida, following skyrocketing flood insurance costs, stricter building codes and the devastation of hurricanes.
But prices for condos in inland Florida are doing better.
The median condo sales price in inland Florida rose an average of 5.4% year-over-year in January, compared with a 4.8% decline on Flordia's Gulf Coast and and a 3% drop on the Atlantic Coast, according to a report from real-estate website Redfin.
“Insurance is much cheaper inland than on the coast, which leads to lower [homeowners association] fees and more affordable monthly payments for condo owners,” said Christopher Maggart, Redfin's sales manager covering Orlando, in the report.
Lower HOA fees and less risk of flooding is likely helping boost prices in inland Florida, Redfin said.
Maggart said condos in inland Florida also tend to be newer and more up to date with recent regulations.
The collapse of 12-story condo building in Surfside, Fl. in 2021, which killed nearly 100 people, spurred the creation of stricter regulations.
Still, even with condo prices rising in inland Florida, they are growing slower than before, Redfin said.
For instance, condo prices in Orlando dropped to a low last January, contributing to this year's gain, Redfin said.
“A lot of homeowners associations on the coast are still paying for hurricane damage that happened years ago," said Juan Castro, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Orlando, in the report. "Take Daytona Beach — many of the buildings there are still working to fix seawalls and amenities destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022.”
“The condos in Orlando are newer, more resilient and 50 miles away from where storms typically hit," he added.
Below is a table on the costs, flooding risk and more on condos in different regions of Florida.
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