Real Estate & Investment Perspective by Karen Lee Bertiger

2026/08/252026/08/25

Which Florida Cities Saw Increases/Declines in Single Family Home Sales?

Home sales in Flordia were generally up in July contrary to many national headlines. However, of course they are below COVID era sales, when many people were flooding into Florida to escape lockdowns in other states. In bound migration has dropped from roughly 1000+ new households during that time, to just over 500+ new households PER DAY now. That’s hardly a picture of decline. Florida Realtors report for the 11th month in a row they have sold more homes than a year ago. Many of them also sold at higher prices. As you know, all real estate is local.

Tallahassee saw year over year sales declined 24.6% compared to July, 2025. Lakeland-Winter Haven Saw a year over year sales decline of 6.1%.

Panama City sales jumped 23% year over year from July 2025. Sebastian-Vero Beach closed sales year over year increased 19.9%.

Sebastian-Vero Beach and Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent both had decreases in their median home prices year over year. One percent (1%) and two point one percent (2.1) respectively.

Th Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island median price was up eleven point one perccent (11.1%)

Sebring’s median price was up eight point three percent (8.3%) year over year.

2026/08/252026/08/25

Highlights from Last Week

In case you missed it, here’s the rapid-fire recap for August 17-21, 2026:

Monday, August 17th:

Homebuilder Sentiment (NAHB): Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched up one point to 35 in August. The Midwest continued to stand out with new home sales up more than 2% so far in 2026.

Tuesday, August 18th:

Pending Home Sales (NAR): Pending home sales decreased 2.3% month-over-month and 2.2% year-over-year in July, falling to their lowest level since January 2026.

Housing Starts (Census Bureau): July 2026 housing starts fell 12.4% from June and 13.5% year-over-year, while completions dropped 9.1% monthly and 16.8% annually. Building permits increased 5.0% from June and 3.1% YoY

Wednesday, August 19th:

Mortgage Applications (MBA): mortgage applications decreased 0.4% from one week earlier for the week ending August 14, 2026. Purchase applications declined 2% week over week and were down 3% year over year, while refinance applications increased 2% but remained 18% below the same week one year ago.

Thursday, August 13th:

Weekly Unemployment (DOL): Initial claims fell 6,000 to 206,000 in the week ending Aug. 15, while insured unemployment rose 18,000 to 1.799 million. The insured unemployment rate held at 1.2%.

2026/08/252026/08/25

It’s the D’aug Days of Summer

When your pool water is like bath water, it loses its ability to refresh. We’ve been experiencing “extreme heat” advisories in both Florida and Arizona for the last 10 days or so. Seems like everything is on hold until after Labor Day (when we hope it will cool down, at least a little!) If you’re in the real estate market, as a buyer or seller, you may be seeing conflicting headlines about the state of the market. It’s all local, so keep your eyes on local happenings for real estate. You can watch the national markets for financial news.

The kids are already back in school. Time to get serious about goals you’d like to achieve before year end 2026. Selling or buying property take calarity on your ultimate goals and your timelines for making things happen. It also involves your budgeting.

2026/07/172026/07/17

Mortgage Rates

30-year fixed-rate (Conforming – $832,750 or less)
● Average contract interest rate increased to 6.65% from 6.58%.
● Highest level since August 2025.
● Points increased to 0.67 from 0.64 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.
● Effective rate increased from last week.
30-year fixed-rate (Jumbo – greater than $832,750)
● Average contract interest rate increased to 6.62% from 6.50%.
● Points increased to 0.54 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.
● Effective rate increased from last week.
30-year fixed-rate (FHA)
● Average contract interest rate increased to 6.33% from 6.28%.
● Points increased to 0.81 from 0.79 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.
● Effective rate increased from last week.
15-year fixed-rate
● Average contract interest rate increased to 6.05% from 5.99%.
● Points increased to 0.88 from 0.71 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.
● Effective rate increased from last week.
5/1 ARM
● Average contract interest rate decreased to 5.75% from 5.84%.
● Points decreased to 0.93 from 0.94 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.
● Effective rate decreased from last week.

Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist: “Mortgage applications declined as the 30-year fixed rate increased to 6.65 percent, the highest level since August 2025. Purchase applications were down over the week and dipped below last year’s pace in the week following the July 4th holiday. Despite higher mortgage rates, refinance applications increased, led by FHA and VA refinance applications rising 9 and 10 percent, respectively.”

2026/07/082026/07/08

How Important is Accurate Information About Property?

Real estate licensees are expected to present accurate, verified information about the physical characteristics of a property. These days, some of their descriptions read more like puff marketing pieces. Yes, it’s a tough sales market, but all marketing by licensees is regulated by the states where they are licensed. Many agents are using AI to write property descriptions, complete with AI hallucinations.

Trying to project that a particular property is a “lifestyle” type property a la social media can subject licensees to serious discipline. Marketing to a particular segment of the population may invite scrutiny into possible violations of Fair Housing laws, etc.

For you, as a buyer, let your agent know that you will make the determination of what is necessary and desirable for yourself, by using objective criteria about the property details.

Also, it doesn’t hurt to verify the license status of someone claiming to be a real estate licensee before you meet with them or let them into your home.

You can check real estate agents’ licensing status by visiting arello.com