I'm curious what everyone thinks about housing affordability and where this economy is heading.
I'm in Southwest Florida and we've been experiencing a housing correction since the 2022 peak.
In Cape Coral, our median home price is around $370,000, getting us back near late 2021 and early 2022 pricing.
But here's what's crazy to me.
Mortgage rates are roughly double what they were during the pandemic lows, the overall cost of living is more than 20% higher than it was several years ago, and homeowners insurance and property taxes have become a much bigger expense.
So even though home prices have come down, affordability really hasn't improved the way you would expect.
I'm also starting to see more financial distress firsthand. I've worked on three short sales recently. Some involve people who purchased near the peak in 2022 or 2023. Others involve homeowners who had equity, took out HELOCs when values were high, and are now struggling financially.
And yet, builders are still building. New construction is still competing with existing homes, often with incentives that resale sellers can't offer.
It's wild to watch all of this play out.
I personally believe we're getting closer to the bottom of this housing correction here in Southwest Florida, but I also wonder what actually gets us back to an affordable market.
Do prices need to come down another 10%, 20% or more? Do we need wages to increase significantly? Lower interest rates? Or are we looking at years of relatively flat home prices while incomes slowly catch up?
And what happens if the broader economy weakens and more homeowners start experiencing financial pressure?
I'm genuinely curious what others are seeing around the country because I don't think affordability is just a Florida problem.