The housing market in Florida is facing challenges, and Tampa is no exception, according to a new report from Redfin.

Released on Tuesday, the report reveals that the five U.S. cities with the biggest decrease in home sales are all in Florida. In Tampa, home sales dropped by 7.2%, while Fort Lauderdale saw a 15.2% decline, Miami 14%, West Palm Beach 13.8%, and Jacksonville 9.5%. Conversely, the national average for pending home sales increased by 4.7% during the same period.

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“Florida’s housing market has been slowing for months as residents grapple with frequent natural disasters, along with a surge in home insurance costs and HOA fees fueled by intensifying climate risk,” Redfin stated in the report.

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The impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton have significantly contributed to the market’s slowdown, according to the company.

Redfin also highlighted an affordability crisis in the state, noting that home prices and property taxes remain substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels despite extensive home-building efforts.

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“There’s still some demand for vacation homes, but in general, the market is very slow. Buyers have been grappling with persistently high housing costs and uncertainty around the election. First-time buyers are especially skittish,” said Lindsay Garcia, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Fort Lauderdale. “The condo market is really struggling because of high HOA fees and homeowner’s insurance costs, and on top of that, many condo owners are seeing special assessments due to new rules implemented after the Surfside condo collapse. Some condos are sitting on the market for over a year.”

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Despite the challenges, there is some positive news for Tampa. The city experienced a 32.2% drop in pending sales in October when both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton hit. However, it has since recovered to only a 7.2% decline, suggesting that the worst of the downturn may be over, according to Redfin.

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