70% Of Florida Homeowners Faced Insurance Hikes Or Changes

It’s not easy being a homeowner in the Sunshine State. Over the last few years, home prices have skyrocketed and storms have caused insurance costs to spike. A new survey shows 70% of Florida homeowners have experienced insurance hikes or changes in coverage within the past year.

The new survey was conducted by Redfin and Qualtrics back in February 2024 for both Florida and California residents. It was sent out to over 2,900 homeowners and renters in the U.S.

The survey says, “12% of Florida respondents who have faced insurance changes have been dropped by their insurance company—an increasingly common trend as insurers back out of flood-prone areas.”

They continue with, “34% of real estate agents in the U.S.—and 73% in Florida—have seen an increase in insurance-related issues in the past year.”

Florida has been one of the best and worst states to own a home in the last few years. The average price for a home in Florida has risen by about $150,000 since 2020. So, if you bought pre-2020, you made a great investment, but rising costs might change that.

Chief Economist for Redfin, Daryl Fairweather, said, “Homeowners living in areas where insurance premiums are surging are at risk of seeing their properties gain less value than homeowners in areas with stable premiums—and in some cases, they may even lose money.”

On average, 1 in 8 Florida homeowners who took place in this survey have said that their insurance company stopped offering coverage on their home. As insurance companies stop covering certain weather-related events, more Florida homeowners are worried they will be dropped in the near future.

With more and more companies pulling out of Florida, the limited options remaining are seeing home insurance rates jump by over 50% with some providers. Brokers say it is a mix of severe weather-related events, rises in repair costs, and reinsurance premiums jumping. When there are less insurance companies covering these disasters, the remaining companies also hike up rates - simple supply and demand.

To view the entire data set for this survey on Florida homeowners, click visit Redfin.com.

Florida is a dream destination for many. Families will come to visit, and then start planning their move to the Sunshine State. Can you blame them? There are many perks of living in Florida like the no income tax, gorgeous beaches, and endless recreational activities. When looking for the cheapest places to live in Florida, you're likely going to be directed to the smaller inland cities. But let's be real, you're probably making this move to be closer to the water. So we found a list of the cheapest places to live in Florida and condensed that list to focus on the places near the beach.

We found our list of the most affordable places to live in Florida from Property Club. They factored their list based on median housing prices, and other costs of living like groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare. For the housing prices, they compared average rents and median prices sold between January 2023 and January 2024. They drew their data from the U.S. Census, Zillow, Rent Café, and more.

With so many people relocating to Florida, it's made the housing market extremely competitive. Locals who are hoping to become first-time home buyers are stuck renting because they can't combat the cash offers from the transplants. According to Redfin, home prices were up 4.5% from 2023, with the median selling price at $404,100. In January 2024, 10.2% of homes in Florida sold above the list price.

Keep in mind when looking for cheap places to live near the beach, you won't ever be directly on the water. Nothing about living ocean-front is cheap. Keep in mind the cost of living in Florida is 1% higher than the national average. Another realtor blog, Norada, listed more affordable beach towns including Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tarpon Springs, and Bradenton. You can check out their full list here.

According to our source, the median cost of a home in Jacksonville is about $293,000, which is well below the national average. You can even find 1-bedrooom apartments for around $1,200/month. Jacksonville was also named one of the best cities to live in the south. Plus, there are plenty of job opportunities.

Edgewater is located off the east coast of Florida near Daytona Beach. Despite being so close to one of Florida's popular beaches, the cost of living is about 7% lower than the national average. The median home price here is about $305,000-$325,999.

This one shocked us. With Clearwater being one of the more expensive Florida beach towns, we were shocked to see Dunedin on this list. Don't get it twisted, there is so much to love about Dunedin. It's charming downtown area has so many great restaurants, breweries, and shops. And it's a less than 20 minute drive to the best beach in Florida, or you can head to the less crowded Dunedin Causeway or Honeymoon Island. Despite getting facelifts over the years with new housing and luxury apartments, Property Club says the median home cost is about $349,000. But it definitely won't stay that way forever.

Melbourne is located off the east coast of Florida and southeast from Orlando. It has that small-town appeal with plenty of outdoor recreation like beaches, golf courses, and the Viera Wetlands. The median cost of a home in Melbourne is about $375,000, and one bedroom apartments can be found for $1,300/month.

Cape Coral is going to be one of the most affordable cities in southwest Florida. Bonus perk is that it has one of the lowest crime rates in the state. It's also known for its many canals and gorgeous landscapes. According to Property Club, the median home price here is $391,000, which is just below the national average.