South Florida Real Estate & Market Update
October 9, 2026 | Palm Beach County • Broward County • The Gold Coast
The Opportunity Isn’t Always in the Price
Something interesting is happening in South Florida real estate.
Mortgage interest rates have risen for several consecutive weeks. Buyers are becoming more sensitive to monthly payments. Sellers are having to think more carefully about how to attract qualified buyers.
Yet luxury transactions continue, single-family inventory remains relatively tight, and some of the most interesting financing opportunities are appearing in areas many people have written off.
Take condominiums, for example.
We’ve heard plenty about higher association fees, assessments, insurance costs and stricter conventional financing requirements.
But what if some of those condominiums are more financeable than people realize?
And what if a seller concession could make a home more affordable than a comparable reduction in the asking price?
Those are the kinds of questions worth exploring.
Because in today’s market, the opportunity isn’t always in the price. Sometimes it’s in the structure of the transaction.
Local Real Estate Market Update
South Florida Is Still Several Markets Operating at Once
August remains the latest complete county-level reporting period. September’s complete figures are not yet available, so we need to be careful about drawing conclusions from incomplete information.
Palm Beach County’s August sales declined approximately 4.5% from a year earlier, while active inventory fell about 20%.
Single-family homes had approximately 3.5 months of supply. Condominiums had about 6.7 months.
Meanwhile, Palm Beach County recorded 170 sales above $10 million through August, already exceeding its previous full-year record.
Broward County showed a similar division.
Overall August sales declined approximately 4.5%, and inventory fell about 17%.
Single-family homes had approximately 4.1 months of supply, compared with nearly 10 months for condominiums.
Those numbers tell us something important.
A buyer shopping for a single-family home in Boca Raton is not necessarily operating in the same market as someone looking at an older condominium in Pompano Beach.
And a cash buyer purchasing a $3 million property in Palm Beach County isn’t making decisions based on the same considerations as a financed buyer purchasing a $500,000 home.
There isn’t one South Florida housing market. There are several operating simultaneously.
But remember, these are August statistics. One reporting period doesn’t establish what happens next.
We’ll be watching September’s numbers to see whether these patterns continue.
Market Insight
A $10,000 Price Reduction or a $10,000 Financing Concession?
Here’s something I think Realtors should be discussing with their sellers.
Suppose you’re representing a seller with a $500,000 home.
The property has been sitting on the market, and the seller is considering a $10,000 price reduction.
That might be the right answer.
But consider another possibility.
What if the seller offered $10,000 toward the buyer’s closing costs or an interest-rate buydown?
Assuming 90% financing, a $10,000 price reduction would lower the buyer’s mortgage amount by approximately $9,000.
At a 7.5% interest rate over 30 years, that’s roughly $63 per month in principal and interest.
Now compare that with using the $10,000 toward a permanent interest-rate buydown.
Depending on the loan program, lender pricing and borrower qualifications, the monthly payment savings could be considerably greater.
Of course, seller concessions have program limits, and a buydown needs to be evaluated carefully. It isn’t automatically the best solution.
But the important point is this:
Before your seller decides to reduce the price, let’s determine whether that same money could accomplish more through the financing.
Sometimes the best negotiation isn’t about the purchase price.
It’s about the buyer’s monthly obligation.
The Condominium Opportunity Realtors May Be Overlooking
We’ve spent a lot of time discussing the challenges in South Florida’s condominium market.
Higher association fees, special assessments, insurance costs, structural inspections and stricter conventional financing requirements have created genuine obstacles.
But there’s another side of this story.
The non-QM condominium financing market is considerably more flexible than many Realtors and buyers realize.
A number of lenders offer financing up to 90% loan-to-value for qualifying non-warrantable condominiums.
That means certain buyers may be able to purchase with as little as 10% down, even when the condominium doesn’t satisfy traditional conventional lending requirements.
And these programs aren’t limited to borrowers using traditional tax-return documentation.
Depending on the lender, the project and the borrower’s qualifications, financing options can include:
- Full-documentation loans
- Bank-statement qualification
- Profit-and-loss statement programs
- 1099 income qualification
- Other alternative-documentation programs
- Certain non-warrantable condominium projects
- Loan-to-value ratios reaching 90% in qualifying scenarios
Think about what this means for a Realtor.
A buyer finds a condominium in a desirable location at an attractive price.
The association fees are reasonable. There are no extraordinary assessments. The building is well-maintained.
But someone tells the buyer that conventional financing isn’t available.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the property can’t be financed.
And this is where I think one of the more interesting opportunities exists.
Not every condominium is facing extraordinary association expenses or expensive retrofitting requirements.
Some buildings have manageable costs and attractive pricing but fall outside conventional lending guidelines for other reasons.
A well-priced condominium with reasonable association costs and access to flexible financing could be one of the more attractive buying opportunities in today’s South Florida market.
That doesn’t mean every condominium qualifies.
We still have to evaluate the property’s financial condition, insurance, structural issues, assessments and the buyer’s qualifications. Non-QM financing isn’t a way around genuine property or safety problems.
But it can provide solutions where conventional financing falls short.
So before you eliminate a condominium from consideration because someone says it isn’t warrantable, let’s examine the property and the available financing options.
There may be another path.
The condo market may be more open for business than many people think.
And for Realtors who understand those opportunities, that can translate into transactions that otherwise might never happen.
Interest Rate Environment
Seven Consecutive Weeks of Higher Rates
Mortgage interest rates have continued rising.
Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.40%, compared with 7.28% the previous week.
A year ago, the average was 6.30%.
That’s the seventh consecutive weekly increase and the highest reading since November 2023.
The 15-year fixed mortgage average also increased, reaching 6.73%.
Those are national survey averages, not individual borrower quotes. Actual pricing depends on credit, loan type, property, occupancy and other factors.
But seven consecutive weekly increases deserve attention.
This is no longer simply one or two volatile trading days.
The important question now is whether that pressure continues.
For buyers, the immediate concern is purchasing power.
For Realtors, the concern is whether the financing numbers being used to write an offer are still accurate.
A buyer who was prequalified several weeks ago should have the numbers updated before writing an offer today.
Stocks and Financial Markets
Wall Street Is Sending Mixed Signals
Thursday was an interesting day in the financial markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a small gain, while the broader S&P 500 and technology-heavy Nasdaq declined.
Here is where the major indexes finished Thursday, October 8:
| Index | Thursday’s Close | Daily Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 51,231.64 | +0.1% |
| S&P 500 | 7,765.36 | -0.5% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 27,193.34 | -1.3% |
Technology stocks, particularly companies associated with artificial intelligence, came under selling pressure.
At the same time, oil prices and Treasury yields experienced considerable volatility.
The 10-year Treasury yield briefly reached approximately 5.35% before retreating toward 5.22%.
That puts longer-term government borrowing costs in territory last seen around 2002.
But what does any of this mean for South Florida real estate?
There are two important connections.
First, rising Treasury yields generally put upward pressure on mortgage financing costs.
Second, financial-market volatility can influence buyer confidence, particularly among higher-income households whose wealth is tied to investments.
But we shouldn’t confuse one difficult day in technology stocks with a broader economic downturn.
The major stock indexes remain substantially higher for the year.
And one day of volatility doesn’t establish a new direction.
What matters is whether higher borrowing costs, energy prices and inflation concerns persist long enough to change consumer behavior.
For buyers and sellers, the lesson remains straightforward.
Don’t build a real estate decision around predicting the next move in stocks, bonds or interest rates.
Build it around the property’s value, the buyer’s financial position and financing that works today.
If conditions improve later, opportunities may develop to revisit the financing.
Rate is a component.
It isn’t the entire decision.
Technology & Business Growth for Realtors
Is AI Helping Consumers Find You?
We’ve been discussing how artificial intelligence is changing the way consumers search for information and identify professionals.
But I think it’s time to move from understanding that change to doing something about it.
Here’s a simple exercise.
Open ChatGPT or another AI platform and ask:
“Who are the Realtors specializing in waterfront homes in Boca Raton?”
Or:
“Who should I contact about selling a luxury condominium in Palm Beach County?”
Look at the answer.
Are you mentioned?
If you are, is the information accurate?
If you’re not, what information is available online that helps an AI system understand your expertise?
AI-generated recommendations aren’t always accurate, and nobody can guarantee that a particular platform will recommend you.
But your digital presence increasingly matters.
Your Google Business Profile, website, reviews, LinkedIn presence, social media, videos and published content all contribute to how your professional identity can be discovered and understood.
And here’s where I can help.
I’ve already developed tools specifically designed to help Realtors evaluate their online presence, identify visibility gaps and begin building greater authority in an AI-driven search environment.
If you’re ready to explore this, reach out.
We’ll have a conversation about your business, look at where you are today and identify practical steps to improve your visibility.
I’m happy to share the tools I’ve developed to help put you on that path.
You don’t need to become an AI expert.
You need to make the expertise you’ve already developed easier for people to find.
Around South Florida This Weekend
Oktoberfest of the Palm Beaches — Lake Worth
The American German Club celebrates its 52nd Oktoberfest with traditional German food, music, dancing and family festivities.
October 9–11
American German Club of the Palm Beaches
West Palm Beach GreenMarket
The downtown waterfront GreenMarket continues its 32nd season with local produce, specialty foods, vendors and the atmosphere that has made it a South Florida Saturday tradition.
Saturday, October 10 | 8:30 AM–1:30 PM
West Palm Beach Waterfront
PumpkinFest at Harbourside — Jupiter
The 10th Annual PumpkinFest at Harbourside Place benefits the Chasin A Dream Foundation, which supports local children facing serious medical challenges.
Saturday, October 10 | 11:00 AM–4:00 PM
Harbourside Place, Jupiter
Fortunate Sons — Delray Beach
Arts Garage presents a tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty.
Saturday, October 10 | 8:00 PM
Arts Garage, Delray Beach
And these events bring me back to something I believe about South Florida real estate that doesn’t show up in an MLS report.
People don’t move here simply because of a house.
They move here because of a life.
The house becomes the address where that life happens.
Final Thought
This week gives us several things to think about.
Mortgage interest rates have risen for seven consecutive weeks.
Buyers are more sensitive to monthly payments.
Some sellers may need to think beyond price reductions to attract qualified buyers.
The condominium market remains challenging, but non-QM financing is creating opportunities that many buyers and Realtors may not realize exist.
And technology continues changing how consumers discover and evaluate the professionals they work with.
None of this means opportunity has disappeared.
It means opportunity may require a different approach.
Sometimes it’s in the negotiation.
Sometimes it’s in the financing.
Sometimes it’s in a condominium that conventional guidelines don’t accommodate.
And sometimes it’s simply having the right people examine the problem before deciding there isn’t a solution.
Our value isn’t predicting what happens next. It’s helping people make better decisions with the information available today.
If you have a buyer whose financing numbers need updating, a seller considering a concession, a condominium that has been turned down for conventional financing, or an interest in improving your online visibility, give me a call.
That’s what I’m here for.
Have a great weekend.
Clay Edmonds is the Corporate Educator and Complete Mortgage Advisor at Complete Mortgage LLC in Hollywood, Florida, and the creator of MortgageSimplified.net. With over four decades of experience in real estate finance, Clay focuses on simplifying the mortgage process and helping borrowers and real estate professionals make smarter financing decisions.
