“Many people are fearful. They don’t want to experience that situation again,” explains Asher Walli, a real estate agent with Charles Rutenberg Realty who has been serving Florida’s Pinellas County area for nearly eight years. After experiencing three consecutive hurricanes in late 2024, the St. Petersburg-Clearwater-Tampa real estate market is undergoing significant changes that could reshape Florida’s coastal property landscape for years to come.
The Florida real estate market, particularly in coastal Pinellas County, experienced a dramatic disruption after being hit by three hurricanes in rapid succession during September, October, and November of 2024. This unprecedented weather pattern, the first time in over a century that the area experienced such concentrated hurricane activity, has fundamentally altered buyer preferences and market dynamics.
“We got hit with three hurricanes back to back to back, and usually this area never gets hit,”Walli explains. “It was an eye-opening experience. Usually we get missed in this particular area, but this time around we got hit by three of them. That’s never happened in over a hundred years.”
The impact was devastating for many homeowners. “People were in homes with three, four, five, six feet of water—completely underwater. People had to get up on their kitchens and stay on top of the counter to stay out of water,” Walli recounts. “All the homes by the beach were completely flooded, completely underwater. They had to get rid of their furniture. All the baseboards, the drywall cut out—the entire first floor is gone. It was a complete disaster.”
One of the most significant trends emerging in the aftermath is a mass migration away from flood-prone areas. “What we’re seeing is people moving from the flood zone areas and going to non-flood zone areas to avoid the hurricanes and the flooding,” Walli notes.
This shift is driven by both emotional and practical considerations. The traumatic experience of the hurricanes has left many residents unwilling to risk another disaster. “Many people don’t want to be in that situation again,” says Walli. “Given that Florida has hurricanes every year, people don’t want to end up in that situation again.”
Practical considerations are equally compelling. Many areas experienced mandatory evacuations during the hurricanes, and homeowners are now trying to avoid properties in these zones. Additionally, insurance costs have skyrocketed, with some companies raising rates dramatically or dropping coverage entirely for flood-prone properties.
“We’ve had an insurance crisis here,” Walli explains. “Many people have been getting out of the flood zone because now the insurance companies are raising their rates or dropping them. It’s been a problem.”
Perhaps the most dramatic market shift has been the collapse in demand for condominiums, particularly those in flood-prone areas or high-rise buildings.
“The condo market has declined significantly,” Walli observes. “People are avoiding buying condos and going towards more single-family homes. They’re avoiding the condos due to the assessments and the cost of insurance.”
The hurricane aftermath revealed additional vulnerabilities specific to condo living. “When we got hit with the hurricanes, the buildings lost power,” Walli explains. “People living on top floors didn’t have elevators because they couldn’t get power, so they couldn’t get up and down. With Florida’s market having older people and older homeowners, they’re having a hard time taking stairs up and down.”
This has led to a significant shift in the market: “Many of them are getting out of the condo situation and moving toward single-family homes and going away from the water, going a little bit inland.”
The financial burden on condo owners has also increased substantially. “The assessment, the HOA fees going up, the insurance prices going up, many young people have been getting out of the condos or trying to sell, and they can’t sell,” says Walli.
The result is a stagnant condo market that’s only now beginning to show signs of movement: “Many of the condos have been sitting on the market. It’s very tough to sell the condos. Finally, they’re starting to move right now, but they were sitting for a very long time at the beginning of the year.”
While distressed properties often attract investors looking for opportunities, the Florida market is seeing unusual hesitation from this typically opportunistic segment.
“There’s tons of homes in Florida in flood zone areas that need to be sold,” Walli notes. “We got the hurricanes eight, nine months ago, and they’re still on the market—they can’t move them.”
The challenge for investors is twofold: the immediate cost of rehabilitation and the ongoing risk of future flooding. “They’re having a hard time getting those because of the cost of refurbishing them,” Walli explains. “But then the problem is they’re still in the flood zone. So you could refurbish them, and then in a couple of months, we’ll be in hurricane season again, and you could end up in that same situation.”
Instead, investors are focusing on safer alternatives: “Many investors have been buying property out of the flood zones. Many investors are still looking for multi-family homes. Those have been still moving quite a bit, they move too quickly. Many investors here are looking for multi-family homes or income-producing properties.”
As buyers and investors flee flood zones, properties in non-flood areas are seeing increased demand and appreciation.
“Many of the homes here that are block homes that are in non-flood areas, non-flood zones, have been very desirable, so they’ve been moving very fast,” Walli observes. This trend is expected to continue: “I see substantial change, people moving from, again, getting out of the flood zone areas. And many of the block homes that are non-flood zone areas are going to go up in value. They’ve been going up, and now with the insurance crisis, that’s going to continue.”
The contrast with flood-zone properties is stark: “Homes in flood zone areas, they’re still trying to sell them. They’re having a hard time because most of them have been completely demolished or they’re cut out inside. You have to completely rebuild or lift them up, it’s a whole project.”
These properties are selling at steep discounts, “for a third or half the price,” but still struggle to find buyers because “they need cash buyers, but many of the investors are not interested.”
Beyond the hurricane impact, the Florida market is experiencing a broader cooling trend after years of frenzied activity.
“It’s been cooled off. So we’re not as we used to be, a seller’s market where things are going above asking. Here in Florida, that is no longer happening,” Walli notes. “Properties are now starting to cool off. No more multiple offers or over-asking situations that we were in.”
This normalization is attributed to multiple factors: “Because of the hurricanes, the interest rates, and now we have many more properties on the market, it has slowed down. It’s starting to go back to almost what it used to be.”
Seller expectations are gradually adjusting to this new reality: “Some of them are still unrealistic, and some of them are more realistic given the current market conditions. Many sellers are starting to get that things are not moving as they used to be.”
While the hurricane impact dominates much of the market narrative, Walli highlights an unexpected trend driving migration to Florida: pickleball.
“Many people have been moving to Florida for pickleball,” Walli reveals. “That’s a huge trend right now that I’ve been noticing. Many people are moving to Florida for pickleball because they can play pickleball here all year round versus in other states, and they don’t have to get memberships like other places, you can play outdoors here all year round.”
This represents a significant shift in Florida’s recreational appeal: “It used to be where people would move here to play golf. And now they’re moving here for pickleball or the beach or the amusement. Now there’s numerous people moving here for pickleball.”
The infrastructure is rapidly adapting to meet this demand: “They’re creating pickleball courts everywhere around the corner. All the tennis courts are now being converted to pickleball. There’s new pickleball courts being built. It used to be a sport for old people, but now there’s younger people, there’s kid camps—everybody’s playing.”
The development extends beyond casual courts: “We had a few stadiums being built in Florida, world stadiums for pickleball. They’re building them everywhere by the water, by the pier, by the beach. They’re attracting many people from out of states to move to Florida for pickleball.”
Florida’s reputation as primarily a retirement destination is also evolving. “It used to be where Florida people would move to retire, and that has now changed, “Walli observes. “Now we’re seeing many young people move to Florida—younger and young working people are now moving to the St. Pete-Clearwater-Tampa area.”
This demographic shift is supported by economic growth: “Tampa has been named one of the most growing in work and jobs. Tampa has been producing many jobs for people to move.”
The result is a more diverse population: “Now we’re getting a mix of older, younger, middle-aged, everybody’s in Florida. So our market is now, that’s what’s been keeping us busy, but that trend has not changed.”
As Florida continues to recover and adapt, Walli anticipates the current trends will intensify. Non-flood zone properties, particularly block homes, will likely continue to appreciate, while flood-prone areas will face ongoing challenges with insurance and buyer hesitation.
The condo market may gradually recover, but the fundamental shift in preferences toward single-family homes in safer locations appears to be a lasting change. “People used to move here and buy a condo, and now everybody doesn’t want to touch a condo anymore,” Walli concludes.
For buyers, investors, and current homeowners in Florida’s coastal communities, these trends signal a significant realignment of the market, one that prioritizes safety and sustainability over waterfront views and amenities. As climate concerns and insurance realities continue to shape buyer decisions, Florida’s real estate landscape is being fundamentally reshaped by the lessons of 2024’s hurricane season.
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