Insurance Costs No Longer Top Reason Deals Collapse in Sarasota, Says Realtor

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

05 Jan 2026

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Florida’s insurance crisis has dominated real estate headlines in recent years, with many industry observers citing rising premiums as a major obstacle to home sales. However, Nazar Bas, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty who works with both investors and residential buyers in Sarasota and nearby markets, says insurance is no longer the deal-breaker many believe it to be. Although insurance now accounts for a much larger share of monthly housing costs than it did five or seven years ago, Bas says the market has stabilized enough that insurance rarely causes deals to fail.

“Recently, the insurance costs have been more reasonable. That’s what I see,” Bas says. “And of course, that’s going to help us, because insurance costs have become a big part of the payment. Unlike, let’s say, five, seven years ago, nobody even paid attention to insurance cost because it was so low.”

Bas notes that while insurance costs are higher than in the past, they have generally stopped rising and are no longer the main reason buyers walk away from contracts.

Mortgage Qualification: The Real Obstacle

According to Bas, when transactions do fall through, insurance is rarely to blame. “Maybe some deals, yes, if the budget is really tight and you’re in a flood zone where you have to pay a very high premium. But in general, no,” Bas says. “In general, insurance costs have come down. So definitely not a lot of deals are falling apart because of insurance.”

Instead, Bas says the most common reason deals fail in Sarasota is buyer financing. “Probably most often, a deal falls apart when the buyer cannot get a mortgage. When they are not pre-approved properly, not everything is verified properly in the beginning,” he explains. “Sometimes people lose jobs in the process, or things change. That’s probably one of the most frequent reasons why a deal falls apart.”

Bas’s experience points to a gap between industry assumptions and the realities of today’s market. While insurance now accounts for a larger share of monthly costs than in the past, most qualified buyers can absorb the expense. Mortgage qualification problems, not insurance, are the primary hurdle to closing.

Insurance Market Stabilization

Bas attributes the stabilization in insurance costs to several factors, including increased competition among providers. “I’ve been reading articles that some insurance companies are coming back, and we have more competition between them. So, of course, that’s going to affect the prices. They’re going to go down,” he notes.

He also cites the lack of major hurricanes this season as a contributing factor. “We didn’t have hurricanes this season, which is helpful too,” Bas says.

In recent years, many insurance carriers have exited Florida, forcing the remaining companies to raise premiums sharply. Now, with some airlines returning and competition increasing, Bas says rates have started to level off or even decrease in some cases, though they remain well above historic norms.

Affordability Remains a Challenge for Buyers

While insurance costs may have stabilized, Bas says overall affordability remains a deterrent for some buyers, especially those purchasing their first home. “First-time home buyers, some of them are just scared. It’s a new chapter in their lives, especially given rising costs across the board, including property taxes and insurance. ” If you have an HOA, this goes up sometimes,” Bas explains.

He emphasizes that it’s the total monthly payment—combining mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and HOA fees—that is causing hesitation among buyers. “Affordability is becoming an issue for the buyers,” he says.

This suggests that, even as insurance becomes a more manageable part of the equation, the full burden of homeownership in today’s high-cost environment remains a significant barrier for many, particularly those with limited financial reserves.

Impact of Property Age and Condition

Bas also points out that the Sarasota market’s relatively new housing stock may contribute to fewer insurance-related deal failures. “In our area, the condition of the homes is better—homes are newer. So definitely that doesn’t happen often,” he says.

He contrasts this with his experience in New Jersey, where older homes and basement construction are more common. “New Jersey has older houses, often with basements, and they have more issues. Mostly, it’s the condition of the home. Here, it’s probably mostly when the buyer cannot get a mortgage,” Bas says.

This comparison suggests insurance-related deal failures may be more frequent in markets with older or poorly maintained properties, where carriers may decline coverage or quote prohibitively high premiums.

Industry Implications: Reassessing the Insurance Narrative

If Bas’s observations reflect broader market conditions, Florida’s real estate industry may need to reconsider the narrative around insurance as a leading cause of failed transactions. While insurance premiums remain high compared to historic levels and are a valid concern for buyers, they are not currently functioning as the primary barrier to home sales in Sarasota.

The greater challenge, especially for first-time buyers, is the cumulative impact of all housing costs amid elevated interest rates. Bas’s perspective suggests that meaningful improvements in affordability—and thus market activity—are more likely to result from lower interest rates or higher wages than from further declines in insurance premiums. For now, the transaction bottleneck appears to have shifted from insurance to mortgage qualification and overall cost burden.