Florida Real Estate Stalls as Sellers Hold Out for Unrealistic Prices

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

09 Oct 2025

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Market expert warns that stubbornly overpriced listings are masking true inventory levels and damaging agent credibility. Matthew Buckley, Founder of The Buckley Group at LPT Realty, argues that a significant portion of Florida’s housing inventory isn’t really “available” at all, it’s trapped in what he calls “wasted inventory” where sellers remain fixed on unattainable prices, creating a market distortion that’s hurting both buyers and sellers.

The Hidden Inventory Crisis

“There’s approximately 500,000 more homes for sale than there are buyers in the market,” Buckley notes, but suggests this widely-cited statistic masks a deeper problem. According to Buckley, many of these listings are effectively dead inventory, artificially inflating market metrics while providing no real opportunity for transactions.

“You’re seeing expires at an all-time high, cancels at an all-time high, days on market extending beyond kind of anyone imagined,” Buckley observes. He argues this trend is damaging agent credibility and market function: “Our job is to get the most amount of money, hopefully in the quickest amount of time possible for a seller.”

The Price-Reality Disconnect

Buckley points to a fundamental shift in market dynamics from the COVID era, when inventory was scarce and buyers abundant. “In COVID, you couldn’t get a listing. Now, we have all these listings, and we can’t find an actual buyer,” he says.

The problem, in Buckley’s analysis, isn’t just about total inventory numbers, it’s about sellers’ price expectations remaining stuck in a previous market reality. He notes that many listing agents are taking overpriced listings “due to makes me look good,” but argues this approach is “actually doing the opposite to a lot of agents’ reputations.”

A New Approach to Pricing Strategy

Buckley advocates for a more strategic approach to pricing from the outset. “I’m a big supporter of predicting my outcome,” he says. “If I take a listing at an unrealistic price, I know it’s not going to sell, I can predict the outcome that’s going to sit on the market.”

Instead, he recommends building price adjustment triggers into listing agreements from the start: “Having these timeline approaches of potential price adjustments, new marketing strategies, having that tough conversation from day one.”

Solutions Beyond Local Marketing

The solution, according to Buckley, requires thinking beyond traditional local marketing approaches. “Florida is essentially being ranked as number one for relocation, so many agents are just focused on their local sphere, their friends on Facebook and Instagram. But we have an abundance of states who are relocating to Florida on a day-to-day basis.”

He emphasizes the importance of marketing properties nationally: “It’s important you’re not only advertising and marketing to the town, to the neighborhood, to the state, but you’re advertising to the country, the regions.”

Looking Forward

While Buckley acknowledges market challenges, including interest rates and broader economic factors, he maintains that the “wasted inventory” problem is largely self-inflicted by the industry. He suggests that more realistic pricing strategies and broader marketing approaches could help clear this inventory backlog and restore market health.

“The more eyes on the property, the more offers, the higher the price,” Buckley concludes, arguing that proper pricing and marketing strategy, not wishful thinking, is what ultimately serves sellers’ interests in today’s market.