Housing, jobs, population growth: Florida Chamber Foundation's 2025 forecast

The Florida Chamber Foundation presented its virtual 2025 Florida Economic Outlook & Jobs Solution Summit Jan. 30, with forecasts for the coming year ranging from population growth to tourism trends. 

Highlights include: 

Residential real estate: In 2025 in Florida, analysts expect to see a “little bit more inventory” with “more demand than there is housing,” according to Jennifer Warner, economist and director of development for Florida Realtors. There were about 170,000 active listings in 2024, which is a lot compared with 2023 but in line with historical averages, according to Warner. “We’re moving toward balance now,” she says. Demand coupled with a lack of affordability is likely to tip people into Florida’s rental market. “You're going to see a lot of fewer first-time buyers,” Warner says, noting the median age of first-time home buyers nationally is 38 due to high costs and interest rates. “We're expecting a lot more repeat buyers — people who already own selling and then buying — because they're able to use equity to offset those higher lending costs. And we expect to see a lot of older and wealthier people transacting.” Baby boomers, she notes, have been aging in place, resulting in their homes staying off the market while others struggle to find larger houses.