Real estate trends - no surprises here

Spiraling insurance rates threaten Florida's vast real estate market and, ultimately, the state's economy. So says Wayne Archer, director of the University of Florida's (UF) Center for Real Estate Studies, which recently completed a new quarterly survey of Florida real estate trends.

"The entire economy will have to adjust to these higher insurance costs," says Archer.

"It's a big enough hit, just like gas prices, that it will ultimately affect every business and every price that is property intensive."

The center's new statewide quarterly survey identified the insurance crisis as the biggest trend in Florida's real estate market. Industry executives, real estate lawyers, market analysts, title insurers, financial advisers, market research economists, real estate scholars and other experts from around the state were asked a series of questions by UF's Survey Research Center in July. The softening housing market was the second most mentioned trend.

Other predictions: Condo prices will lag behind inflation or even decline; Florida's high growth rate will minimize the economic impact of a slowing housing market; and apartment-to-condo conversations will continue to slow.