Eli O. Sanderlin - Mortgage Advisor, CDLP

Marathon buyers, this is worth paying attention to.

The latest market data is showing a slight buyer’s advantage in 33050.

Not a crash.

Not panic.

But definitely more room to negotiate than buyers have had in a while.

A few numbers that stood out:

Median list price: $1,750,000
Inventory: 169 homes
Average days on market: 209
Median days on market: 161
Price reductions: 34%
Market Action Index: 27

That means Marathon is still a premium Keys market, but buyers may have more breathing room than the headlines make it seem.

And in the Keys, the real question is never just:

“What’s the price?”

It’s:

What’s the full monthly payment?
What does insurance look like?
Can the seller help with closing costs or a rate buydown?
Does the property work as a primary, second home, or investment?
Is the carrying cost actually doable?

A lot of buyers walked away over the last year because the numbers felt too tight.

Some of those deals may be worth looking at again.

If you’re thinking about buying in Marathon, the Middle Keys, or anywhere along the Florida coast, let’s run the real numbers before you assume it does or doesn’t work.

Comment “Marathon” or send me a message and I’ll help you look at the full picture.

Big news for Florida buyers and Realtors.

Homeowners insurance rate cuts officially hit today, and this could bring some buyers back into the game.

Citizens is cutting rates by an average of 8.7% statewide, effective June 1, 2026.

State Farm, USAA, GEICO, Allstate, and Progressive have also filed decreases between 7% and 10%.

That may not sound exciting at first, but here’s why it matters.

If a buyer was slightly over budget because the insurance quote pushed their monthly payment too high, that file may need to be looked at again.

A buyer who was told “not quite yet” six months ago may qualify now with today’s insurance numbers.

No rate cut.

No price drop.

No co-signer.

Just better insurance math.

And in Florida real estate, especially coastal Florida, insurance has been one of the biggest deal killers.

The market is shifting too.

Citizens is down to roughly 385,000 policies, compared to 1.42 million at the October 2023 peak. That’s a huge drop.

New carriers have entered Florida since the 2022 reforms, and the old “Florida is uninsurable” story is starting to get stale.

For Monroe County and the Keys, there’s another big piece.

The 2026 conforming loan limit is $990,150.

That means some Keys buyers can stay conventional up to around a $1.04M purchase price with 5% down, instead of getting pushed into jumbo financing.

That matters.

Rates are still part of the conversation, but right now, insurance and inventory may be the bigger story.

If you’re a Realtor with a stalled listing, or you had buyers walk away because insurance killed the numbers, it may be time to rerun the file.

The deal might not be dead.

It may just need today’s numbers.

If you want me to take a look, send it over. I’ll run the financing side and help you figure out if the buyer has a path back in.