Two areas in Florida have become hot spots for home buying and building, one of them due to higher insurance costs in the rest of the state, according to news and insurance agency reports.
Ocala, in the central part of Florida, has been deemed one of the highest points in state – still just 100 feet above sea level. But that means it’s far enough from storm surge and from the worst of hurricane winds. And that’s prompting an influx of people from other parts of the state, the Wall Street Journal and Business Insider news outlets reported.
Many of the newcomers have cited spiking homeowner insurance premiums in coastal areas as a big reason for their move to Ocala, population 64,000, lying about halfway between Gainesville and Orlando. The city is known for its large number of thoroughbred horse farms and training centers, and for a branch of the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and for freshwater springs.
But some Florida homeowners don’t seem that concerned about coastal insurance costs. Research published by Insurify.com, an online auto and property insurance firm, found that the Sarasota area, near Tampa, is its “top market to watch,” with the highest number of new residential units under construction in recent months.
“Sarasota has 1,500 residential units under construction, providing new inventory for its burgeoning population,” Insurify.com noted. “The city has experienced a 6.9% increase in population since 2020 — the second-highest compared to other cities on the list.”
Most new construction must meet new construction codes, which require elevation in some areas and stronger roof and wall connections to protect against hurricane force winds. Still, insurance rates in Sarasota and in much of Florida, especially coastal areas, have soared in recent years.
Insurance companies and industry advocates have blamed it on hurricanes and on excessive claims litigation, which has raised loss adjustment expenses in recent years and put some carriers out of business. Some of those costs were addressed by Florida lawmakers in the past 12 months, and many expect the changes to stem further rate increases, although premiums are not expected to drop.
Photo: Part of Fort Myers Beach, Florida, about 60 miles south of Sarasota, two days after Hurricane Ian hit in September 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
Topics Florida
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