As we reflect on the past two years, it’s no secret that real estate sales across Florida, and nationally, have been unusually sluggish. In fact, 2024 marked the slowest year for sales activity in nearly 30 years. Higher interest rates, affordability challenges, and market uncertainty all contributed to a pause that many buyers and sellers felt.

The good news? Markets are cyclical, and the outlook for 2026 is far more encouraging. We are already seeing signs of a healthier, more balanced market ahead, with price stabilization, increased buyer confidence, and renewed activity as conditions normalize. The condo market, in particular, is beginning to stabilize. Most condominium associations have now completed their required engineering and reserve studies, and many have already addressed—or are actively funding—major repairs and reserve budgets. This clarity is helping restore buyer confidence and setting the stage for more predictable condo transactions moving forward.

As always, our team at CENTURY 21 Ocean is here to guide you with insight, experience, and local market expertise as opportunities re-emerge.

Warm regards,
Barbara Schluraff
Broker | Team Lead

CENTURY 21 Ocean | Ocean to River Properties

NASA’s Artemis II mission marks a historic milestone in space exploration, the first crewed flight in the Artemis program, and the first time astronauts will journey beyond Earth’s orbit since the Apollo era.

Artemis II builds directly on the success of Artemis I, the uncrewed test flight that validated key systems necessary for human deep space travel. This follow-on mission will demonstrate a wide range of capabilities needed for sustained lunar exploration and future journeys to Mars. The mission’s primary objective is to send astronauts on a roughly 10-day flyby around the Moon and safely return them to Earth, testing life-support and navigation systems under real deep-space conditions.

Four astronauts will embark on this groundbreaking Journey. They will be aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, a deep-space exploration vehicle designed to carry and sustain crew far beyond low Earth orbit. Orion is expected to launch atop NASA’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) on February 6th, 2026. During the mission, Orion will travel further from Earth and closer to the Moon than any human-carrying spacecraft in over half a century, offering unique opportunities for scientific investigations that will inform future human spaceflight.

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Governor Ron DeSantis announced significant insurance rate relief for Florida homeowners, with most Citizens Property Insurance policyholders set to receive premium reductions beginning in spring 2026. The statewide average decrease is 8.7%, impacting more than 330,000 policyholders across all 67 counties, with over 150,000 seeing reductions of 10% or more. South Florida will experience the largest cuts, reflecting improvements in areas previously affected by high litigation costs. State officials attribute the rate relief to comprehensive insurance and tort reforms that reduced litigation, lowered reinsurance costs, improved underwriting conditions, and encouraged policyholders to transition back to the private insurance market.

The announcement highlights broader stabilization across Florida’s insurance landscape. Citizens’ policy count has dropped by 50% year-over-year to its lowest level in 14 years, while 17 new insurers have entered the state, increasing competition. Multiple homeowners and auto insurers have filed for rate decreases, workers’ compensation rates declined again in 2025, and surplus lines premiums have fallen sharply for commercial coverage. Officials also pointed to wider economic impacts, noting that lower insurance costs have contributed to reduced auto premiums and transportation costs, signaling continued progress toward affordability and market stability statewide.