Florida requires sellers of residential real property to give buyers a flood disclosure, on a form set out in statute, at or before signing the sales contract. The form covers flood damage, insurance claims and government flood assistance.
Section 475.17 sets Florida's basic licensing rules: age 18, a high school diploma, good character, prelicensure courses with hour caps, 24 months of experience for brokers, and post-licensure education before the first renewal.
Florida law lets a licensee act as a transaction broker or a single agent, or have no brokerage relationship, and bans dual agency. Transaction broker is the default unless another relationship is set up in writing.
Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.40% on October 15, 2026, unchanged from the week before and up from 6.27% a year ago. The 15-year rate was 6.71%.
The National Association of Realtors says September existing-home sales rose 1.5% from August but were 2.2% below a year earlier. The median price was $417,500, up 1.3% from a year ago, and inventory reached 1.60 million homes.
A joint resolution passed in Florida's June 2026 special session would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 and cut the non-homestead assessment cap from 10% to 5%. It needs 60% of the vote.
General information, not legal advice. Each story links to its source and to the law it describes.
