Eli O. Sanderlin - Mortgage Advisor, CDLP

[Sent with Free Plan] Reach out with any questions or updates!

Weekly Mortgage Rate Snapshot:
30-Year Conventional: 6.35
30-Year FHA: 6.15
30-Year VA: 5.97
30-Year USDA: 6.04

** This snapshot of mortgages rates are national averages. This is not an intent to lend and for educational purposes

🚨 The Fed changed the conversation today.

For months, the market has been asking:

“When will rates come down?”

After today’s Federal Reserve meeting, the better question may be:

“What if rates stay higher for longer?”

Chairman Kevin Warsh made one thing clear:

📈 Inflation remains the priority.

The Fed held rates steady, but the tone was noticeably more hawkish than many investors expected. The result?

🏦 The 10-Year Treasury jumped to nearly 4.50%.

📊 Bond markets began pricing in a greater possibility of future tightening.

🏠 Mortgage rates remain under pressure.

But here’s what I think many buyers and Realtors are missing…

The best opportunities in today’s market aren’t being created by lower rates.

They’re being created by:

✅ Seller concessions

✅ Temporary buydowns

✅ More inventory choices

✅ Better negotiation leverage

✅ Strategic financing

The buyers who win this market won’t be the ones who perfectly predict the next Fed move.

They’ll be the ones who have a plan before everyone else does.

For Realtors:

Affordability conversations matter more than rate predictions.

For Buyers:

The right property at the right terms often creates more wealth than waiting for the “perfect” rate.

What are you seeing in your market right now?

Are buyers adapting to today’s market, or are they still sitting on the sidelines waiting for rates to fall?

🚢 The Edge Behind Every Coastal Closing.

Marathon’s market is giving buyers a little breathing room right now.

Median list price is around $1.84M, inventory is holding near 172 homes, and the Market Action Index is sitting at 27, which points to a slight buyer’s advantage.

That does not mean prices are crashing.

It means strategy matters.

In the Keys, the best deal is not always the lowest price. It is the deal where the full monthly number actually works.

Purchase price is only one piece.

You still have to look at:

Insurance
Flood zone
Property condition
Rental potential
HOA or condo risk
Cash to close
Loan structure
Long term carrying cost

That is where a lot of buyers either win or get themselves in trouble.

A waterfront home can look beautiful online, but the numbers need to make sense after the insurance quote, taxes, flood requirements, reserves, and financing are all on the table.

The view is great.

The spreadsheet still has to behave. 😄

For buyers, this market may create more room to negotiate and structure a smarter deal.

For sellers, pricing correctly and understanding buyer payment pressure matters more than ever.

For Realtors, this is exactly the kind of market where having the financing conversation early can save time, protect deals, and keep everyone from chasing the wrong number.

The Keys are not a normal market.

You cannot analyze them like a normal market.

That is why I built The Mortgage Dock.

Strategy first.
Headlines second.
Actual numbers always.

The Mortgage Dock
The Edge Behind Every Coastal Closing.

[Sent with Free Plan] Reach out with any questions or updates!

Weekly Mortgage Rate Snapshot:
30-Year Conventional: 6.35
30-Year FHA: 6.14
30-Year VA: 5.97
30-Year USDA: 6.04

** This snapshot of mortgages rates are national averages. This is not an intent to lend and for educational purposes

Six months ago, everyone was waiting for rate cuts.

Now the market is pricing in a real chance the Fed hikes again by December.

So if your entire plan is, “I’ll wait until the Fed makes coastal Florida affordable,” I’ve got bad news…

The Fed is not coming to save the deal. 😅

But here’s the part most buyers are missing:

The leverage has already shifted.

Condo inventory across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach is sitting near 13 months of supply.

Single-family is closer to balanced.

And the Keys have 2,000+ active listings, which means buyers have more choices than they’ve had in years.

That matters.

Because the real opportunity right now is not just the interest rate.

It’s the negotiation.

Price.
Seller credits.
Insurance strategy.
Loan structure.
Flood and wind numbers before you write the offer.

And here’s the quiet one most people do not realize:

Monroe County’s 2026 conforming loan limit is $990,150.

That means a $950K home in Marathon, Islamorada, or the Keys may finance as conforming instead of jumbo, depending on the full file.

That can mean a better rate, easier approval, and a cleaner path to closing.

This is why coastal deals need to be structured before emotions take over.

The house may be beautiful, but the numbers still need to float. 🛥️

Want me to run the numbers on a property you’re watching?

DM me the address.

Eli Sanderlin
The Mortgage Dock
NMLS #1983384

For two years, "you can't insure a house in Florida" was the line that killed deals.

That line is now 18 months out of date — and most buyers never got the memo.

Here's what actually happened while everyone was repeating 2024's headlines:

→ Citizens cut rates an average of 8.7% statewide for 2026.
→ Broward homeowners are seeing roughly 17% relief year-over-year — the biggest drop in the state.
→ Miami-Dade is down about 14%, Palm Beach about 12%.
→ Citizens shrank from 1.4 million policies in 2023 to around 395,000 today — a 14-year low — as private carriers came back and undercut them.
→ Seventeen new insurers entered the market. Litigation filings dropped more than 35% after the reforms.

The Keys are still their own animal — Monroe County wind is the priciest in the state, mostly through Citizens. But even there, here's a fact almost nobody quotes: Monroe has never had a single year where wind claims beat premiums collected. Not even Hurricane Irma.

So why does this matter on a Tuesday in June?

Because the buyer who walked away from a coastal house last fall — the one who got a terrifying insurance quote and went quiet — may now qualify for the exact same home. Same purchase price. Lower premium. Lower payment. Different answer.

Nobody told them. The fear was real, the market moved, and the update never reached the person who needed it.

That's the gap I close. I don't just quote the loan — I run the full coastal math: wind, flood, the financing structure that makes a waterfront deal actually work. When the insurance number moves, I'm the one who calls the buyer back and says "let's look again."

If you've got a client sitting on a dead coastal file from the last 6–9 months, send them my way. There's a real chance the numbers say yes now.

Want the county-by-county breakdown? Comment "COAST" or DM me.

The Mortgage Dock — built for the coast.
NMLS #1983384 | (305) 424-9005

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.

Yes, I’d rewrite it for Facebook.

The LinkedIn version is good for authority, but Facebook needs to feel more like a quick conversation at the dock, less like a market report. People scroll fast there, so we want it shorter, punchier, more local, and easier to react to. The data still comes from the Summerland Key Altos report, including MAI 28, 121 homes of inventory, 187 average days on market, and 37% price reductions. 

Here’s the stronger Facebook version 👇

Summerland Key buyers… this is worth paying attention to.

The latest market data is showing a slight buyer’s advantage in 33042.

Not a crash.

Not panic.

But definitely more room to negotiate than we’ve seen in a while.

A few numbers that stood out:

Median list price: $1,399,000
Inventory: 121 homes
Average days on market: 187
Price reductions: 37%
Market Action Index: 28

That means sellers still have strong property values, but buyers finally have a little breathing room.

And in the Keys, that matters.

Because 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 negotiate?
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 numbers may be worth looking at again.

If you’re thinking about buying in Summerland Key or anywhere in the Lower Keys, let’s run the real numbers before you assume it does or doesn’t work.

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

Florida homeowners finally got some good news.

For the first time since 2015, homeowners insurance rates in Florida are moving down.

Citizens Property Insurance rate cuts took effect June 1, and about 60% of policyholders are now seeing reductions averaging 11.5%.

Here in Monroe County, the Florida Keys, over 1,000 homeowners are seeing an average drop of 11.3%.

That may not sound exciting until you understand what it means for real estate.

For the last few years, insurance has quietly killed a lot of coastal deals.

A buyer gets pre-approved.

They find the house.

They start picturing the boat, the sunset, the family visiting, the whole Florida dream.

Then the insurance quote comes back at $10,000, $12,000, sometimes more per year.

And just like that, the deal gets shaky.

This latest shift does not magically fix every affordability issue, but it does reduce one of the biggest hidden friction points in Florida real estate.

It also matters that 17 new private insurance carriers have entered the Florida market since reforms began.

More carriers usually means more competition.

More competition can mean better options.

And better options can help buyers, sellers, and Realtors get deals moving again.

If you were a buyer who paused your search because insurance numbers scared you off, it may be worth taking another look.

If you are a Realtor with a listing that stalled because buyers kept getting crushed by insurance quotes, this is a good reason to re-engage those old leads.

And if the property is in a flood zone, FEMA, elevation, and lender requirements still matter, so don’t just assume everything is fixed.

But the direction is better.

And for the first time in a while, the Florida insurance conversation is one I can have without wincing.

If you want to know how insurance could affect financing on a specific property, DM me. That is exactly the kind of property-level breakdown Marina Vale was built to help with.