The government shutdown is hitting the housing market hard

While Congress remains at a standstill, the effects of the federal government shutdown are beginning to ripple through Florida’s housing market—and the fallout could soon reach the rest of the country.

The warning signs are mounting. Flood insurance renewals are in limbo as the National Flood Insurance Program sits frozen. Builders are bracing for added delays, as the shutdown leaves few federal staff available to process key environmental permits. Homebuyers are seeing federal loans stalled. And what started as a bureaucratic pause is now threatening one of the state’s most powerful economic engines: real estate.

That’s no small thing in Florida, where the housing sector doesn’t just shape the market —it is the market. Real estate accounts for 24.1% of Florida’s gros