Now, Skykes, whose firm showcases multimillion-dollar deals in both Florida and the Northeast, said she’s watching two Americas diverge in real time. In the Northeast, she’s seeing bidding wars have returned in commuter suburbs like Monmouth County, N.J., and mid-Long Island, where buyers still fight for an acre and an elite school district. In Florida, by contrast, she described a market in withdrawal, nursing a hangover after a flurry of activity. “Just a couple years ago, we were being love-bombed and told how great we were,” she said, citing Florida’s burgeoning status as “Wall Street South,” a new finance hub. Now, things are “flat” or even heading downward.

Home prices in Florida have fallen 5.4% year-over-year, dragged down by a glut of aging condos facing six-figure special assessments and post-Surfside safety mandates. Single-family homes, meanwhile, remain relatively resilient, she noted. She characterized the Sunshine State’s housing scene as a cycle of boom, bust, and burnout. She’s always fueled by the belief that somehow, the next round will be different.

“Now we’re being told, ‘Oh, you’re too expensive,’ and kind of being discarded,” Sykes said. “You know, the conversation changes by the day, really.”

Noting that Florida has always been a boom-or-bust state, she said she sees signs of moderation rather than collapse. “Rather than being the boom up here and the bust way down here like we saw in 2008 and 2009, the waves are becoming flatter,” she said. While there may be a pullback in prices, “really, a 5% pullback is nothing when your house has appreciated 25%.”

For Florida, Sykes argued, even a flat market signals stability after years of breakneck appreciation—especially in Palm Beach, where home values have jumped as much as 200% in the past few years.

The challenge of dual market personalities

Sykes described jarring regional differences. In Florida as an agent, you’re “just trying to really push and pull and drag deals together, you’re getting discounts of 5%, 10%, 20% off list price,” but then in the Northeast you find yourself going into a bidding war. “It’s like having a multiple personality disorder.”

That volatility, she noted, reflects a broader split between regions that overheated during the pandemic and those returning to normal. The migration wave that sent high earners south may have turbocharged Florida’s boom but also exposed its fragility. Now, Sykes said, agents and homeowners alike are navigating two competing realities: the Northeast’s cautious recovery and the Southeast’s cooling after years of mania.

She also outlined a bifurcation within the Florida housing market: while single-family homes remain robust thanks to demand for space among incoming families, condos face mounting challenges. That’s difficult because they are “really what has been driving down the Florida market,” and they are facing new challenges from special assessments, strengthened structural regulations, and fallout from incidents like the Surfside collapse. Pre-selling of new-construction condos continues apace, she said, with West Palm Beach alone seeing many significant developments underway.​

Sykes described a bifurcation between single-family homes and condos in Florida, since its exploding population is full of people who left Manhattan or Chicago and “wanted their own space.” She said single-family homes are doing well, and then “We’re seeing condos bifurcated, and then within that bifurcation of condos, a secondary bifurcation.”

“Florida,” she concluded, “you have to always take with a grain of salt.”

The Florida Gators coaching search could take a wild turn in November.

More News: Brian Kelly Made His Intentions Clear in Obtained LSU Firing Email

The Gators fired head coach Billy Napier on Oct. 19 after starting the season 3-4. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin appears to be the top candidate for Florida, but it’s unclear if Kiffin has any intentions of leaving the Rebels amid a No. 6 spot in the first College Football Playoff ranking.

On Wednesday, Josh Pate set off a firestorm of speculation about USC head coach Lincoln Riley. During Wednesday’s episode of “Bussin With The Boys” podcast, Pate suggested Riley could be on the move.

“Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC,” Pate said.

More News: LSU Linked to Ultimate Anti-Brian Kelly Candidate

Keith Niebuhr of On3 invited more speculation on Riley’s future with the Trojans. He put Riley on the hot board of candidates for the Gators.

Niebuhr reported that there isn’t “much chatter” about Riley and Florida (implying that there is some), but that more smoke about the USC head coach is likely to come.

“Because things look wide open (at least on the surface) after Kiffin, it’s worth adding Riley’s name to this list even though there has not yet been much chatter about him and the Gators,” Niebuhr wrote. “There has been some chatter, though unverified, that Riley might be interested in working back in his home state of Texas.

“It’s not yet known on our part if UF has any interest.”

Riley would not owe USC any money if he wanted a fresh start with a new program before his 10-year, $110 million contract is up at the end of the 2031 season.

Riley is 32-16 during his four seasons with the Trojans. Southern Cal is 6-2 this season before playing at home on Saturday against Northwestern.

Riley has not been able to replicate the same success at USC that he had at Oklahoma, when he went 55-10 in five seasons and won four Big 12 championships and made three CFP appearances.

Riley could figure he has a better chance of returning to the CFP with Florida than staying the course at USC.

For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.

High school football playoff brackets were revealed Thursday, and more than 40 high schools across Central Florida have a shot at a state title. Games start next Friday night, Nov. 14.

DeLand (7A), Edgewater (5A), Jones (4A), and Bishop Moore (3A) earned No. 1 seeds in the respective classes.

Class 1A will be decided on Monday, after the FHSAA granted a temporary injunction to allow The First Academy to play in the playoffs. The school was banned from this year’s playoffs after the FHSAA ruled the school violated recruiting rules and allowed players to practice with the team before they were enrolled.

Below is a breakdown of each bracket where Central Florida schools are playing, which are underlined. Rankings are respective to each region:

Class 7A, Region 1

No. 8 Creekside at No. 1 DeLand

No. 5 Winter Park at No. 4 Boone

No. 7 Hagerty at No. 2 Lake Mary

No. 6 Seminole at No. 3 Spruce Creek

Class 7A, Region 2

No. 8 Ridge Community at No. 1 Venice

No. 5 Plant City at No. 4 West Orange

No. 7 Winter Haven at No. 2 Riverview Sarasota

No. 6 Ocoee at No. 3 Sumner

Class 7A, Region 3

No. 8 East Ridge at No. 1 Vero Beach

No. 5 Lake Nona at No. 4 St. Cloud

No. 7 Dr. Phillips at No. 2 Jupiter

Class 6A, Region 1

No. 8 Oviedo at No. 1 Buchholz

No. 6 Evans at No. 3 Pace

Class 6A, Region 2

No. 8 Melbourne at No. 1 Armwood

No. 5 Riverview at No. 4 Viera

No. 7 Plant at No. 2 South Lake

No. 6 Durant at No. 3 Osceola

Class 5A, Region 1

No. 7 Middleburg at No. 2 Mainland

Class 5A, Region 2

No. 8 Lake Gibson at No. 1 Edgewater

No. 7 Wesley Chapel at No. 2 Lakeland

No. 6 Winter Springs at No. 3 Gaither

Class 5A, Region 4

No. 8 Heritage at No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas

Class 4A, Region 2

No. 8 Deltona at No. 1 Jones

No. 5 Vanguard at No. 4 Auburndale

No. 7 Rockledge at No. 2 Zephyrhills

No. 6 New Smyrna Beach at No. 3 Lake Wales

Class 3A, Region 2

No. 8 Hernando at No. 1 Bishop Moore

No. 5 South Sumter at No. 4 Eastside

No. 7 Tavares at No. 2 Eau Gallie

No. 6 Titusville at No. 3 Merritt Island

Class 3A, Region 3

No. 8 Mulberry at No. 1 Booker

Class 2A, Region 2

No. 5 Berkley Prep at No. 4 The Villages Charter

No. 6 Newberry at No. 3 Cocoa

Class 1A, Region 1

No. 8 Trinity Catholic at No. 1 University Christian

Class 1A, Region 2

Region bracket delayed due to The First Academy injunction