By: KeyCrew Media
RE/MAX Foxfire’s Broker Associate sees a migration shift underway within Florida itself, and Central Florida is the destination.
The migration story that has characterized Florida real estate for the better part of a decade, northeasterners and Midwesterners flooding into the state, is still unfolding. It continues to evolve. Bobby Mathews, Broker Associate at RE/MAX Foxfire in Ocala, suggests that the next chapter might not be written by buyers arriving from out of state, but by Floridians who have already made their first move and are now considering a second, potentially smarter one.
“People who’ve already moved to Florida are realizing that there’s a big difference between the different regions,” Mathews says. “So we’re attracting a lot from within the state, almost as much as we’re attracting from outside the state.”
With 25 years working through three full real estate market cycles in Central Florida, Mathews is observing something the statewide data may not fully capture: buyers who relocated to South Florida or coastal markets are now considering heading inland, motivated by insurance costs that have become quite significant, and drawn by affordability, space, and a lifestyle that does not come with a flood zone premium attached.
The Appeal Is Specific and Measurable
What Central Florida offers is not simply lower prices. Mathews describes a value proposition that buyers are increasingly seeking: proximity to both coasts without the coastal premium, meaningful land and space, a world-class 55-plus community infrastructure, and a growing employment base that could anchor longer-term demand.
Ocala sits roughly 90 minutes from Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville, a geographic sweet spot that has supported consistent net population gains for 15 consecutive years. Mathews does not expect that trend to reverse, and the structural drivers behind it appear to be getting stronger.
Major distribution and logistics employers, including Amazon, Chewy, Dollar General, and FedEx, have established significant operations in the region, bringing job growth that has begun to influence rental demand and is slowly translating into homeownership activity. Medical infrastructure is following close behind: Tampa General’s planned expansion into neighboring counties, combined with improved highway access from the south, signals continued northward population movement.
A Market That Never Overheated Does Not Have to Overcorrect
Mathews is direct about what the post-pandemic normalization means in practical terms. The frenzy years, multiple offers by noon, inspections waived, buyers competing with increasingly creative incentives, represented a version of the market that was never sustainable. What has emerged in Central Florida seems to be a healthier operating environment that never required a hard landing because it never reached the same altitude.
“Pricing matters, positioning matters, how you market a property matters, negotiations matter,” he says. “Which is really how a healthy market should function.”
For buyers and investors evaluating where within Florida to focus in 2026 and beyond, that stability carries real weight. Markets that did not inflate as dramatically tend not to see deflation as dramatically either, and Central Florida’s track record across multiple cycles reflects that consistency.
RE/MAX Foxfire, marking its 50th year in business in 2026, is expanding into The Villages and growing its presence in equestrian, farm, and luxury acreage segments. For a brokerage that has spent half a century in this market, the growth is not speculative. It is a calculated decision based on fundamentals that have held through every cycle Mathews has seen.
RE/MAX Foxfire serves buyers and sellers across Ocala, The Villages, and the greater Central Florida market.
