Florida Real Estate Exam News: October 2026

Published October 31, 2026

October was a storm month in every sense. Hurricane Isaias came ashore near Destin and put contract deadlines and insurance binding to the test, mortgage rates set a new high for the year before easing, and the property tax amendment headed into the final week of voting short of the 60 percent it needs. FREC met once and posted its September minutes, the third-quarter sales numbers landed, and the appraisal form every lender uses changes on November 2.

October 9: Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in the Panhandle

Isaias came ashore near Destin at about 9:30 p.m. on October 9 as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 105 mph, after peaking at Category 3 over the Gulf that morning. Gusts reached 116 mph in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, four feet of surge was measured in Destin, and at least four people died, two of them in Escambia County. The Governor declared a state of emergency for 25 counties on October 7, while Isaias was still a tropical depression, and amended the order on October 11. DBPR filed Emergency Order 2026-01 on October 10, amended by 2026-02, covering 30 counties from Escambia to Hillsborough. For real estate it tolls the certification requirement for condominium and homeowners' association directors for 30 days, and it waives the fee for adding a real estate office branch or an additional real estate school location. Contractors in the covered counties may do roofing work without subcontracting it.

Before the storm, Florida Realtors reminded members that a hurricane does not move contract deadlines by itself. The force majeure clause in the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar "AS IS" contract extends the affected time periods, including the closing date, for a reasonable time of up to seven days after the event stops preventing performance. Under the same clause, if force majeure keeps preventing performance for more than 30 days past the closing date either party may terminate and the buyer's deposit is refunded. Insurance binding is the usual bottleneck: carriers stop writing new policies once a watch or warning is posted, and a lender will not close without coverage.

October 1-29: Mortgage rates peak at 7.40 percent, then ease

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.28 percent on October 1, 7.40 percent on October 8, 7.40 percent again on October 15, 7.32 percent on October 22 and 7.24 percent on October 29. The October 8 reading was the seventh straight weekly rise and the highest of the year. The 15-year fixed went from 6.60 percent on October 1 to 6.73 percent on October 8 and back to 6.60 percent on October 29. A year ago the 30-year averaged 6.17 percent. The Federal Reserve held the federal funds target at 3.75 to 4.00 percent on October 28 in a 10-2 vote, with the two dissenters wanting a quarter point hike, so markets are pricing another increase in December.

October 21-28: Amendment 3 polls below 60 percent as voting opens

Two late polls put the property tax amendment short of the supermajority it needs on November 3. The University of North Florida survey of 1,471 likely voters, taken October 12-19 and released October 21, found 50 percent in favor and 35 percent against, below 60 percent in every demographic group and region. A St. Pete Polls survey of 916 likely voters for Florida Politics, taken October 25-27, had it at 44 percent yes, 39 percent no and 17 percent undecided, and among the 46 percent who had already voted the measure was behind, 45 to 40. Opposition in that series has risen nine points since September. The lone outlier is a Mason-Dixon poll from the turn of the month at 55 percent. Florida Realtors has put more than $18 million of its own money into the Vote Yes on 3 committee, outspending the opposition committees by better than 25 to 1. State economists project the amendment would cut local non-school property tax revenue by $4.95 billion in fiscal 2027-28 and $11.86 billion a year once fully phased in.

October 20-23: Third-quarter sales numbers

Florida Realtors' third-quarter report counted 65,904 single-family closings, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier, at a median price of $420,000, up 2.4 percent. Median time to contract shortened to 47 days from 52. Condominiums and townhouses did better on volume, 22,664 closings and a 3.1 percent gain, with the median flat at $295,000; Chief Economist Brad O'Connor credited the lower price point as affordability tightened. September alone had a single-family median of $415,000 and a condo-townhouse median of $293,500, down 1.8 percent from September 2025.

November 2: The appraisal report changes

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have set November 2, 2026 as the key date for UAD 3.6, the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset. It replaces the existing appraisal forms with a redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report built around a new data structure. Florida Realtors' October 8 note to members made two points worth keeping: the change alters how information is reported, not how appraisers determine value, and November 2 is not a hard cutoff for every lender, because the GSEs are letting lenders that need more time request an exception. Expect both formats for a while, and possibly longer turnaround and higher appraisal fees during the switch.

October 21: FREC general meeting, and the September minutes

FREC held its October general meeting on October 21 in Orlando, hybrid with a Teams link. The agenda carried the September minutes, the Division, Financial, Legal and Rules reports, the escrow disbursement order, recovery fund claim and legal appearance dockets, the applicant and consent agendas, and a special agenda item: nominations for the 2026-27 Chair and Vice Chair. No rule development or education items were listed.

The draft minutes of the September 23 meeting were posted in October. Chair Kelly Price presided. The Commission approved one escrow disbursement order, denied all six recovery fund claims on the docket, dismissed one disciplinary case and worked through a long legal appearance docket with fines from $100 to $12,500. Two of the sanctions were revocations with the two largest fines, $12,500 and $10,000, and one proposed settlement was rejected. The August minutes are up as well. The next general meetings are November 18 and December 16.

Legislature: no FREC bill filed yet

At the end of October the Senate's 2027 bill list held 17 bills, every one of them a claim bill filed August 7. No successor to CS/HB 607 (2026), the bill that would have abolished FREC and repealed post-license and continuing education, had been filed. The Organization Session is November 17 and the first interim committee week begins November 30; substantive bills usually appear from December on. The November issue will say if one shows up.

Coming up

• November 2, 2026: UAD 3.6 appraisal format becomes the standard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.
• November 3, 2026: Amendment 3 vote.
• November 17, 2026: Organization Session; interim committee weeks begin November 30.
• November 18 and December 16, 2026: FREC general meetings.
• December 11, 2026: National Flood Insurance Program authorization expires unless Congress extends it again.
• January 1, 2027: Amendment 3 takes effect if approved.
• February 1, 2027: new 689.261 property tax disclosure rules for listings.
• March 2, 2027: 2027 Regular Session convenes.

Unchanged this month

Exam format (100 questions, 3.5 hours, 75 to pass), Pearson VUE fee ($36.75), in-person testing, candidate information booklet.

Lee esta edición en español

Exam-preparation material, not legal advice. Laws and rules change; verify current text at the Florida Legislature, DBPR and FREC before relying on any of this professionally.