Florida broker says the market stopped moving, not crashing

A new book from Orlando real estate broker and educator Michael Cameron Sidawi argues that the housing market’s problem is stagnation, not a classic downturn. The release leans on Florida licensing data, sales trends and income stats to show why agents are struggling and what they can do about it.

Why it matters: - Home prices are at record highs, foreclosures are near historic lows and home sales have stayed below 2008 levels for three straight years. - The mismatch can leave agents unprepared for a market that is not crashing but still punishing weak business planning. - Sidawi’s core message is that slow markets expose operational gaps faster than market slogans do.

What happened: - Michael Cameron Sidawi released Real Estate Agent Guide: Thriving in a Down Market, a 126-page book aimed at real estate agents. - Sidawi has led Cameron Academy of Real Estate since January 2013. - The book frames the current market as one that “didn't crash” but “stopped moving,” and argues that many agents misread that shift.

The details: - Florida counted 94,473 inactive real estate licensees in fiscal 2023-24, and the inactive total has risen for three straight years. - In the 12 months through May 2026, 20,398 of 51,455 Florida sales associate exams graded were passes. - The National Association of REALTORS 2026 Member Profile put the median REALTOR’s gross income at $59,200. - The book is ISBN 979-8-9974044-0-6, and a free 28-page workbook is available at the book page. - The guide is built around six monthly questions agents can answer in about 30 minutes. - Those questions focus on market conditions, cash reserves, time use, client conversations, expenses and the part of the business that is still moving. - The book uses practical measures such as months of inventory by price band, median days on market, list-to-sale ratio and pending counts as an early warning signal. - Sidawi also includes a section on why the Federal Reserve does not set mortgage rates, which track the 10-year Treasury. - The book includes a 15-second script for clients waiting on the Fed.

Between the lines: - The book argues that some widely repeated industry beliefs do not hold up under primary data. - In the Case-Shiller tiered price data, entry-level homes fell harder than higher-priced homes in all 16 major metros during the 2006-to-trough decline. - Over the 12 months through May 2026, the low tier again underperformed in 14 of those 16 metros. - The book also argues that rental markets weaken in downturns rather than strengthening. - National rental vacancy hit 11.1% in the third quarter of 2009, the highest in the series, while rent growth collapsed from 3.9% to 0.7% and then turned negative in 2010. - A similar pattern is now unfolding again, with vacancy rising from 5.6% at the end of 2021 to 7.3% by mid-2026 and professionally managed apartment rents falling 0.6% year over year in late 2025. - Sidawi says economic diversity did not protect home values in 2008. - Charlotte, despite its banking concentration, saw prices fall 17.9%. - Highly diversified Chicago fell 37.5%. - The book also challenges the long-circulated claim that 87% of agents leave within five years. - Sidawi says research matching license records to MLS data puts the real attrition rate closer to half by year five or six. - The book says the median REALTOR grossed $59,200 in 2025 against $9,530 in business expenses, based on a median of nine transactions. - Roughly one in five agents earned under $10,000. - Among agents with two years of experience or less, more than 60% earned under $10,000, with a median around $8,000. - Sidawi’s framing is that attitude follows arithmetic, not the other way around.

What's next: - Sidawi is also releasing a free workbook for agents that mirrors the book’s exercises. - Cameron Academy says the workbook requires no sign-up. - The school continues to market the book and workbook alongside other real estate titles through its bookstore. - Sidawi said the goal is to help agents stay in the business through a down market rather than just get motivated for one.

The bottom line: - The book argues that agents do not fail because the market crashes. - They fail when they cannot read a slow market, manage cash and adjust their business before the slowdown shows up in their closings. -