https://archive.is/20250510220742/https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/florida-condos-owners-real-estate-1cfb81ac
The costs associated with owning a Florida condo have exploded. A combination of insurance increases, special assessments and limited financing options have elevated costs beyond what many are able to bear. That has sparked a wave of sales, flooding the market and straining prices.
South Florida condominiums enjoyed one of the biggest real-estate booms in the country for years. Median condo prices in Miami-Dade County were up 8% in February from the same month last year and more companies are relocating to Miami, West Palm and other South Florida cities.
But those areas are outliers. Condo prices in the state of Florida overall have fallen between 1% and 6% each month annually since July 2024, according to Florida Realtors. In February, prices were down 3%.
The selloff is particularly concentrated in older properties. Even in South Florida, prices for buildings 30 years or older have depreciated 22% in the past 24 months, according to ISG World, a South Florida real-estate firm. By contrast, condos less than 30 years old have appreciated an average of 12% over the past decade.
Many Snowbirds have also put their condos up for sale.
I had friends over for dinner last night, and their condo fees are $900/month.
Most condo's in SoFla are pre-hurricane-andrew, so when something happens like "we need new roofs", they have to upgrade massively due to post-andrew regulations. The average condo fee is $700/month.
This is part of the reason I won't retire in Florida. I could sell my house and pay cash for a Condo, of course, but why? They're tiny, often badly built, poorly maintained, and often in bad parts of town.
The cost of homeownership in SoFla is also absurd. I pay $6k/year in insurance, another $4k in property taxes, $5k in electric, $4k in lawn and exterior maintenance and bug/pest stuff ,etc. But there is no doubt that downsizing in SoFla is just as problematic.