Floridians are stuck with aging condos they can’t sell. Will a new law aiming to bring them some relief help?

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Floridians are stuck with aging condos they can’t sell. Will a new law aiming to bring them some relief help?

Lynn Knittel-Bruk wasn’t expecting a financial fever dream when she inherited a condo in Lake Worth, Fla., from her late aunt.

Agents suggested the unit would fetch between $175,000 and $220,000. But when she listed it last summer, buyer interest was tepid, and she found herself competing with dozens of other units for ***** in the same complex. As the condo racked up days on market, she was footing the bill for monthly association fees that swelled to close to $800 a month, plus a mortgage payment.

Seven months and one Realtor switch later, the condo finally sold in February for around $90,000. Had the process taken any longer, Knittel-Bruk, 65, said she was prepared to give the unit back to the bank.

“It was an absolute nightmare,” Knittel-Bruk said. “I had no idea that inheriting a condo was actually going to cost me money.”

Throughout the state, condo owners, especially those in older buildings, are increasingly finding themselves in similar situations. Condo and townhome inventory across Florida has surged 35% since March 2024, and few buyers have emerged even as sellers slash prices.

Median sales prices are down 4.5%, to $315,000, since March 2024, according to Florida Realtors data. Units are also taking longer to sell — more than three months on average — and the total number of units sold is down more than 9% from a year earlier.

The current market correction comes as migration into Florida is slowing, and potential buyers face high mortgage rates and burgeoning insurance costs. But the crux of the issue traces back to the 2021 collapse of a 40-year-old condo building in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Fla., that killed 98 people.

A federal investigation into the cause of the collapse is still ongoing, but preliminary reports suggest that

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that left the structure out of compliance with building codes played a role. A

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found “significant” concrete cracks that required extensive repairs. At the time of the collapse, the concrete restoration work hadn’t started.

In the years since the collapse, the Florida legislature passed sweeping reforms designed to prevent another Surfside disaster. The new laws required major inspections for most condo buildings over 30 years old, and mandated the repair of any structural issues those inspections revealed. The legislation also required condo associations to beef up the reserve funds that cover routine maintenance like roof repairs and elevator upkeep.

Investigation ongoing: Rescue personnel work at the remains of the Champlain Towers South condo building, June 25, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) · ASSOCIATED PRESS

The changes had near-instant financial implications for thousands of buildings across the state. Much of Florida’s condo stock was constructed before the 1990s, and many buildings lack adequate reserves. Historically, condo boards could easily vote to waive or reduce monthly dues meant to fund repairs. Many did so in an effort to keep fees low for owners.

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Now, the days of cheap dues are over. Getting into compliance with the new laws has forced many condo boards to hike fees and levy steep special assessments to pay for major repairs. In many parts of the state, HOA fees rose by double-digit percentages between late 2023 and early 2025, according to Redfin. In several coastal communities like the Gulf Coast city of Naples, average fees now exceed $1,000 a month.

Facing those higher costs, some owners are opting to sell. But because few buyers are eager to take over those payments, sales prices have fallen dramatically.

In Delray Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale, a part of the state where more than 80% of condos are more than 30 years old, real estate agent Paul Lykins has witnessed the price correction firsthand. He sold Knittel-Bruk’s condo, and has other listings that are lingering on the market. He and a prospective buyer recently toured a unit that had been cut to $230,000 after 46 days on the market. Its initial list price was $285,000.

“We’re just seeing price drop after price drop,” Lykins said. “I think a lot of people are nervous about buying condos right now. They take care of one assessment, but then is there another assessment around the corner?”

Read more: What is an HOA transfer fee, and who pays for it?

The assessments and higher fees can be particularly untenable for middle and working-class owners and retirees who rely on fixed incomes, and their stress has caught the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers.

This week, the Florida legislature unanimously passed a bill designed to ease some of the pressure on owners. The legislation gives condos more time to complete reserve studies, and will let associations take out credit lines and invest their reserves to fund repairs. Reserve fund contributions can also be temporarily paused after buildings complete their milestone inspections, which are required when a building turns 30.

Jose Pazos, founder and chief executive officer of A-Smart Cam, which provides administrative services to condo associations in South Florida, thinks the new law should provide some relief for beleaguered owners, but the effects may be limited. Credit lines should help condo boards quickly meet legal requirements for higher reserves, but it’s unclear how many banks will be willing to provide them, he said. And the reserve contribution pause applies to some, but not all, expected repairs that turn up in a milestone inspection.

At many of the condos he helps manage, most of which are older, fees for owners have doubled or tripled in recent years.

“It’s very nuanced,” Pazos said. “How much relief is it going to give to that doubling or tripling? The repairs still have to get done.”

Florida legislators have acknowledged this much. Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami-area Republican who sponsored the new legislation and has been dubbed the “Condo Queen” by colleagues for her focus on the issue, said Wednesday during debate on the bill that she plans to continue working on it.

“I think all of you know how complex this issue really is,” Lopez told fellow legislators just before the bill passed. “We have strived to reach that delicate balance between the safety of our constituents that live in condominiums as well as understanding the incredible financial impact that sometimes these particular bills that we pass have.”

Jeff Lichtenstein, president and founder of Echo Fine Properties in Palm Beach Gardens, thinks the market for older condos will eventually find its footing. He expects buyers to come back once they have a clearer picture of a building’s structural health and condo boards have improved their reserves.

“People don’t buy when there’s uncertainty,” Lichtenstein said. “Sometimes the uncertainty lowers the price more than it should.”

But there could be more pain to come in the years ahead as buildings continue the long process of making repairs and shoring up reserves.

“The day might be two or three years from now, or five years,” Lichtenstein said. “I don’t know.”

Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.

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