Living in a condo, Florida Rep. Vicki Lopez says, is “super expensive.”
Long viewed as a more affordable option to single-family homeownership, condo living in the state has become unsustainable for many. At law firm Bilzin Sumberg’s development conference last week, Lopez talked about the harsh reality many condo owners are experiencing nearly four years after the deadly Surfside collapse.
Some unit owners are on the hook for special assessments totaling well over $100,000. Laws passed after the collapse require condo and townhouse communities to comply with financial and structural mandates. This session, lawmakers approved tweaks to the law that will offer some leniency. Gov. Ron DeSantis still has to sign the latest amendments into law.
Many residents in older buildings are on fixed incomes and can’t afford to bring their properties up to the law’s standards. That’s forcing owners to list their units.
Brokerage chief Craig Studnicky, CEO of ISG and ISG World, said on a panel with Lopez that condos that are 30, 40, 50 years old, “they’re just not selling.”
Of the nearly 23,000 South Florida condos (excluding preconstruction/new development) on the Multiple Listing Service, almost 20,000 are in buildings that are 30 years or older. Lenders aren’t exactly jumping to finance purchases in these buildings. The number of South Florida condo buildings on a Fannie Mae blacklist has more than doubled in the past two years.
Making the situation worse, these owners, if they can sell, still can’t afford to replicate their living situation, forcing them to move away or downsize significantly. Lopez said this is where the Live Local Act workforce housing law comes in.
But Live Local incentivizes the construction of housing for households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income, with rents that are not necessarily affordable, especially for retirees on fixed incomes.
During a separate panel with Bilzin Sumberg attorney Anthony De Yurre, he shared a chart outlining what that actually looks like, rent-wise.
In Miami-Dade, a studio apartment could rent for $2,604 a month and a two-bedroom nearly $2,800 a month under Live Local. In Broward, rent for a studio apartment is capped at $2,421 a month.
A quick search on Apartments.com shows market-rate rents are cheaper in some new buildings in Miami.
Bilzin Sumberg attorney Joe Hernandez posed a final question for Lopez.
“This all seems to be leading to the conclusion that the historical view of ‘come and retire to South Florida, you can buy a nice little condo at the beach. It won’t cost you too much.’ That illusion seems to be totally shattered,” Hernandez said.
Lopez disagreed to a certain extent. She said condo living is still affordable. What will change is the location. Sellers of units in older buildings living by the water have to give up the illusion that they can continue that lifestyle.
What we’re thinking about: Lawmakers amended the state law governing the balance of power at condo-hotel complexes — a source of contention at many properties — to partially claw back legislation passed last year that favors owners and investors of commercial spaces in these buildings, such as hotel rooms, spas, restaurants and other amenities. How will this affect buyers purchasing units in new condo-hotel projects in the pipeline? Send me a note at [email protected].
CLOSING TIME
Residential: Canadian baby products mogul Maurice Pinsonnault sold an oceanfront estate in North Palm Beach for $55 million, a record for the Lost Tree Village neighborhood. Records show Pinsonnault, founder of Montreal-based Angelcare, sold the mansion at 12032 East End to Fontaine Road LLC, a Delaware entity.
Commercial: Bradford Allen Investment Advisors paid $45 million for the One Clearlake office tower in West Palm Beach, marking a nearly 26 percent discount from its previous sale price four years ago. Rockpoint and its partners sold the 18-story building at 250 South Australian Avenue.
NEW TO THE MARKET
Coffee magnate Bob Stiller and his wife, Christine, are listing their 13,375-square-foot mansion at 1350 North Lake Way in Palm Beach. The property has eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two half-baths, marble and hardwood floors, a pool and a dock. It’s on the market with Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate, asking $90 million. The couple paid $66 million for the estate in 2023.
A thing we’ve learned
The median income in Miami-Dade rose 43 percent since 2021, De Yurre said at the Bilzin Sumberg conference.
Elsewhere in Florida
- Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation that bans the addition of fluoride to public drinking water, which goes into effect in July, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Fluoride prevents cavities and makes tooth enamel stronger. It also helps repair damage caused by bacteria, according to the American Dental Association. Florida marks the second state to ban fluoride, after Utah.
- Attorney John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan continued to tease his potential run for governor in Florida in 2026. At a political forum in Tallahassee last week, he was critical of the Republican and Democratic parties, Politico reports. “I believe that whether you’re on the far left or the far right, that the defining problem in our country today is income inequality. People can’t afford to live,” he said.
- The Mandarin Oriental, Miami hotel on Brickell Key is closing its doors at the end of the month to make way for a two-tower luxury condo and hotel development led by Swire Properties. I’ll miss the views, the excellent service and the MO Bar.
