While he was taking out the garbage one night, Eli saw his neighbor loading up a moving truck. (Bankrate is not disclosing Eli’s last name for privacy reasons.) His neighbor’s lease was up, but the neighbor made it clear that he didn’t want to move. He told Eli that if he knew anyone wanting to sell, he’d be interested in buying. Eli said he was open to the idea.

By the time he got back inside, Eli had an all-cash handshake deal to sell his condo.

This was far from impulsive — Eli had been thinking about listing his place for months. You see, a lot had changed in the seven years since Eli bought his condo in South Florida. One of the biggest changes? His mortgage payment. Even with a locked mortgage rate and purchase price, his insurance s, property taxes and condo association fees kept rising. On top of that, costly assessments and issues with other condo owners added more stress and uncertainty.

That’s when Eli decided his peace of mind was worth more than being a homeowner. Now, he rents a brand-new apartment two blocks away with a community resort-style pool, private beach, gym, sauna and double the square footage — all for $200 less per month than what he was paying for his condo. He’s not the only one paying less to rent; Bankrate’s 2025 Rent vs. Buy Study found that renting is more affordable than paying a mortgage in all 50 of the largest U.S. metros.

Condo living is getting more expensive, especially in Florida

When Eli moved into his one-bedroom, ground-floor condo in 2018, his monthly homeowners association (HOA) fee was $350. When he moved out, it had risen to $800 a month, or $9,600 a year. That’s an increase of over 128 percent in seven years, or just over 18 percent annually. The national average HOA payment was $243 a month in 2023, according to 2023 American Housing Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The average condo owner in Florida has seen steep increases in condo association fees. Tampa condo owners saw an over 17 percent increase in HOA fees year-over-year in 2024, according to Redfin. Redfin also found that condo owners in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando saw median YoY increases exceeding 16 percent.

Along with the rising monthly payment, Eli’s condo association also levied frequent special assessments. Due to it being an older condo, as well as tightening restrictions around condos in Florida, assessments to increase reserves and make large improvements were unexpected costs. According to Eli, these assessments included charges for pool repairs, parking lot resurfacing and millions of dollars to replace a deteriorating seawall.

Residents in Eli’s building weren’t the only ones paying more out of pocket in special assessments. Following the 2021 Surfside Miami condo collapse, Florida state legislators ed Senate Bill 4-D, requiring condo associations to hold funds in reserve for building repairs and inspections — funds collected via special assessments charged to residents. Prior to this bill, condo owners could vote to reduce or eliminate reserve requirements altogether.

What is a special assessment?

As a condo owner, you’re responsible for paying your monthly HOA dues. But, if your building needs money beyond what’s earmarked in the budget, your HOA can charge what’s called a special assessment. In Florida, there’s no limit to the amount of special assessments a condo board can levy. Some insurance companies offer loss assessment endorsements. These policy add-ons can cover unexpected steep special assessment charges, but they come at an extra .

How does insurance work with condos?

Insurance policies work differently for condos than they do for homes. With a home, you own the roof, foundation, walls, windows and, usually, the surrounding plot of land. Your homeowners insurance policy can cover all of it. But with condos, the insurance is split.

“The condo association is responsible for purchasing adequate limits to cover any damage to the common areas of the building, including roofs and structural components, and interior and exterior walls, ceilings and floors,” says Andrew Lester, president of FirstService Financial — a financial services company for community management. “The condo owner should purchase a personal policy to cover everything within their unit, including fixtures, appliances, wall coverings, cabinetry and contents.”

Part of a condo’s HOA fee includes money for the building’s insurance policy, and other communal expenses like landscaping, garbage and building utilities. Thus, when the building’s insurance policy goes up, condo owners bear some of the burden in their HOA fees.

Florida’s current condo crisis

Florida’s housing market boomed during the pandemic, with many people flocking to the Sunshine State. But recently, Florida’s condo market has run into choppy water. In March 2025, the state saw a 4.5 percent year-over-year decline in median sales price for townhomes and condos, according to Florida Realtors. This marks the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year price decreases. The median time to contract and the median time to sale — 62 days and 99 days, respectively — have risen, too, both increasing in March.

Rising HOA fees are a big part of the problem. Insurance, reserve requirements and special assessments (often required by insurance) are making owning a condo more financially painful.

“The reserve requirements, while well intentioned…are putting a huge burden on our people, our working men and women, and our families, who are now are finding themselves in a situation where…they’re forcing their hand to sell these condos, and yet the market is not picking up these condos, so they’re losing money on these condos that they’ve invested so much money on,” said Miami-Dade County Commissioner René Garcia at a press conference on April 10.

What’s being done to curb the condo crisis?

At the state level, legislators in the House have ed legislation to increase transparency and give condo associations more leeway with reserve funds. House Bill 913 will allow condo associations to fund reserves with lines of credit and loans in addition to special and regular assessments. That way, condo associations can turn to other sources — not just condo owners — to fulfill the reserve requirements laid out in Senate Bill 4-D.

Governor Ron DeSantis has not yet signed House Bill 913, however, most experts expect that he will and that the bill will become law on July 1, 2025. In addition to allowing alternative reserve funding, the bill would also:

  • Allow condo associations to invest reserve fund money
  • Allow associations to take out loans to cover repairs without approval from association
  • Prohibit associations from employing or being owned by someone who’s had their community association manager license revoked
  • Allow associations to hold board meetings in person or by video

Florida Realtors and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) are also pushing for things to change on a national level in regards to financing. Currently, several criteria must be met by the condo association for a buyer to get a low-down payment conventional loan. These include:

  • Being on Fannie Mae’s approved list
  • Having 10 percent of income in reserves
  • Owning less than 10 percent of the units in the condominium

If the condo doesn’t meet these requirements, you may need up to 25 percent down to make the purchase.

Learn more: Should I buy a house now, or wait?

Floridians are leaving for neighboring states

Changes to Florida’s housing market tend to happen slowly — too slowly for some. A report from Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) found that mortgage applications from in-state and out-of-state buyers are on the decline. Instead, Floridians are applying for loans in neighboring states like Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and South Carolina.

“Florida’s repaid price appreciation combined with soaring home insurance prices and the threat of hurricanes has led people to start looking at other nearby states,” says Selma Hepp, chief economist for Cotality. “When people leave, they are staying in the South, where there is relative affordability as well as access to large employment centers — they are seeking the ingredients that made Florida so prosperous in the first place.”

For condo owners in Florida, especially those close to the ocean, large costs and risks are quickly outweighing the benefits. “There’s only so much value that a pretty view has,” says Eli.

Whether the Florida government can move fast enough to fix the problem remains to be seen. Until then, many people like Eli are choosing to sell their condos and relocate.

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