The three Florida retirement hotspots worst hit by HOA law that sparked mass condo sell-off – as real estate crisis deepens

Several retirement hotspots in Florida have been hit with spikes in the cost of Home Owners Association (HOA) fees on condos.  

Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale have all seen HOA rises of more than 15 percent in the last year, according to new Redfin data. 

HOA fees – paid by residents for general maintenance of the neighborhood or for condos in the shared building – are rising in the Sunshine State due to skyrocketing insurance costs.

More frequent natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding have led homeowners associations to raise fees in anticipation of repairs and mitigation needs. 

Additionally, following the Surfside condo collapse in June 2021, new laws now require structural inspections for condos and additional money to be set aside for repairs, leading to an increase in required payments.  

In Tampa, the median monthly HOA fee jumped 17.2 percent over the year to July 31, according to Redfin. 

In Orlando, the fees soared by an average of 16.7 percent, and in Fort Lauderdale they rose by 16.2 percent, it found. 

This is compared to an average hike of 6 percent across the 43 most populous metro areas which Redfin analyzed.  

HOA fees also rose in West Palm Beach by 12.8 percent, by 7.6 percent in Jacksonville and by 5.7 percent in Miami. 

‘Many buildings – even those without amenities – now have HOA dues north of $1,000 a month,’ Rafael Corrales from Redfin said. 

‘And with special assessments getting tacked on, a lot of condo owners who are retired and/or on a fixed income are being forced to sell and relocate because they can’t keep up with the payments,’ he explained. 

Furthermore, inflation has also contributed to rising HOA fees as the costs of repairs, maintenance and labor have all increased in recent years.  

In tandem with rising fees, condo prices across Florida are now falling. 

The combination of rising insurance, HOA, repair costs and safety fears are resulting in condo owners leaving in droves, which is driving down prices.  

In Jacksonville, condo sale prices fell 6.6 percent in the last year, yet HOA fees for the Metro rose an average of 7.6 percent.   

‘Condos are really taking a hit. Prices are hurting,’ explained Redfin sales manager Eric Auciello. 

‘Condo fees are skyrocketing due to increased insurance costs. These additional fees have adversely affected the value of many units.’ 

Many sellers are slashing prices by up to 40 percent with some units wiping almost half a million off their asking price in what realtors have described as the worst real estate crisis in decades.

One three-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in Saint Petersburg was listed at around $1.2million at the start of the year. 

But still without a buyer, the owner slashed the asking price first to $898,000 and last week to $715,000. 

Hundreds of thousands of condo owners must now fork out hefty sums for previously neglected maintenance following the Surfside building collapse.   

Under the new guidelines, condos older than 30 years or more than three stories will require increased inspections from December 31. 

Many could face fees greater than their mortgage payments, sparking a wave of distressed sales in the Sunshine State.

Karen Shipman, who bought a second-story condo in Venice, Florida, with her husband for their retirement in 2021, said she was no longer sure they could afford to keep their home.

‘I feel like it’s paradise lost now,’ she told ABC Action News.

DailyMail.com previously revealed that an estimated 360,000 property owners in south Florida alone – the home of the condo boom – may not be able to afford the repairs required by the new law.