Linda Fleischer of Coldwell Banker Realty says fear of unpredictable HOA increases is making Florida condos nearly unsellable to the demographic that should want them most.
Florida’s condominium market is facing a crisis that goes beyond recent changes to reserve requirements and new mandates for special assessments. According to Linda Fleischer, a licensed real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty serving Palm Harbor and Pinellas County, the core issue is not just the current level of HOA fees, but the complete lack of predictability about what those fees will be in the future.
“I have people that tell me they don’t even want to look at condos because the HOAs are astronomical and there’s a genuine fear that it’s going to continue to go up,” Fleischer says. “It’s difficult to sell these days, especially with that fear factor—there’s just a lot of money out of pocket every month.”
Fleischer emphasizes that this fear of future increases is hurting condo marketability more than the actual HOA fees themselves.
The Fixed-Income Trap
The buyers most affected by HOA uncertainty are the very people Florida’s condos were initially designed to serve. “A lot of people, especially seniors on a fixed budget, really can’t anticipate that there’s going to be a possible increase in their HOA,” Fleischer says.
Florida continues to attract large numbers of retirees looking to downsize from single-family homes. Traditionally, condos have been the ideal product for this demographic, offering lower maintenance, community amenities, and simplified ownership. But Fleischer notes that this value proposition has been undermined by the inability to forecast monthly housing costs with any confidence.
The result, she says, is that the very group that should be most attracted to condos—seniors planning for fixed-income living—is now actively avoiding them. Years of retirement planning are being upended by a housing product in which monthly costs can suddenly escalate due to HOA increases or special assessments.
The Agent’s Dilemma
For real estate professionals, the impact is direct and uncomfortable. “I don’t want to say I cringe when somebody says, ‘Can you list my condo?’ But I have to level with them and tell them it’s going to take a little longer. We can sell it, but it’s going to take longer potentially,” Fleischer says. “It’s definitely a tougher sell.”
Listing a condo now means having a candid conversation with sellers about extended timelines and the likelihood of deeper price reductions. Buyers are demanding compensation for the perceived risk of future HOA increases. This marks a significant shift in how condos are positioned in the market.
Where condos once stood for efficient, low-maintenance living with predictable costs, Fleischer says they now represent financial uncertainty to buyers. The stigma attached to condo ownership has flipped from positive to negative, especially among seniors who should be the natural buyer pool.
The Inventory Constraint Effect
This difficulty in selling condos is having a secondary effect: owners are increasingly reluctant to list their units, further constraining inventory in this segment. But instead of driving prices up—as limited inventory typically does—this scarcity is a sign of unmarketability, not high demand.
Fleischer observes that the market is splitting. Single-family homes and townhomes are drawing the downsizing buyers who would have historically chosen condos. These buyers now prefer property types with more predictable costs, even if that means more maintenance or a higher purchase price.
The Reserve Requirement Context
While Fleischer does not blame the condo crisis solely on Florida’s new reserve requirements and special assessment regulations, she acknowledges these changes have amplified buyers’ fears about unpredictable HOA costs. “I have people that tell me they don’t want to even look at condos because the HOAs are astronomical and there’s a genuine fear that it’s going to continue to go up,” she says, addressing the impact of the new rules.
The regulatory changes have created a widespread perception—accurate or not—that HOA fees will continue to rise with no clear limit. This belief alone is enough to deter buyers, regardless of whether any given condo association has actually raised its fees significantly.
Possible Market Corrections
Fleischer’s experience suggests the condo segment will remain challenged in Florida’s residential market until HOA costs become more predictable or transparent. One possible solution could involve condo associations providing multi-year fee projections or setting caps to reassure buyers about long-term affordability.
However, Fleischer believes the psychological damage may already be done. Restoring buyer confidence in condos—especially for seniors on fixed incomes—may require more than minor improvements in transparency. It may demand a complete overhaul of how HOA costs are communicated, capped, and guaranteed over time.
Until then, Fleischer says, condos will remain a tough sell for the very Floridians they were meant to serve. The ongoing uncertainty around HOA costs has fundamentally changed how buyers view this segment, and real estate professionals now face the challenge of rebuilding trust in a product whose main benefit—predictable, low-maintenance living—no longer feels secure.
