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Special assessments, insurance, and reserve rules are reshaping what condos cost in Southeast Florida. Here's what buyers and sellers need to know before making a move.

If you're thinking about buying or selling a condo in Southeast Florida, there are costs working behind the scenes that can catch you off guard. We're seeing three of them collide right now, and they're affecting buyers and sellers alike, because at the end of the day, every one of them lands back on the homeowner. Here's what's driving up the cost of condo ownership in our market and why association dues keep climbing.

1. Special assessments are on the rise. Since the state introduced milestone inspections and structural reviews for condos three stories and higher, the cost of keeping these buildings compliant has climbed. When one of these reports comes back showing work that needs to be done, it typically gets tacked on as a special assessment to each homeowner. That's causing real concern for a lot of condo owners, because whether you're the seller or the potential buyer, that added cost becomes part of the equation.

2. Insurance costs keep climbing. Over the past few years, insurance has gotten significantly more expensive, especially closer to the ocean where there's more maintenance on many of these buildings. As those premiums rise, they flow straight into the association dues, and that higher monthly number is one more thing buyers and sellers have to account for. It's a big part of why selling a home in this market takes a clear strategy right now.

"Special assessments, insurance, and reserves are all colliding, and it lands on the homeowner."

3. Reserve requirements are tightening. Lenders are raising the bar on what they require condo associations to hold in their budgets. We're starting to see partial reviews of associations go away, replaced by full reviews, and one of the biggest things lenders look at is the budget and how much each association holds in reserves. Between the higher reserve targets and the rising cost of everyday items like maintenance workers and landscapers, the amount associations need to set aside has gone up, and that flows back down to the homeowner too. If you're weighing a purchase and a sale at the same time, it's worth knowing how to buy and sell together in Southeast Florida so the timing works in your favor.

All three are colliding at once. Special assessments, insurance, and reserve requirements are hitting the same associations simultaneously, and together they're pushing dues higher across Southeast Florida. For a buyer, that means looking closely at an association's financial health before you commit. For a seller, it means understanding how these costs shape your pricing and knowing what you're required to disclose before you list. It also connects to what today's condo buyers are really weighing when they decide whether to move forward.

If you want to know more about selling your home or buying a condo and how all of this applies to your personal situation, we'd love to talk it through with you. Call or text us at 561-220-2052, email us at info@tricoliteam.com, or visit tricoliteam.com. We're happy to walk you through what it means for your next move.

The builder's sales team works for the builder, not for you. Here's how having your own agent can save you money and protect you through the whole process.

We've been getting a lot of calls lately from buyers in Southeast Florida who are ready to buy a home and have already walked into a builder or new construction community on their own. So before you do that, we want to stop you for a second: contact a Realtor, contact us first. There's a lot we can do to help you through this process, and it starts before you ever step into that sales office.

The builder's salespeople represent the builder. Here's the big misconception. You can go directly to the builder or the new construction community, and yes, you're allowed to do that. But the people you're dealing with there are salespeople who represent the sales community and the builder. Bringing in your own Realtor has no negative bearing on the process at all. If anything, it works in your favor, because there's a lot we can do that the builder's team simply won't do for you. The on-site agent works for the builder, so having your own representation when buying a new build puts someone in your corner.

We can compare communities and negotiate for you. When you work with us, we can explain how one community stacks up against others, take you to see those other communities, and represent you from beginning to end. We'll let you know about any incentives a builder may have, and we can actually negotiate some of those in the form of credits, possibly better interest rates, incentives back to you, or even lower prices. There's a lot on the table that most buyers never think to ask for, and that's exactly the kind of thing we handle. If you're weighing a new build against existing homes, it's a bit like buying and selling at the same time, where having a plan and an advocate makes all the difference in your outcome.

"You can go straight to the builder, but their salespeople represent the builder, not you."

Every builder's contract is different. Every builder has its own contract, its own warranties, and its own upgrades and pricing. That's a lot to sort through on your own, and we help you work through all of it. At the end of the day, allowing us to represent you usually means you either get more money back or save money throughout the process. So before you walk into that new construction community, give us a call and let us know. We'll go in there with you and guide you from start to finish.

We stay on it through inspection and closing. Representation doesn't stop at the contract. We still make sure you get an inspection and that a proper punch list gets done. A lot of people don't realize how many things we can get the builder to take care of before closing, so everything is finished to your satisfaction. That's the part buyers going in alone tend to miss, and it's one of the biggest reasons to have your own agent through the whole build.

We also wanted to mention that we personally have four homes remaining at Symphony Place in West Palm Beach, real close to the airport. These are beautiful homes with nice open floor plans, four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a two-car garage, and all impact windows. We have four left out of 40, priced at $599,900, so for just under $600,000, you can get a brand new home here. If that interests you at all, or if there's any new construction anywhere in Southeast Florida you'd like to explore, we can certainly help you through it. Whether it's a new build or an existing home, our Southeast Florida market expertise is here to work for you.

If you're thinking about new construction and want someone in your corner who can negotiate on your behalf and protect you through every step, we'd love to help you put a plan together. Give us a call or text at 561-220-2052, email us at info@tricoliteam.com, or visit tricoliteam.com. We look forward to helping you find the right home.

See how the Southeast Florida market performed in Q2, why single-family homes are leaning toward sellers, and what it means for your next move.

If you've been waiting for a clearer read on the Southeast Florida market before making a move, the second quarter gave us one, and the news is good. Quarter one was already strong, with nearly every metric pointing in the right direction, and quarter two built on it. For anyone thinking about selling, the conditions right now are worth understanding.

The overall market kept improving. Across Southeast Florida, closed sales rose 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year, and pending sales climbed 11%. Homes are also selling a little faster, with days on market down 2.6%, and the median sales price edged up about 1.6%. None of these are dramatic swings on their own, but together they point to a market that's healthy and moving in the right direction.

"Closed sales across the market rose 9.6%, and ours rose more than 40%."

Our team outpaced the market. While the broader market improved, our results grew well beyond it. Tricoli Team closed sales are up over 40%, and our pending sales are up 56%, compared to the market's 9.6% and 11%. A lot of that comes from how far we push our marketing, including new ways we're using AI to get each listing in front of as many people as possible and to find the right buyer for every home we represent. Reaching more of the right buyers is what separates a good result from a great one.

Inventory is getting tighter. One of the bigger shifts this quarter was on the supply side. Both active listings and new listings decreased, which means there's less inventory available even as homes keep selling. For sellers, fewer competing listings can work in your favor, especially in the segments where demand is strongest.

Single-family and condos are splitting. Not every part of the market looks the same. Overall, the months of supply sit around 7.15, but single-family homes are running closer to 4.5 months, which leans toward a seller's market, while condos are around 10 months. The condo number has actually improved, coming down from roughly 12 months at its peak. If you own a single-family home, the balance is tilted in your favor more than the overall figure suggests.

Taken together, this quarter points to a stronger market, with real opportunities that depend on what and where you own. Whether you're selling, buying, or doing both this year, the smartest first step is understanding exactly how these trends apply to your home. We'd love to walk you through it in a free consultation. Give us a call at 561-220-2052, email us at info@tricoliteam.com, or visit tricoliteam.com. We'll show you where your home stands in today's market and what it means for your next move.

Capital gains, portability, and condo fees can quietly reshape what you actually walk away with after a long-held Florida home sale.

Are you 60 years or older and looking to sell your home this year? You could be sitting on a gold mine. The same goes for anyone who has owned a home for many years, say twenty or more. You could be sitting on a lot of money and equity, and you just have to be careful with it. Here are three things we want you to know before you make a move, and if any of them sound like your situation, let's schedule an in-person consultation to go over the details.

1. Understand the tax difference before you sell. The IRS currently allows the first $250,000 in profit for a single person and $500,000 for a married couple to be excluded from capital gains on the sale of a primary residence. So what happens if your gain is over that? You could be facing a pretty significant capital gains bill. 

That's why it's really important to find those receipts and pull together every upgrade you've done over the years. Those improvements raise your cost basis, and using them to your advantage is how you avoid extra tax costs on a home you've owned for a really long time.

"You could be sitting on a lot of money and equity. You just have to be careful with it."

2. Florida portability can be a tremendous benefit. In the state of Florida, you can port up to $500,000 in accumulated assessed value savings from your current homestead to a new Florida homestead. To claim it, you need to establish your new homestead within three tax years of abandoning the old one. 

Come November, the picture could shift a bit more depending on how the statewide property tax vote goes, and if you haven't seen it yet, watch our latest video on the homestead exemption changes on the ballot. Either way, if you're looking to downsize or move somewhere else in Florida, portability can mean tremendous tax savings, and it's worth sitting down to run your specific numbers.

3. Be careful with the downsizing math on condos. A lot of people are looking to downsize into a condo for lower maintenance, less to take care of, and less to worry about. Just be very careful there. Association fees have gone up quite a bit. Everything that happened with the Surfside condo collapse has led to tremendous requirements for reserves and for the inspections and maintenance work that buildings now have to complete. 

Associations that spent years waiving reserves are now required to fund them, and that has caused special assessments and pushed some condo dues up sharply. Before you trade a house for a condo, look closely at the building's reserve funding and inspection status, because the monthly savings you're counting on may not be there.

Those are the three things we wanted to point out. We can go into a lot more detail if you'd like to discuss them, or even if you're just starting to think about selling your home. Call or text us at 561-220-2052, email us at info@tricoliteam.com, or visit tricoliteam.com. We'd love to talk to you.