Condo Market Insights - Alex & Joe

The Real Carrying Cost: How Florida's HB 913 Made Condo Reserves Honest

Buyers used to fall in love with the "deal." What deal? An ocean‑view condo with surprisingly low monthly dues. But then the letter would arrive: a special assessment large enough to flatten the ROI and the mood. Florida's HB 913 changed that story. By forcing structural‑integrity reserves into every condo budget, the law didn't make condos more expensive. It made the true costs visible. And in today's market, transparency is an asset in its own right.

Why Honest Dues Matter

For years, many associations kept dues artificially low by underfunding long-term capital needs. Roofs aged. Concrete spalled. Mechanical systems limped along. Suddenly, a major repair forced a one-time assessment that blindsided owners. HB 913 compels building associations to…

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Fort Lauderdale Has Grown Up

For decades, Fort Lauderdale lived in Miami's shadow. It was the quiet cousin that's now emerging in its own right. Somewhere between the cranes and catamarans, the city found its stride.

Today's Fort Lauderdale is a global yachting capital and a luxury high‑rise destination in its own right. It has become a living example of what happens when lifestyle and livability finally align.

The High‑Rise Transformation

Drive down Las Olas Boulevard and the transformation is unmistakable. The skyline now tells a new story. Glass towers rise above the marinas. Branded residences from the Four Seasons, Ritz‑Carlton, and St. Regis add a touch of luxury to the waterfront. Developers who once glanced past Fort Lauderdale now view it as South Florida's most…

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Miami Pre-Con: Spotting 24-Month Risks & Protecting Deposits

Some buyers believe “If a Miami pre-con project hasn’t broken ground in two years, it’s doomed.” The truth is more nuanced. A few eventually move forward, but delays dramatically raise risk and shift the burden onto your deposits and timeline. The buyer’s question I hear most often is, “How do I know if my project is real or stalling?” The answer lies in learning to separate slow-but-serious from likely-to-stall, and in structuring your contract so you’re protected either way.

The 3 Signals That Matter Most

Forget renderings. Investigate the machine behind them.

Money in place: A closed, recorded construction loan, signed GC contract, and visible mobilization are green lights. “Lender engaged” or “GC selected” is yellow. No lender named, rising…

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Miami’s Billionaire Turn: What Buyers Must Know

For two decades, Miami’s high-rise market followed a predictable script: foreign buyers flew in, wired deposits, picked up shiny pre-construction units, and left them waiting for weekend use. Post-pandemic, the script flipped. Today the people writing the biggest checks aren’t speculators from abroad. Instead they’re domestic ultra-wealthy buyers: founders, fund managers, and family offices relocating for tax strategy, weather, and network effects. One top colleague summed it up best: billionaires are replacing millionaires. That single shift is reshaping which buildings command premiums, how deals close, and what gets built next.

This is my field guide to Miami’s Billionaire Turn and the moves you need to stay relevant for the next 24 months.

The…

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