⚠️ HOA Fees Are Rising 8%—And Miami Homeowners Are Paying 26.9% of Their Mortgage to Mini Quasi-Governments
If you’re house hunting, you need to understand what’s happening with homeowners associations across the country—and why reading the covenants BEFORE you fall in love with a house could save you from years of frustration.
The National HOA Crisis
According to the latest Realtor.com report, 43.6% of for-sale homes are now governed by HOAs, up from 41.9% in 2024. The median HOA fee rose from $125/month to $135/month in 2025—an 8% year-over-year increase.
More than 4 in 5 condominiums and townhomes have HOAs, compared with about one-third of single-family homes. Both shares have been steadily rising since 2023, and HOAs are much more prevalent among newly built homes than existing ones.
Florida Leads the Nation in HOA Burden
While Nevada has the highest share of HOA-governed listings (68%+), Florida dominates when it comes to the most expensive HOAs relative to home prices.
Miami tops the list: The owner of a median-priced $425,000 home pays about $617 per month in HOA fees, 26.9% of the monthly mortgage payment.
While Nevada has the highest share of HOA-governed listings (68%+), Florida dominates when it comes to the most expensive HOAs relative to home prices.
Miami tops the list: The owner of a median-priced $425,000 home pays about $617 per month in HOA fees, 26.9% of the monthly mortgage payment.
Other Florida metros in the top 5:
- Panama City: 22.7%
- Naples: 20.3%
- Cape Coral: 19.6%
- Port St. Lucie: 18.9%
Why Are Florida HOA Fees Skyrocketing?
According to Ana Bozovic, a Miami-based real estate agent and founder of Analytics Miami, three factors are driving the surge:
- Aging Inventory: Many buildings are reaching the age where deferred maintenance can no longer be postponed.
- Post-Surfside Legislation: Following the deadly 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, FL, state law now requires condos over 30 years old to pass safety inspections and meet reserve requirements. This adds to shared costs and drives up monthly dues.
- Insurance Premiums: Property insurance in Florida has skyrocketed due to climate risk, litigation costs, and insurance company pullbacks. In condo buildings, those increases are passed directly into HOA budgets.
Add rising labor, materials, and utility costs, and HOA fees have increased far faster than inflation or wage growth.
The Affordability Paradox
Here’s the cruel irony: The sharpest HOA fee spikes and looming special assessments are concentrated in older condo buildings, which also happen to be the most affordable segment of the condo market.
Budget buyers would benefit from non-HOA or low-HOA housing, but it’s extremely hard to find in or near Miami’s city center.
My Dad’s Shed Roof Story: Why I’ll Never Seek Out an HOA Again
Growing up, my parents lived in an HOA community. Whoever was president at the time thought they had some power, and they exercised it.
There was no leniency. When my dad’s tiny shed had the “wrong roof pitch,” the HOA board president forced him to build a SECOND roof on top of the first one to make the pitch “correct.”
That inflexibility and hostile nature by HOA board presidents caused a lot of drama and division in our community. People who didn’t agree with the rules didn’t have enough say to make simple changes. It was hard to see our community divided by people who thought they had power because of their role on the HOA.
I don’t even remember their names now or the particulars, but I do remember the division caused by the HOA.
I’ve lived in 3 HOAs. I’ll never seek them out again.
I’ve heard others who have fine experiences with them, but I’ve never experienced a well managed HOA myself.
My Advice: Read the Covenants BEFORE You Fall in Love
When clients ask me about HOAs, I tell them: Read the covenants. A very limited HOA, just in place as a fallback rule to keep yards clean and make sure nobody starts a zoo in a residential neighborhood, is fine.
But in my limited experience, most HOAs go way beyond that.
If I had the opportunity to design an HOA, I would severely limit what they could do with their power. They should be more like the Constitution, pretty difficult to change and focused on general principles, not particulars. They should NOT be mini quasi-governments led by people with too much time who think they have some importance or power because of their position.
SettleSavvy: Know Before You Buy
With SettleSavvy, we’re working on a way to get people access to learn about the covenants in HOAs BEFORE they fall in love with a house.
Because once you’re emotionally invested, it’s too late. You need to know the rules upfront, understand the fees, and make an informed decision about whether that HOA is a constitutional framework or a mini government waiting to micromanage your shed roof.
Want to learn more about SettleSavvy? DM me.
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