By Neal Templin
People buy condos to avoid shoveling snow and all the other hassles of homeownership.
But many condo owners have gone on a wild ride in recent years as their property values have gyrated and their homeowner association (HOA) fees have skyrocketed.
Rich Brooks and his wife bought a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in 2020 in Punta Gorda, Fla., for $225,000. During the pandemic, condo values in Florida soared.
In 2022, identical condos in the Brooks' complex sold for between $352,000 and $390,000, according to Luke Andreae, the couple's real estate broker. The Brookses considered selling their condo, but decided to stay put.
That fall, Hurricane Ian smashed into Florida, penetrating the drywall of the Brooks' condo. Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024 caused flooding nearby. The cost of insuring their complex kept climbing, pushing up the cost of their HOA fees.
By last year, the Brooks had paid special assessments totaling $15,000 and their monthly HOA fees had more than doubled to $1,383. They sold the condo last year for $215,000.
"My wife and I were like dancing and jumping for joy" when the sale went through," says Rich Brooks, 66. The couple is now living in a house 25 miles from the Florida coast. Asked if he would ever buy a condo again, he replied: "No! Nooooo! Absolutely not! I don't how to say it any more definitively."
But while the Brooks are running away, the timing might be right for others to head toward the condo market.
The vast Florida condo market has been hit hard, upended by the deadly collapse of a condominium building in Surfside, Fla., in 2021, hurricanes, rising insurance costs, and necessary but expensive changes in state laws to improve the safety and bolster the financial reserves of condo projects.
Meanwhile, select condominium markets around the country have also been hit by oversupply and big price drops. "It's a buyer's market with few buyers," says Brad Pauly, a real estate broker in Austin, Texas, where he says condo prices have tumbled 20% to 30% from their highs.
Have condo prices hit bottom? Well, that depends on each market, but a lot of experts think they are poised for stronger growth in the coming years. Jessica Lautz, an economist with the National Association of Realtors, notes that the nationwide inventory of condos shrank in recent months to a 3.6-month supply in January.
"The condo market is very attractive for entry-level buyers," she says, noting that 35% of first-time buyers are now single and need less space.
Nationally, Moody's Analytics sees condo prices edging up only 0.25% in 2026 this year after declining 0.5% in 2025, but forecasts that price gains will accelerate next year. "We do expect condo prices to firm and start appreciating," says Matthew Walsh, a Moody's economist.
Already, bottom fishers with cash are wading into some condo markets, says Nick Gerli, CEO of Reventure App, a housing market analytics tool. "It's one of the few areas of the housing market where there is actual opportunity now," he says. "Condo prices have dropped up to 30% in some areas like Austin, Oakland (Calif.) and Cape Coral (Fla.)"
If you are interested in buying a condo, there are a few things to keep in mind.
They tend to appreciate more slowly than single-family houses. When house prices climb in the market, it's mostly the land rising in value -- not the actual structure. Since condos have less land, they tend to rise more slowly.
What's more, most people prefer single-family homes, many are wary of condo fees, and there is just a deeper market for single-family homes. Bottom line is that condos have appreciated at a slower rate in every year since 2015, according to Moody's Walsh. The last time condos went up more than single-family homes was right before the housing crash when, you guess it, condos fell harder than single-family homes.
You have to look carefully at the finances of the HOA. When you buy a condo, you aren't just buying the apartment. You're getting shared ownership of all the common space, including lobbies, elevators, the roof and so forth. Read this Barron's article on how to buy in a homeowners association.
If an HOA is run properly, it should be setting aside money each year for coming major expenses such as a new elevator. The result can be higher HOA fees, which aren't popular with condo owners.
But honest accounting of liabilities is actually a good thing in the long run. If you can't afford the monthly HOAs of a properly funded complex, then you shouldn't be buying that condo.
All that takes us back to Punta Gorda, Fla., one of the most hard-hit areas in the country. Andreae, the real estate broker, says condo prices there have tumbled about 30% to 35%, and some projects have seen even bigger price drops.
That said, the number of condos sold is beginning to rise significantly, indicating the market is nearing its bottom, Andreae says. But the higher insurance costs and HOA fees for Florida condo projects are here to stay, he says. "It's not going to be the cheap getaway it was 10 years ago."
Write to Neal Templin at neal.templin@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 28, 2026 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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