It is more expensive to own a high-rise condo in South Florida than just about anywhere else in the U.S. except for an island between the East and Hudson rivers.<\/p>\n
And that doesn\u2019t include paying for the condo itself. That\u2019s just the cost of upkeep in the form of monthly fees.<\/p>\n
An annual review of condo buildings of at least seven stories managed by First Service Residential finds the average association fee of a Miami-Dade high-rise condo is up almost $500 a month compared to last year. Average monthly assessments now run more than $1,900 a month for these types of buildings. The cost is just over $1,800 a month for units in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.<\/p>\n
Only condos and co-ops in New York City have higher average costs per square foot.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiami seems to be a highly desirable area,\u201d said Robert Smith, the south region president of First Service Residential. \u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing is that strong international buyers are here (with) different types of expectations around service.\u201d<\/p>\n
High-end luxury buildings have dominated the new construction market as developers look to recoup costly land and higher building expenses. Newer buildings not subject to reforms put in place after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside also have experienced more demand.<\/p>\n
Sales of $1 million-plus condos were up 7.6% in Miami-Dade County in October, according to data from the Miami Realtors Association. The realtors group also found over the past two years more than half of newly built condos have been brought by international buyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe luxury market remains really strong and with that market comes service expectations,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s not necessarily pool-side towel service that has driven up monthly fees. It\u2019s been insurance, personnel and, to a lesser degree, building up financial reserves.<\/p>\n
The 2025 data is the second year First Service collected what it calls \u201cbenchmark\u201d information on the budgets of buildings it manages across North America.<\/p>\n
The proportion of a condo unit\u2019s monthly fees going toward insurance rose 25% to $377 a month. The average high-rise condo owner in Fort Lauderdale\/Palm Beach paid $438 a month for its association\u2019s insurance this year. Active hurricane seasons in Florida over the past few years coupled with the Surfside condo building collapse fueled fast escalating property insurance premiums.<\/p>\n
But Smith is seeing some relief. \u200a\u201dWhat\u2019s encouraging for me is that we\u2019re starting to see some relief in the insurance market with more carriers and reduced premiums,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Insurance costs are second only to regular operating expenses for the condo associations surveyed. Those operating costs include professional management fees, which were up more than 40% on average per unit from a year ago.<\/p>\n
Associations also are putting away more money into reserves than they did last year. About 12 cents of every HOA budget dollar went into reserves in this year\u2019s study, up from 9 cents in 2024. Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach associations are putting away 14 cents of every budget dollar.<\/p>\n
While an improvement from a year ago, the proportion of association budgets going toward building financial reserves in South Florida remains below associations in most other large metropolitan areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working with our associations consistently now about strategic planning to understand what their goals are and what their future looks like in order to deal with milestone inspections (and) starting a reserve fund appropriately,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n
Physical inspections of older buildings and examining financial statements of older buildings are required under reforms passed by state lawmakers after the Champlain Towers South tragedy, which killed 98 people in 2021.<\/p>\n