Florida Condo Prices by County: Where Values Have Fallen Most

Which Florida counties are losing the most condo value?

If you own or want to buy a Florida condo, the question is not whether prices fell but where, and how much of the drop is tied to the building rather than the county. According to a county-by-county analysis from the FloridaPulse channel, using Zillow's condo and co-op value index through August 2026, ten counties have a typical condo more than 22% below its own peak. Charlotte County is worst at about 35%. Hernando County has had the fastest drop over the past year, at 11.6%.

The pattern behind the numbers matters more than the ranking. Houses in the same counties usually fell far less. The video's host, Roy Baker, ties the gap to older buildings facing inspections, mandatory reserve funding, special assessments and higher insurance.

The ten counties, ranked by drop from peak

The table below uses the figures presented in the video. Values are Zillow's typical condo value, and "from peak" measures the fall from each county's own high point. Where the transcript's dollar figures were unclear, they are left out.

Dollar losses per typical unit, where the video's figures line up with the percentages, were about $87,000 in Lee, $57,000 in Hernando, $54,000 in Duval and Hillsborough, and about $45,000 in Pasco.

Ranking by dollars tells a different story

Percentage drops favor cheaper counties. By dollars, the video says the largest condo loss is in Walton County on the Panhandle, where the typical condo is about $652,258 and has lost roughly $147,000 from peak. Collier County (Naples) is down about $90,000 per unit and Bay County about $86,000. Each of those is down around 18%, so none made the percentage-based list.

Condos are falling faster than houses

The most useful comparison in the video is house versus condo within the same county.

• Duval: all homes are 7.2% below peak, condos 22.2%. Both peaked in November 2022.
• Hillsborough: all homes are worth about $377,121 and are down 7.1%; condos are down 22.6%.
• Pinellas: all homes are 10.3% below peak, condos 24.7%. Houses kept rising until April 2024, while condos turned in October 2022.
• Charlotte: all homes are worth about $297,268 and are down 24.2%, so houses fell hard there too. Condos fell 35.4%.

Baker's argument is that the same weather, jobs and mortgage rates apply to both property types, so the extra condo decline reflects costs that come with the building. That is a reasonable reading, though the video does not isolate each factor. Charlotte shows that county-level shocks can hit houses too.

What is driving the declines

Reserve rules and milestone inspections

After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida tightened rules for older condo buildings. Buildings must pass milestone inspections and fund repairs the engineers identify. Baker also highlights that for budgets adopted after December 31, 2024, associations can no longer waive reserve contributions for structural components covered by the structural integrity reserve study, such as roofs and load-bearing walls.

The effect is a catch-up cost. A building that skipped saving for years must now fund those reserves on a state-set schedule, through higher monthly fees, special assessments or both. Baker cites industry reporting that puts typical 2026 assessments at roughly $10,000 to more than $100,000 per unit, with some South Florida letters reported above $150,000. Treat those as reported ranges, not averages. Our piece on why reserve rules may be housing's next problem covers the national version of this squeeze.

Insurance and financing

The video lists insurance as a second layer of cost on top of reserves. Condo associations carry master policies, and premium increases are passed to owners through dues. The transcript offers no premium figures, so check each association's actual renewal numbers.

Financing is the quieter pressure. Buyers who need a mortgage face lender rules on condo projects, and buildings with deferred repairs or low reserves can be harder to finance. Cash buyers can still close, but a smaller buyer pool tends to weigh on prices. For the federal side, see our explainer on Fannie Mae condo rules and HOA defaults.

Oversupply and thinner demand

The brief for this article also asks about oversupply. The video does not present supply data for each county. It does say buyers have become more careful, asking about reserves and inspections before offering. Our analysis of Southwest Florida resale pressure from builders covers how new inventory competes with resale units in Lee and Collier counties.

Why median sale prices can still look fine

Florida Realtors reported that the statewide median sale price for condos and townhouses rose nearly 3% in August to just under $298,000. That seems to contradict a falling value index, but the two measure different things.

A median sale price only reflects units that actually sold. If units in buildings facing big repairs stop selling, the remaining sales skew toward healthier buildings and the median can rise. Zillow's index estimates values across the whole stock, sold or not. Baker notes that condo inventory fell in the same report, which fits the idea of fewer transactions. Neither number is wrong; the median just can't show you the units that are stuck.

The other side: limits of the creator's view

Several caveats apply.

• "Worthless" is a headline, not a finding. Baker says plainly that no Florida county has a typical condo worth nothing. A typical Charlotte unit is still worth close to $200,000.
• Zillow's index is an estimate. It is a modeled value of a typical unit in a county. Individual buildings vary widely.
• Peak dates flatter the drop. Most counties peaked in late 2022, near the post-pandemic high. Measuring from that peak shows a bigger fall than measuring from 2019 or 2020 would, and the video does not give those figures.
• Not every building is at risk. Newer buildings and older ones that funded reserves all along are not the source of the assessment letters.
• Many counties barely moved. Monroe County (the Keys) is up 0.3% over a year, Sumter County (a large retirement community) is flat, and Leon County (Tallahassee) is down 1% for the year and about 3% from peak. This is a Gulf Coast and Tampa Bay story, not a statewide collapse.
• Creator context. FloridaPulse promotes a paid "buy and avoid" guide, and the video's audience skews toward retirees weighing a move. That doesn't make the numbers wrong, but check the primary sources.

What this means for you

If you are buying

• Ask for the full reserve study, not the summary. A roof with few years left and no money set aside is an assessment with a date on it.
• Read the last four board meeting minutes. They show what the board knows before it sends a letter.
• Confirm milestone inspection status for older coastal buildings.
• Since January 1, 2026, associations with 25 or more units must post budgets, governing documents and reserve studies on a website or app, so you can start this research before you tour.
• Compare the listing's price history. Repeated cuts say more than a headline, and no cuts over many months may mean the seller hasn't accepted the market.
• Ask whether the assessment is already paid. A unit with the bill behind it is a different purchase than one with the bill ahead.

For negotiating leverage, see our guide to how buyers negotiate seller concessions.

If you are selling

• Expect buyers to ask for the same documents. Having the reserve study, minutes and inspection status ready can speed a sale.
• Price against recent closed sales in your own building, not county medians.

If you own and plan to stay

• Review your association's reserve funding and upcoming inspections now, so a special assessment doesn't arrive as a surprise.
• Owners with limited income may want to check assistance options. The video says Miami-Dade County has run a condominium special assessment loan program of up to $50,000 over 40 years for qualifying owners under 140% of area median income, and expected to reopen it in early 2026. Confirm with the county whether it is accepting applications.

None of this is personal financial advice. For a specific property, a licensed Florida real estate attorney or CPA can review the documents.

What to watch next

• Reserve and assessment filings as more associations adopt budgets under the full-funding rule.
• Zillow's monthly index for whether Hernando and Charlotte's year-over-year declines slow.
• Florida Realtors' monthly reports for closed sales and inventory, especially whether the median keeps rising while the index falls.
• Insurance renewals, which hit association budgets on a rolling basis.

For the wider Florida picture, our piece on Florida home prices and Treasury yields covers the single-family side.