South Florida Property & Insurance Industry Brief

July 24, 2026 | Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie

Today's signal: The next South Florida condo-closing risk is not price alone; it is building-level documentation. For mortgage applications dated on or after August 3, Fannie Mae is retiring its Limited Review process and Freddie Mac is retiring its Streamlined Review process. Established condominium projects that previously used those lighter paths generally must use a full or established-project review, unless the transaction qualifies for a waiver, reciprocal review, or another exemption. This is not a blanket ban on condominium lending. It does mean buyers, sellers, agents, lenders, and associations should identify the review path early and expect the project's budget, reserve study, master insurance, repair status, and other association records to matter before the closing clock becomes tight.

TOP STORIES

1. August 3 turns condo financing into an association-document test

Fannie Mae says established projects previously eligible for Limited Review must use Full Review or, when applicable, a Waiver of Project Review for loan applications dated on or after August 3, 2026. Freddie Mac is retiring its parallel Streamlined Review path on the same date and directs established projects to its established-project, reciprocal-review, or exempt-from-review routes when eligible.

Fannie Mae is also tightening the reserve-study option on August 3: when a lender relies on a reserve study, the association's budget must include the study's highest recommended reserve allocation, and the baseline-funding method that lets reserve cash approach zero will no longer qualify.

One important distinction: Fannie Mae's separate increase in the minimum annual replacement-reserve allocation from 10% to 15% is not an August change. That requirement applies to Full Reviews for applications dated on or after January 4, 2027.

Implications

• Buyers and agents should ask the lender which project-review path applies before inspection and financing deadlines begin to compress.
• Sellers should not assume a well-qualified buyer eliminates project-level underwriting.
• Associations and managers should be ready to provide current budgets, reserve studies, master-insurance evidence, special-assessment information, and records concerning critical repairs or evacuation orders.
• A review requirement is not an automatic rejection. The risk is delay, changed loan terms, or a narrower lender pool when the association file is incomplete.

Sources: Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03, Freddie Mac Guide Bulletin 2026-C

2. Citizens binding is back to normal, and Bertha is finished

Citizens Property Insurance lifted its statewide storm-related binding suspension at 2 p.m. EDT on July 22 and said regular operations had resumed. The National Hurricane Center issued its final Bertha advisory late Thursday after the system weakened into a trough over east Texas. At 2 a.m. Friday, NHC said tropical cyclone formation was not expected anywhere in the Atlantic basin during the next seven days.

Implications

• Remove stale "Citizens is under suspension" language from active closing and renewal conversations.
• This is a clean window to obtain property-specific quotes or request permitted coverage changes, but normal underwriting still applies.
• A Citizens alert does not describe every private carrier's rules. Agents should verify the actual carrier and timestamp the response.
• Existing coverage and the right to report a claim were separate from the temporary restriction on new or increased coverage.

Sources: Citizens — binding suspension lifted, NHC — Atlantic outlook, July 24, NHC — final Bertha advisory

3. Florida's home-hardening sales-tax refund is live

The Florida Department of Revenue's July 16 guidance confirms a refund for Florida sales tax paid on qualifying impact-resistant exterior doors, garage doors, and windows purchased at retail from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029 and installed on an eligible residence.

The refund is not taken at checkout. The owner applies after paying the tax, using Forms DR-26S and DR-26HH, with receipts. The total refund is capped at $500, only one eligible property may be claimed, and the Department defines an eligible property as a site-built dwelling with a homestead exemption and a just value of $700,000 or less. Claims must be filed by September 30, 2029.

The documentation detail matters: when a contractor buys the qualifying product and performs a lump-sum installation, the owner's ordinary contract may not show the retail sales tax. DOR says the owner needs the taxed retail-purchase receipt, including the manufacturer's receipt issued to the contractor when that is the underlying transaction.

Implications

• Confirm product ratings and property eligibility before purchase; "impact" marketing language alone is not proof.
• Agree before work starts on who will retain and provide the qualifying retail receipt.
• Keep product approvals, invoices, permits, installation photos, and the two refund forms together.
• Treat the refund as a tax benefit, not as proof of an insurance discount. Any mitigation credit remains carrier- and inspection-specific.

Sources: Florida DOR Tax Information Publication 26A01-09, Florida DOR Form DR-26HH, Florida DOR online sales-tax refund application

4. Florida now gives public adjusters a 14-day status-response clock

CS/CS/CS/SB 1452, effective when signed on June 26, added section 626.854(24), Florida Statutes. A public adjuster, apprentice, or adjusting firm must respond with specific information to a written or electronic claims-status request from a claimant, insured, or designated representative within 14 days and document the response or information in the file.

This is a public-adjuster service and recordkeeping duty. It is not a new deadline imposed on the insurance carrier, and it is narrower than every general request for information.

Implications

• Policyholders should make status requests in writing and retain the sent message.
• Public-adjusting firms need a timestamped intake, owner assignment, response deadline, and file note for every qualifying request.
• A generic acknowledgment is a weak operational standard when the law calls for specific information.

Sources: Enrolled SB 1452 — section 626.854(24), Florida DFS — 2026 property-insurance changes

5. South Florida sales are accelerating, but the condo market remains split

MIAMI REALTORS and RWorld report that June South Florida sales rose 18.6% year over year, the tenth straight month of gains, while year-to-date sales were up 7.9%. Million-dollar sales rose 39.7% in June, and cash represented 61% of year-to-date million-dollar transactions.

The price picture was not uniform. Median single-family prices rose year over year in all five tracked counties, led by Palm Beach County at 11.8%. Median condo and townhouse prices rose only in Palm Beach County, by 3.2%, and fell in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, and St. Lucie. Active inventory was 18% lower than a year earlier.

Implications

• Do not translate strong regional sales into a single pricing story for every property type.
• Condo buyers need both unit underwriting and project underwriting; the August 3 review change raises the value of early association-document diligence.
• Sellers should price from current building-level and submarket evidence, not luxury headlines.
• Cash strength at the top does not eliminate financing friction in the broader condo market.

Source: MIAMI REALTORS — June 2026 South Florida market report

WEATHER AND LOSS ENVIRONMENT

The National Weather Service Miami forecast discussion issued at 1:01 a.m. calls for coastal showers Friday morning, scattered afternoon storms favoring inland and Southwest Florida, and heat-index values above 100 degrees through the weekend. Rain chances rise this weekend into early next week. NWS specifically flags the possibility of localized urban and poor-drainage flooding along the east-coast metro if slow-moving Saturday storms repeat over the same area. No South Florida watches, warnings, or advisories were listed at issuance.

Operational read: today is not a tropical activation. Plan heat breaks for field work, clear drains where safe, and document the source and spread of any new water intrusion before permanent cleanup.

Source: National Weather Service Miami — Area Forecast Discussion

SEGMENT NOTES

• Homeowners: - If buying or selling a condominium, ask the lender which project-review path will apply to an August application and request association documents now. - If purchasing impact-rated doors, garage doors, or windows, preserve the taxed retail receipt and verify whether the property meets the homestead and just-value tests. - Citizens' storm suspension is over, making this a useful window for property-specific insurance review. - Send a public adjuster any claims-status request in writing and keep a copy.
• Real Estate Professionals: - Put the August 3 condo review change on the transaction calendar before promising a financing timeline. - Separate unit condition from project eligibility: budget, reserves, master insurance, critical repairs, inspections, and assessments can affect the loan path. - Confirm Citizens and private-carrier availability directly; do not reuse a storm alert after it has been lifted. - Treat June's 18.6% regional sales increase as market context, not a universal pricing instruction.
• Service Providers: - For qualifying hardening work, give the owner product ratings, retail tax receipts, permits, and pre/post-installation photos. - Public-adjusting operations should route written status requests into a visible 14-day service-level clock with a documented response. - Schedule exterior work around heat and thunderstorms, and close water-related jobs with source-of-loss notes, readings where relevant, and time-stamped photos.

SHORT CALENDAR

• July 24: NHC says no Atlantic tropical cyclone formation is expected during the next seven days.
• August 3: Fannie Mae Limited Review and Freddie Mac Streamlined Review retire for applicable new loan applications; enhanced reserve-study rules begin.
• January 4, 2027: Fannie Mae's 15% minimum annual replacement-reserve allocation begins for applicable Full Reviews.
• June 30, 2029: Last day in the current qualifying purchase period for the home-hardening sales-tax refund.
• September 30, 2029: Refund-claim filing deadline.

Brief prepared by Robinhood Intelligence | Research date: July 24, 2026