Byron Donalds announces down-payment burden on Florida condo buyers will sunset in August

A requirement for Florida condominium buyers to pay larger deposits will end in August, according to U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.

“In Florida, you can do the same down payment for a condo like you can anywhere else in America,” the Naples Republican said. “This is a major step forward for affordability in our state. People trying to get into the game of ownership in our state to be able to put less down to buy a condo.”

Geography-specific selling rules put in place after the Great Recession in 2008 require anyone buying a condominium in Florida to pay 25% of the value of the home upfront, with loans only able to cover 75% of the costs. For most of the country, buyers only need to pay a 10% down payment, with loans covering up to 90% of the rest of the purchase price.

Donalds, currently a leading candidate for Governor in Florida, said he has been working with President Donald Trump’s administration on the issue for months. He pressed Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner on the policy at a House Financial Services Committee in January. He said the restrictive Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Limited Review process unfairly hurt housing affordability in the Sunshine State.

“For 17 years, this policy has only applied to Florida and has negatively impacted condominium owners throughout my state,” Donalds said.

Donalds urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to review the regulation. Importantly, the FHFA is currently headed by Bill Pulte, a Boca Raton private equity firm founder. Donalds said he worked closely with Pulte on changing the policy.

On Thursday, Donalds said he learned the rule was changing, with new regulations going live in August.

“This is a major win for Florida,” he said.

Sean Stafford, a lobbyist for the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals, previously told Florida Politics the rule contributed to an affordability crisis in Florida. He said whatever reasoning drove the creation of the 2008 rule should by now be considered history. If the state once represented a greater system risk to the condo market, that has changed.

He noted that Florida has since passed stronger rules regarding the upkeep of condo buildings, particularly in the wake of the Champlain Towers South condo collapse in Surfside in 2021.

“Other states are in way worse shape than Florida,” Stafford said. “It’s a silly and outdated rule that just hasn’t been revisited in a long time.”