A financed offer on a Brickell condo now runs into a step that used to be quick. Once the buyer applies for a conventional loan, the lender now has to review the whole building, covering its budget, its reserves and its pending repairs, unless the unit fits one of a few narrow waivers. Until this summer, many lenders could approve a unit in an established building without looking closely at the association's finances. That option ended on August 3, 2026. So the first serious test of a unit in an older tower is often whether the association's ledger holds up, before anyone compares views or finishes.
That one procedural change has shifted what a Brickell condo is actually worth to a buyer. Roughly half of Miami's existing-condo sales close without all cash, and for buyers who need a conventional loan, the association's books now decide whether they can show up at all.
What changed on August 3, and what changes again in January
Fannie Mae's Lender Letter LL-2026-03 retired the Limited Review process for established condo projects. For loan applications dated on or after August 3, 2026, lenders have to use Full Review or a waiver that applies. Freddie Mac made the matching change in Guide Bulletin 2026-C, retiring its Streamlined Review for applications received on or after the same date.
The reserve rules tightened at the same time. Lenders can no longer accept the baseline funding method, which lets an association's reserve cash balance approach zero without falling below it. A second step takes effect after the new year.
| Date | Fannie Mae | Freddie Mac | What it means for a Brickell building |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 3, 2026 | Limited Review retired for established projects | Streamlined Review retired | Lenders review the association's finances in depth unless a waiver applies |
| August 3, 2026 | Baseline reserve funding no longer accepted | Same | A budget that lets reserves run down to zero no longer qualifies |
| January 4, 2027 | Minimum reserve allocation rises from 10% to 15% of annual budgeted assessment income in Full Review | Same increase for applications received on or after this date | Budgets set at the old 10% floor fall short |
The waivers that skip project review exist, but they cover detached condo units, two-to-four-unit projects, small five-to-ten-unit projects outside a master association, and certain refinances, according to Fannie Mae's Selling Guide. Almost nothing on the Brickell skyline fits those categories. A 45-story tower purchase goes through full review.
Ninety-eight people died when Champlain Towers South in Surfside collapsed in 2021, and these lender rules sit on top of the state safety laws passed afterward. Florida requires milestone structural inspections for condo and co-op buildings three stories and taller at 30 years of age, or 25 years for buildings closer to the coast, and most associations must fully fund reserves in their budgets, as The Real Deal summarized in October. The state law decides what work a building has to do. The lender rules decide whether a buyer can borrow to buy into a building that hasn't done it or hasn't funded it.
Why the non-cash half of the market matters
Cash buyers can skip all of this, so how many buyers pay cash tells you how far these rules reach.
In August 2026, cash sales were 50.5% of all existing-condo sales in Miami, according to MIAMI REALTORS. The rest of those sales did not close in all cash, and any of those buyers using a conventional loan go through the project review. The same organization reports that 82% of Miami condo sales at $1 million and up were all-cash in 2025. Cash dominates the top of the market, so a lender's verdict on the building is likely to matter more for units priced below that level.
The sales split points the same way. In the first half of 2026, condo sales above $1 million were up 143% over the same period in 2019, while sales under $1 million were 27% below 2019 levels, according to MLS figures cited by The Real Deal. Even before August, the same outlet reported, Fannie Mae had placed more than 1,400 Florida condo buildings on its unavailable list, and nearly half of them were in South Florida.
Countywide figures show a market with room for buyers to be picky. Miami-Dade had 11,495 condo listings at the end of August 2026, which is 12.1 months of supply. MIAMI REALTORS treats 6 to 9 months as balanced. The countywide condo median was $408,000 in August, and the median time from listing to contract was 66 days. These figures cover the whole county, not Brickell alone. Still, when a year's worth of inventory is on the market, a unit in a building that lenders can't approve is competing for a smaller pool of buyers against plenty of units that face no such limit.
Same skyline, different balance sheets
You can't judge a Brickell building by the year it was built. These three examples from the past year show how different the situations are.
1050 and 1060 Brickell. These two 45-story towers were completed in 2008 and hold 592 units. In 2024, when the towers were only 16 years old, the board at the time proposed a $21 million special assessment for repairs. Many owners questioned it because the towers were well short of the 30-year inspection trigger, The Real Deal reported. Owners later replaced that board, but the current board president confirmed in October 2026 that the assessment is still in place. The association has also gone to court with its contractor over billing. For a buyer, that means a 2008 tower can still carry repair obligations that a reader of the listing might expect only in a much older building.
Brickell Key. Each building on the island has its own association, and all of them sit under a master association that Swire Properties has controlled since 1982. In May 2026, five associations sued Swire in Miami-Dade Circuit Court over a $32.3 million assessment to rebuild the island's seawall and repair the baywalk: Brickell Key One, Brickell Key Two, Isola, Courvoisier Courts and Carbonell, according to The Real Deal. As of that May reporting, the dispute was unresolved. So on Brickell Key, a unit's carrying costs can depend on a charge set one level above the building's own association.
The St. Louis, 800 Claughton Island Drive. This 31-story, 134-unit building was completed in 1995. In April 2026, The Real Deal reported that Related Group and Terra were negotiating a buyout with a group of nearly 80% of owners, at a price likely above $1 million per unit. One source put it closer to $1.5 million. The building's declaration needs 80% owner approval to terminate the association, and sources said a deal could close the following year. At that point it was a proposal, not a closed sale. For an older building, though, the value of the land underneath can become its own reason to buy.
Market analyst Ana Bozovic made the same point to The Real Deal:
"Two buildings of the same age can present completely different risk profiles, so a deep dive is essential."
She also told the outlet that well-maintained older buildings that have finished their larger projects and are setting aside enough reserves usually sell below replacement cost. An older Brickell building with its repairs done and its reserves funded can pass full review, sell to both cash and financed buyers, and still cost less than new construction.
January 4 is the next filter
The 15% reserve minimum that starts on January 4, 2027 matters right now for anyone shopping this fall. An association that sets its 2027 budget at the old 10% floor may meet today's standard and fall short for loan applications dated a few weeks later. A buyer who closes in December and plans to resell in a few years is betting on how that building's board handles the next budget cycle.
Sellers face the same question in reverse. If your association funds reserves above the new minimum and has finished its required work, that is something to put in front of buyers early, because it tells a financed buyer the loan is less likely to stall on the building review. Bozovic told The Real Deal that costs like assessments, higher monthly charges or major upcoming work "have to be incorporated into what a buyer is willing to pay."
What to request before you make an offer
Comparing two Brickell units at similar prices now starts with the association's documents. Here is what to ask for first:
- The current budget and reserve line. Check how reserves are funded, and whether that funding is close to the 15% level that takes effect January 4, 2027.
- The most recent milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study. The 1060 Brickell assessment was based on its reserve study, so read these documents for future costs, not just for building condition.
- Every special assessment, levied or proposed. Ask how many installments are left and whether any proposed work is still being disputed.
- Master association obligations. On Brickell Key, this layer can carry costs as large as the building's own.
- Your lender's early read on the project. Ask before the inspection period starts, not after.
Bozovic's checklist, as reported by The Real Deal, also covers insurance and the association's general ability to maintain the property.
A few quick answers
Does this apply to new construction? New buildings follow different rules. For new Fannie Mae condo projects under Full Review, at least 50% of units in the project or phase must be sold or under contract to buyers who will use them as a primary residence or second home. Fannie also ended its mandatory PERS review for new attached-unit condo projects in Florida.
If I'm paying cash, does any of this matter? It matters when you sell. The next buyer may need financing, and the building's standing with lenders will decide whether they can get it.
Is an older building automatically harder to finance? No. The rules test the association's finances and repair status, not the year the building went up. The 2008 towers at 1050 and 1060 Brickell show how a younger building can still carry a large assessment.
This post is general information, not legal, lending or financial advice. Please confirm how these rules apply to a specific unit with your lender, attorney or other qualified professional.
If you're weighing two Brickell buildings and want help reading an association budget or reserve study before you write an offer, Elena Kemper Group can go through those documents with you line by line, with a lender on the call when it helps. Contact us to get started.
