With Florida’s gubernatorial race just over a year away, Republican frontrunner Byron Donalds took center stage as the keynote speaker of Miami Realtors’ inaugural Housing Affordability Forum, laying out how he would tackle one of the state’s most pressing issues.
Speaking to an audience of Realtors, developers, and a handful of elected officials, Congressman Donalds said the housing crisis could not be solved with short-term solutions. Instead, he advocated for the government to lower construction costs, reduce regulatory barriers, and repurpose unused land for housing.
“In the South Florida region, we have to start thinking this way if we're going to deliver efficient housing stock and efficient services for the people that we all serve,” Donalds said.
Donalds chats with Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado.
Donalds’ appearance at the forum comes as his bid for Florida governor gains steam. With an endorsement from President Donald Trump and recent polling showing him leading over Democratic opponent David Jolly, his statements on housing offered a glimpse into how he may pitch his solutions to a statewide audience.
EASING REGULATIONS
Donalds criticized Florida’s assortment of down payment assistance and subsidy programs, saying that while they do provide temporary relief, they fail to solve the core issue.
“We've got to be mindful of the down payment assistance," he said. “It has become harder at the federal level to finance all of these projects. We have three large programs at the federal level, and the cost of those programs are going to explode over the next decade.”
He argued that easing regulations on building materials like concrete and timber would reduce costs for contractors, which in turn could lower construction prices and lessen the reliance on grants and loans.
Donalds delivers his keynote speech, addressing housing costs and federal mandates.
Donalds says these federal mandates aim to preserve the environment, but he does not see the resulting spike in material costs as a fair trade-off. He estimates that cutting material costs by 30% could lower home prices by 20%.
“It's not just purely bad fiscal and monetary policy out of Washington,” he said. “It's well-meaning but ill-advised regulatory policy that seeks to save the planet. What it actually also does as a byproduct, it makes it harder for people to retain the housing that they so desperately need.”
In light of shrinking enrollment numbers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Donalds also proposed making use of surplus school district land for development through long-term leases, shirking the cost of private land acquisition.
Donalds urges cutting through political red tape to speed up housing development and reduce costs
“You could take that property, find out some agreement with the county or, frankly, the districts could enter into a land lease, a 99-year land lease with a developer to actually develop housing in key corridors, because school districts buy land in key corridors,” said Donalds. “You can actually build housing stock in key corridors and actually defray the cost of the project, because the school district is not executing the land lease.”
A BROADER CONVERSATION
Donalds was not alone on stage. Local Realtors, lenders and advocates who joined him on the panel were each asked to offer “one bold idea” that could move the needle on housing in the next five to 10 years.
Danielle Blake, Miami Realtors chief of residential & advocacy, stressed the importance of condominiums as the backbone of affordable housing in South Florida and highlighted accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as another option.
Panelists and audience members gathered on stage for a group photo.
“It is where our affordable housing is in South Florida. If we don't have our condominiums, where are we going to put them?” said Blake.
Broker and real estate advisor Wesley Ulloa echoed the importance of condos, but also emphasized the need to streamline the lengthy building processes in South Florida.
In her eyes, assistance from Fannie Mae (or the Federal National Mortgage Association) would help in the short term by providing guaranteed loans for homebuyers, tiding them over as housing inventory builds over the years.
“We’ve got to make it easier to build, and make it easier for developers to build affordable housing — give incentives when it comes to that,” she said.
Metro Funds Inc. President Orlando Diaz zeroed in on tax and insurance costs of homes as another major barrier, mentioning that high fees persist even after a mortgage has been paid off.
Forum guests were encouraged to leave their own solutions to Florida’s housing affordability crisis on this board./
“We just need more carriers to come in here so they can compete,” said Diaz. “Prices and interest rates are now starting to come down, so we may see some relief there, but tax and insurance right now is taking a huge portion of that mortgage payment.”
While others on the panel leaned on loans, subsidies or tweaks to federal lending practices, Donalds repeatedly returned to a broader view. He presented housing not just as a local challenge, but as a statewide issue that could define Florida’s economic future.
Donalds reminded the audience that insurance covers replacement costs, which rise alongside material costs and permitting inefficiencies — things he seeks to combat if he’s elected governor.
“If you don't address core things like housing, safety, security, food,” Donalds said, “you cannot have a community that allows people to thrive and succeed.”